To strengthen its lineup of Echo devices Amazon has introduced the fresh new second generation of Amazon Echo Show 8, Echo Show 5 and Echo Show 5 Kids edition. All the smart devices come with smart displays and now have landed in the market with new camera capabilities and hardware upgrades over their predecessors.
“Customers love using Echo Show to stay in touch and in the past year have made nearly three times the number of video calls than the year prior,” said Tom Taylor, Senior Vice President, Amazon Alexa.
He further added, “With these new Echo Show devices, we focused on communications—bringing a powerful camera and digital pan and zoom capabilities to the new Echo Show 8, upgrading the Echo Show 5 camera, and adding new AR effects to make video calls more fun and engaging.”
Pricing and availability
As of now, the refreshed Amazon Echo Show 8, Echo Show 5 and Echo Show 5 Kids edition has not been introduced in India however these are expected to arrive soon. The price of the Echo Show 8 has been set at $129.99 that translates to Rs 9,518. The device will come in two colour options of Charcoal and Glacier White.
The less expensive Echo Show 5 will be available at $84.99 that comes to around Rs 6,223 and will be offered in Charcoal, Glacier White, and Deep Sea Blue colour options. Lastly, the Echo Show 5 Kids can be purchased at $94.99 that translates to Rs 6,955. It will be available in a single Chameleon colour option. According to the company, Amazon Kids+ subscriptions on Echo Show 5 Kids start at $2.99 per month for Prime members after the first year. All the devices are available for pre-order and will begin shipping next month.
Echo Show 8 features
The all-new second-generation of Echo Show 8 features an 8-inch HD adaptive colour display. The smart display is powered by an octa-core MediaTek MT 8183 processor. The Echo show 8 now comes with a much improved 13-megapixel camera with a built-in camera shutter for privacy. The camera can now automatically pans and zooms while you’re on video calls.
You can also ask Alexa to make video calls just say, “Alexa, call my family” to join a group call with multiple people. In addition to this, the users will be able to simply tap on the screen to choose from animated visual and audio in-call reactions, like hearts, laughs, or confetti. Over that it comes with the ability to turn on in-call Augmented Reality (AR) effects, so you can appear in street art, a classic painting, and more. With Zoom support, you can also quickly join meetings with coworkers, friends, and family by just saying, “Alexa, join my Zoom meeting.”
Furthermore, it has dual stereo speakers for clear, balanced sound. You can also ask Amazon Echo Show 8 to browse TV series or movies from Prime Video, Netflix, and Hulu, or ask Alexa to play your favourite music from Amazon Music, Apple Music, or Spotify. The voice assistant will also show you music playlists or station recommendations based on the Amazon Music or Spotify song playing, making it easier to discover your next favourite artist or song.
For a more personalised experience, Echo Show 8 allows you to share your home screen. The approved family and friends can share recent photos with you, and they’ll appear right on the screen. While Prime members will have unlimited, full-resolution cloud photo storage with Amazon Photos.
Echo Show 5 features
The Amazon Echo Show 5 features a smaller 5.5-inch touch display providing more compactness. Although it now has been upgraded with an HD camera, compared to the Echo Show 8 it has fewer camera capabilities. The older generation came with the 1-megapixel sensor whereas the latest one now includes a 2-megapixel camera. . You can also securely access the built-in camera on Echo Show through the Alexa app to check in on home if you’re out of town, or just to see if the dog is on the couch.
It does all the regular work, such as turning on the lights, playing news, providing weather updates, catching up on video highlights from your favourite sports team and watching the news from NPR, CNN, ABC. Soon it will also allow you to set Alexa to recognize certain sounds—like a baby crying, dog barking, person coughing or snoring—and automate a series of actions.
Echo Show 5 Kids edition features
Last but not least Amazon has also upgraded Echo Show 5 Kids. It now comes with a new fun design for the kid’s room. Kids can easily personalize the home screen of their device with colourful, kid-friendly clock themes. They can also ask Alexa for homework help, make video calls to pre-approved contacts and set alarms to wake up to the voice of their favourite characters.
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