Amazon is adding a new device to its smart speaker line-up: the Amazon Echo Show 5.
Half the size of its larger sibling, the Echo Show, the Show 5 has a new compact design with a 5.5-inch display and a more affordable price tag at £79.99. This makes it slightly smaller than Google’s Home Hub, with a 7-inch screen, and more manageable than the 10-inch screen on the Echo Show.
You can do all the things on the Echo Show 5 that you can on the bigger version, such as play music through Amazon Music or Spotify, access the thousands of Alexa Skills that are available, watch TV shows and news clips, and video call friends and family with other Show devices.
In terms of speaker capability, Amazon says the sound offering is similar to the Echo Dot, though you can link up to other speakers through Bluetooth or by using a 3.5mm stereo cable.
A new integration with wikiHow will enable you to access how-to-videos by voice that are sure to be useful for everyday life, guiding you through actions such as how to cut up a mango or learn to meditate. This feature, which is coming soon, is all because Amazon and Google still haven’t worked out their spat which prevents Amazon from hosting a YouTube app on its Echo Show devices, though you can watch YouTube videos through a browser.
Amazon says it is improving the smart home dashboard to make it easier to control smart home devices. Customers will be able to view the camera feed from a smart doorbell and access information about a smart thermostat.
As well, a smart alarm feature named “Alexa Sunrise” will gently brighten the screen and display a sunrise animation before your alarm goes off so you can watch up in a more natural way if you decide to keep the speaker in a bedroom.
There’s also a renewed emphasis on the privacy features available. There’s an off button to electronically disconnect both the built-in microphone and camera and there’s also a light to indicate when audio or video is streaming to the Amazon cloud.
For when you want to use the device but don’t want the camera on, there’s a built-in camera shutter to cover it up and still be able to use the voice features.
In addition, a new Alexa Privacy Hub is coming which will display all the information about the controls you have over the Alexa experience. It’s becoming easier to delete recordings too: simply say “Alexa, delete what I just said” or “Alexa, delete everything I said today”, and the recordings will be deleted. These two privacy features won’t be available when the device ships however, you’ll have to wait for them.
The new Amazon Echo Show is available two colours, charcoal and sandstone, and you can pre-order it now for £79.99 from Amazon.co.uk. The devices will start shipping in the UK next month.
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