Amazon Unveils New Echo Show 8 With Pan and Zoom, Cheaper Echo Show 5 With HD Camera, More [Video]

Amazon today unveiled a new Echo Show 8, Echo Show 5, and the first Echo Show 5 Kids. The next generation smart displays feature better cameras for improved video calling.

“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. “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.”

Echo Show 8 – $129.99
The new Echo Show 8 has a vibrant 8-inch HD, adaptive color display; a powerful 13-megapixel camera with a built-in camera shutter; a new octa-core processor; and dual stereo speakers for clear, balanced sound. The upgraded camera automatically pans and zooms while you’re on video calls, so everyone stays centered in the frame. Just ask to make video calls via Alexa or say, “Alexa, call my family” to join a group call with multiple people. To add some fun to an Alexa call, soon you’ll be able to simply tap on the screen to choose from animated visual and audio in-call reactions, like hearts, laughs, or confetti. You will also be able to turn on in-call Augmented Reality (AR) effects, so you can appear in street art, a classic painting, and more. Support for Zoom also means you can quickly join meetings with coworkers, friends, and family by just saying, “Alexa, join my Zoom meeting.”

With dual stereo speakers and an HD display, Echo Show 8 delivers an immersive entertainment experience. Simply ask to browse TV series or movies from Prime Video, Netflix, and Hulu, or ask Alexa to play your favorite music from Amazon Music, Apple Music, or Spotify. Alexa will also now show you music playlists or station recommendations based on the Amazon Music or Spotify song playing, making it easier to discover your next favorite artist or song.

Echo Show 8 also offers even more ways to personalize your experience. With the new shared home screen, approved family and friends can share recent photos with you, and they’ll appear right on screen so you never miss an important moment. Plus, if you’re a Prime member, you have unlimited, full-resolution cloud photo storage with Amazon Photos—and the adaptive color display on Echo Show 8 makes your photos look great in any light.

Echo Show 5 – $84.99
With its compact, 5.5-inch display, Echo Show 5 fits easily in any room of your house, and with three colors to choose from—Charcoal, Glacier White, and the new Deep Sea Blue—it seamlessly blends into your décor. You can ease into the day with a Sunrise Routine that turns your lights on gradually, plays the news, and shows you the weather for the day. You can also catch up on video highlights from your favorite sports team; watch news from NPR, CNN, ABC, and more; or, after working out with your Echo Buds, say, “Alexa, show my workout history” to see how many calories you burned, the distance you ran, or the duration of your workout.

Echo Show 5 has an upgraded HD camera with double the pixels, making it perfect for a quick video call or to Drop In on the kitchen to see if dinner is ready. 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.

Alexa is getting even more proactive. Now, set up a Routine to turn on the lights as soon as you walk into a room in the morning to start your day. Or, to conserve energy, you can create a Routine to have Alexa power off your Fire TV if you left it on after going to bed. Soon, you can also set Alexa to recognize certain sounds—like a baby crying, dog barking, person coughing or snoring—and automate a series of actions. For example, you can create a Routine that gradually turns on your bedroom light when Alexa detects the sound of a baby crying or turns up white noise when your partner snores at night.

Echo Show 5 Kids – $94.99
The all-new Echo Show 5 Kids comes in a new and fun design that fits into the coolest of kids’ rooms. Kids can easily personalize the home screen of their device with colorful, kid-friendly clock themes; ask Alexa for homework help; make video calls to pre-approved contacts; and set alarms to wake up to the voice of their favorite characters. Amazon Kids+ also offers thousands of hours of premium entertainment and educational content—listen to Audible books, have dance parties to your favorite music, learn while having fun with skills like Lemonade Stand and Name that Animal, and more. Echo Show 5 Kids includes a 1-year subscription to Amazon Kids+ and a 2-year worry-free guarantee—if it breaks, return it, and Amazon will replace it for free.

Pricing & Availability
Echo Show 8 ($129.99) is available in Charcoal and Glacier White; Echo Show 5 ($84.99) is available in Charcoal, Glacier White, and Deep Sea Blue; and Echo Show 5 Kids ($94.99) is available in Chameleon. Pre-orders start today and devices will begin shipping next month.

Take a look at the video below for more details!

Read More