Amazon Echo Show 5: Review

Amazon continues to try and ensure your entire house is connected with its latest iteration of the Echo Show.

But whereas most companies try to massively deviate with each release, Amazon has decided simply to do what it needs to to be best in its field. But this is the smallest Alexa-powered Echo smart display with a five-inch screen, making it perfect for the bedroom or kitchen.

Also commendable is the fact it has been designed with sustainability in mind, with its fabric made from 100% post-consumer recycled polyester yarn and aluminium made from 100% recycled aluminium. This device’s packaging is made of 99% wood fibre-based materials from responsibly managed forests or recycled sources.

So, while the Echo Spot looks to clean up in the smart bedside clock department, the Echo Show 5 has a slightly different remit - the chance to continue with the Alexa speaker, but also to couple in video technology and boosted speakers to help deliver clearer music and sound.

With a cheaper price and the option to add video into a compact display, the Amazon Echo Show 5's pristine screen is readable in night mode, and compact enough to sit anywhere you want in the house.

While there were some teething issues with the QR Code not registering on a phone, simply bypassing that in set up proved to be easy enough to do and relatively painless to execute. Once it's ready to go, it's easy to use thanks to a crystal clear display, a menu that's easily legible and a few killer hooks that are enticing enough.

It's not really enough to commend how Alexa works in the device, as this is more a standard for Amazon's suite of devices, but it's little things like the ability to show photos off while on standby in a slideshow that just gives it the edge over competitors - particularly when it comes to personalising the device and making it feel part of your home, rather than just a piece of tech that happens to live there.

It's an important distinction to make for a device, given how much they proliferate our worlds. But with the addition of video and the capabilities to throw in contact with other devices and sync video to doorbells via the Alexa app, the Echo Show 5 really does build on its basics very well.

The video streaming itself again took a few steps to set up (largely due to an update of the Alexa App being needed) but the daytime view of what could be seen was compelling enough to watch for a while. While the device displays a message that someone's accessing it to watch, it gives a bit of piece of mind for homeowners looking to check in on either their property - or whatever their sleeping cats are doing.

Video plays nicely enough, and is roughly the size of a phone screen at times, but when you have those options to hand, it may be a tough ask to take away the mobility of them for the stationary needs of the device.

But as Amazon continues to make strides into the marketplace, perhaps the Amazon Echo Show 5 is a versatile device that does enough to tempt other platform users away. It's a compelling start, and given its compact nature, it's easy to make it part of your home and your daily life.

An Amazon Echo Show 5 was provided for the purpose of this review.