Amazon today revealed a whole suite of new gadgets at its September hardware event, with the new Echo Show 8 taking center stage. The refreshed 8-inch smart display arrives with the usual onboard Alexa tech but amplifies that with new personalized homescreen features, which change content based on how close you are to the device.
Amazon refreshes Echo Show 8
Amazon first revealed the Echo Show 8 several years ago. Now, the screen-based Alexa experience is back for its third update, delivering much of the same 8-inch display as before. But today, it is getting some adjustments that justify the refresh.
The most notable is a form factor change that brings the same kind of cues we saw from the spherical Echo Dots into the Echo Show 8. There’s still, first and foremost, a screen-based build that, in this case, comes centered around an 8-inch HD touchscreen. It packs in the usual hands-free access to Alexa, as well as a 13 MP camera for video calls, and enables some of the other more personalized tech. Amazon then doubles down on the smart home control features, with support for Zigbee, Matter, and Thread right out of the box.
There’s also a refreshed software experience, thanks to Amazon’s new Adaptive Content. Taking a page out of the larger Echo Show 15’s playbook, this device leverages local computer vision in order to tailor what is shown on screen based on who’s close to it. It lets the Echo Show 8 transition from showing more general information when you’re far away to a more intimate home screen when you’re a bit closer. The new adaptive home screen also includes shortcut icons that make it easy to access your most used widgets.
Later this fall, there will also be a new Echo Show 8 Photos Edition. As you can probably guess from the name, this picture-oriented device will take on more of the role of a photo frame, rotating between an assortment of user-selected personal pics.
The new Echo Show 8 is now available for pre-order at Amazon. It arrives with the highest price tag we’ve seen from the form factor, clocking in at $149.99. There are two designs, with a Glacier White style being joined by a Charcoal black. It’s slated to begin shipping next month on October 25. The more specific Photos Edition model will be selling for $159.99 and includes a six-month PhotosPlus subscription.
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