ALEXASPEAKERS
ISSUE 378|COMPUTER SHOPPER|AUGUST 2019 93
ALEXASPEAKERS
AT THETIMEof its release,the original Echo
Show was easily the most technically able of
Amazon’s Echo family,soit’s good to see the
design refined fora2nd-gen model. It’s timely,
too: with the launch of the Google Home Hub,
Lenovo Smart Displayand JBL Link View,the
upgraded Echo Show has the chance to prove
it’s the best of these smart displays.
One wise change Amazon has made is
moving the speaker from the front to the
rear.This allows foralarger screen in a
shorter package,which is absolutely worth
the slightly bigger footprint. It hasn’t entirely
shed its gawkiness, however: since the top
bezel is broader than the other three (it
contains the 5-megapixel camera and several
microphones), the Echo Show still has a
lopsided look that’s somewhat out of kilter
with its ultra-modern smart home ambitions.
Four additional microphones sit on topof
the speaker,asdothe muteand volume
buttons. Acutout in the rear of the speaker
also contains the DC power input –like the
rest of Amazon’s Echo speakers, the Echo
Show is amains-only speaker and has no
battery –and aMicro USB port, but no
3.5mm input or output.
THE PANELS OF HISTORY
Amore significant upgrade is the display
itself.It’s streets ahead of the previous Echo
Show,with much more contrast and punchier
colours, and even the touchscreen surface
feels smoother and more pleasant. In fact,
the whole unit simply feels higher quality,
right down to the fabric-covered speaker.
It also sounds alot better than the first
Echo Show,being bassier,fuller sounding and
potentially much louder.It’s no match for
amore specifically audio-focused smart
speaker such as the Sonos One,nor is it
as refined as the Echo Plus, as the bass is
slightly toooverbearing on default
settings and cranking up the volume can
result in distortion. Nonetheless, it’s abig
improvement, and after some tinkering
with the EQ settings we’d happily use the
Echo Show as astandalone speaker.
It’s also worth pointing out that the
improved microphone arrayreally does
work well. The 2nd-gen Echo Show is far
more sensitive to the Alexa wake word
than the original version: whereas we
frequently had to repeat ourselves with the
old Echo Show,the new model is much better
at picking up speech.
AMAZON EchoShow
2ndGeneration
★★★★★
£ιι0•From http://www.amazon.co.uk
VERDICT
Biggerscreen,biggersound,better
microphones:thesecond-genEchoShowisa
muchimprovedsmarthomecontroller
The Echo Show also has aslightly
tweaked user interface and anumber of new
features. The first is greater smart home
control: drag afinger down from the topof
the touchscreen, tap the Lights &More
option and you’ll see ascrollable list of all
your smart home gear –from lights to
cameras –with toggle switches alongside.
This addresses an issue we’ve often had
with smart speakers: the need to remember
the name of every single connected device in
order to voice-control them. Unlike on the
Home Hub,you can also browse the web via
either Firefoxorthe Amazon Silk browser,
which gives you access to YouTube,among
other streaming video services.SINGALONG
Largely,what the screen on the Echo Show
can displayismuch the same as before: it can
show lyrics to songs played from Amazon
Music; it can stream TVsand movies directly
from Amazon Prime Video or YouTube; it can
patch you through to the live feed from
connected security cameras; and it can show
visuals to go with things such as your current
timers or weather and sports results.There’s plenty you might expect it to do
that it can’t, however.You can’t watch Netflix,
forinstance,and there are plenty of irritations
with third-party apps. Ask the Echo Show to
playBBC radio stations, forinstance,or
anything from the default TuneIn internet
radio service,and the onscreen experience
leaves alot to be desired. All you get is some
text telling you the current show and station,
arather low-res radio station icon on avast
swathe of plain background and some Alexa
tips at the bottom of the screen.
Frankly,this is awasted opportunity,and
afailure to make the most of the screen –the
Echo Show’s defining feature.There’s not
even apermanent spot forshowing the time;
you need to tell Alexa to go to the home
screen forthat.
Still, approach this as amore feature-rich
Echo speaker with video calling and playback
features and you won’t be toodisappointed.
After all, it works much like any other Echo
has done before it, with all the pros and cons
that come with using Alexa as your digital
assistant rather than Google Assistant. In
short, Google Assistant is better at answering
questions than Alexa, and it’s better at
understanding what you’re asking it as well.
Conversely,Alexa is better at the basics.
Through its Skills, it’s directly compatible with
many more items of smart home hardware.MUST GO ON
When it comes to smart displays in
general, the Google Home Hub is better at
responding to queries, and the JBL Link
View sounds better,sothe Echo Show
only really has its displayand smart home
hub to help it stayrelevant. Compared to
the rest of the Echo range,however,it’s
once again the most sophisticated
device of the lot. The screen is
particularly helpful forsmart home
usage,avaluable quality when the
Echo Plus just pips it on sound quality.