Control your home with an Echo Show!
These handy smart hubs are a useful addition to any smart home, as they allow you to communicate with your devices, set schedules, watch movies, follow recipes, as well as allow you to use the Alexa voice command feature for hands-free control over your connected smart devices.
In today’s article, we’ll be looking at Echo Show 5 vs. Show 8, and how the two models can benefit your home. So whether you prefer Echo Show’s 5 smaller dimensions making ideal for your nightstand, or Echo Show’s 8 larger screen size and improved speakers, read on to find out!
Feel free to use our navigation system to skip to any part you prefer.
Echo Show 5 vs. Show 8 — Things in Common
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Voice Control & Alexa – As you already probably imagined, both Amazon Echo Show 5 & 8 have been designed with hands-free control in mind.
So using the trusty Alexa voice assistant, you have total control over all your Alexa-enabled smart devices.
You can easily execute commands such as “Alexa, turn on the lights,” or “Alexa, show me the front door feed,” and many many more.
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Video Calling – Call your loved ones or create announcements in your home via your Echo! You can easily connect with anyone who has an Amazon device with a screen for a quick chat or even create announcements or video messages to plan events and more. Additionally, you can expect a clear feed with the Echo Show’s 5 & 8 1MP camera quality.
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Cooking Assistant – Have your Echo Show 5 or 8 guide you through the cooking process with its in-built cooking assistant! This handy tool allows you to view recipes, follow guides and more, making it a great tool to use in the kitchen.
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Camera Controls – For extra privacy, you can take advantage of the Echo’s built-in camera shutter and microphone/camera off button for an added peace of mind.
All you need to do is slide the button on the top of your Echo device, and the camera feed will be blocked off.
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Weather Report – Keep track of the time and weather with both Echo Show 5 and Show 8. Through its attractive interface, you can easily view the weather report, as well as create an aesthetic home screen display which you can update as often as you want using Google photos and the camera.
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Scheduling – Set timers, create schedules and more with your new Echo Show! You can use the ambient sunrise feature to start your day right or create specific routines to suit your busy lifestyle.
For example, you can have Alexa greets you in the morning with your lights switched on, coffee maker and a list of important tasks that need to be done to get your day started off right. Or, you can come back to a fully lit up home with the heater on and your favorite tune playing for a cozy environment.
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Music – Stream your favorite tunes with your Echo Show 5 and 8! You can seamlessly connect with Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon music and more to have your playlist blasting whenever you want.
What’s more, you can also enjoy listening to audiobooks with Audible, stream your videos with Prime Video or even get your Zen on with Headspace, Amazon Echo has you covered.
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Network – Both your Echo Show 5 and Show 8 use a 2.4GHz and 5GHz network speed. So ensure that your WiFi is up for that before setting up your new hub.
If however, you are worried that your network is sufficient for your Echo Show, you can also include a WiFi extender such as the NETGEAR Wifi Mesh Range Extender EX7000, to ensure your internet is strong enough.
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Alexa Guard – Another handy feature from both Echo Hubs is the Alexa Guard.
This is designed to act as a pair of ears for your home when you’re away, and it does so by listening to sounds that may indicate a potential threat and will alert you what it hears.
That can include, smoke & carbon monoxide detectors, breaking glass, and more.Alexa Guard can also randomize your smart lights to make it look like you are home when you’re out, or when you go on vacation.
As it uses a special algorithm to determine the right on and off patterns to make it appear as if you’re on the couch watching Netflix, even though you’re on the beach across the globe!
Echo Show 5 vs. Show 8 — Differences
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Difference #1: Screen – The biggest difference between the two models is the screen size.
Show 5 has smaller dimensions of 5.5″ with a 960 x 480 resolution, vs. Echo Show’s 8 larger measurements of 8.0″ with a 1280 x 800 resolution.
This isn’t necessarily a downside, rather it makes Echo Swo 5 more suited as a bedside display or more of a tool to use for voice control, scheduling, and music streaming.
While Echo Show’s 8 larger dimensions are better suited for movie streaming and for when using the cooking assistant.
Additionally, the Echo Show 2 Gen with its 10” HD screen and improved sound quality is ideal for those of you who enjoy watching movies, and long video calls.
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Difference #2: Speakers – Another way in which Echo Show 5 and Echo 8 differ from each other, is the speaker quality. Show 8 has a slightly more advanced sound with its 2 x 2” speaker size and 10W of power, vs. Show’s 5 1 x 1.7” at 4W.
It makes sense since Echo Show 8 is larger in size and is better suited for video streaming abilities.
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Difference #3: Hulu – For Hulu fans out there, unfortunately, Echo Show 5 doesn’t support Hulu streaming, while Echo Show 8 does.
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Difference #4: Price & Design – In terms of the price between the two, the difference isn’t that huge. As you’re really paying more for Echo Show’s larger screen and improved video streaming capabilities.
In terms of design, both models come in aesthetically pleasing charcoal or sandstone color tones that will add a modern twist to most homes.
Echo Show 5 vs. Show 8 — Comparison Chart
| Echo Show 5 | Echo Show 8 | |
|---|---|---|
| Screen | 5.5″ with 960 x 480 resolution |
8.0″ with 1280 x 800 resolution |
| Speakers | 1 x 1.7″ at 4W | 2 x 2″ at 10W |
| Voice Control | Yes | Yes |
| Cooking Assistant | Yes | Yes |
| Hulu | N/A | Yes |
| Alexa Guard | Yes | Yes |
| Camera | 1MP | 1MP |
| Weather Report | Yes | Yes |
| Clock | Yes | Yes |
| Stream Music | Yes | Yes |
| Scheduling | Yes | Yes |
| Video Calls | Yes | Yes |
| Camera Controls | Built-in camera shutter and microphone/ camera off button |
Built-in camera shutter and microphone/ camera off button |
| Alexa | Yes | Yes |
| Size | 5.8″ x 3.4″ x 2.9″ | 7.9″ x 5.4″ x 3.9 “ |
| Weight | 14.5 oz | 36.6 oz |
| Network | Dual-band Wi-Fi supports 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi networks |
Dual-band Wi-Fi supports 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi networks |
Echo Show 5 vs. Show 8 — Accessories
Now that we have gone over both models, let’s check out some of the accessories which you can include.
For those of you with kids, it might not be a bad idea to include the Echo Glow. This smart lamp is compatible with Alexa which you can use to control the brightness and even change the colors to entertain your kids.
Additionally, you can also create fun routines by creating different lighting cues, and it even plays music too!
If you love a smart home, you’ll really love the ! This handy tool transforms your dumb appliances into smart ones and allows you to enable even more appliances with Alexa, for a fully automated smart home.
And lastly, we recommend the ecobee Smart Thermostat, which allows you to monitor the temperature in your home using Alexa voice commands, as well as use voice commands to adjust the thermostat, and more!
Echo Show 5 vs. Show 8 — Our Thoughts
In the end, when it comes to choosing between the two Echos, it really depends on what you wish to use it for.
The Echo Show 8 isn’t that much bigger than Show 5 or even that much smaller than Echo Show Gen 2, but the size difference between the siblings is noticeable in everyday usage.
While Echo Show 5 is still a great device, especially if you decide to purchase a secondary smart screen, and don’t care too much about video streaming, preferring to use it mainly as a way to have voice control over your devices, scheduling and check in on weather reports.
However, we feel that Echo Show 8 is the superior model between the two.
As it comes with slightly improved speaker quality, better resolution, and is better suited for video streaming purposes.
Last update on 2024-04-19 at 03:10 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
