Amazon Echo Show 5 (3rd Gen, 2023) Review: A Better Experience
- Display looks beautiful
- Clear audio
- Lots of functionality
- Touchscreen still isn't great
- Poor camera quality
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Amazon is constantly releasing updated versions of its in-house devices, and recently the Echo Show 5 received a reboot. But has the retail giant made any significant changes to its device, and have any significant issues been solved since the last Echo 5 show came out? The whole device seems to be redesigned, with a more wedge-like appearance and a new screen. The power wire is also new, so if you were planning on tossing an old Echo device and just plugging the wire into this, it's not going to work. The new Show 5 comes in three colors: charcoal, cloud blue, and glacier white (we're reviewing the last of these three options).
The quality of this Echo device is actually a huge improvement over its predecessors. If you compare it to something like an echo dot, obviously the screen adds a whole bunch of functionality. But it's when you compare it to a second-generation Echo Show 5, you really see how far Amazon has come with this device. It's still not perfect, and a few mistakes were repeated, but this may well be the best Echo product currently on the market.
Amazon has provided SlashGear with a sample of its new device for review purposes.
Setup is a pain
Oddly enough the Echo Show 5's main shortcoming, when compared to other Echo devices anyway, is its setup process. While other Echo devices just connect to your phone via WiFi or Bluetooth and use the Alexa app to get the information they need to complete the setup process, the Show 5 makes you work. You have to select a bunch of things like your preferred language, then you have to sign into your WiFi, then you have to sign into your Amazon account. It's all a massive pain.
You can skip some of the setup process by scanning a QR code, but it's still far more cumbersome than setting up an Echo Dot. It's not the worst thing in the world, and you'll likely only have to go through it once. But it does beg the question — if you can ship cheaper devices with a far simpler and less annoying setup system, why not include that option on your pricier devices too?
It's one of the most multi-functional Echoes
If you've previously owned an Echo device, you'll already know this. The third-gen Amazon Echo Show 5 is designed to do an awful lot. You can use it to watch live video streams, YouTube, news channels, and your favorite Prime Video shows. You can play music on it, use it as a digital photo frame, use it to display your to-do list, play games, and check the weather on it. There's a built-in webcam and microphones, so you can video call your friends and family, provided they have the Alexa app or their own Echo Show device.
For those of you who already have Alexa set up with one device in your home, this Echo Show will add that same functionality to another room. If you don't have an Amazon-based smart home, you can use this to set one up. This device also interacts with — and can form part of — your home security system. Basically, this device is not a one-trick pony. It does an awful lot of things.
The screen's colors are vibrant and sharp
The best thing about this device is its 5.5-inch screen. Not the touchscreen, we'll confront that later, but the visual component of the display. It's very nice, almost beautiful, and is by far the best visual experience on any small Amazon Echo product. The colors are very vibrant, and you can happily stare at the device flipping through artwork or watching video for extended periods of time. Images are also pretty sharp on the Echo Show 5, so watching videos is a pleasant experience — and it makes a solid digital photo frame.
There is a downside with videos, and that comes via the limited number of apps available. Even YouTube has to run through Amazon's unpopular Silk web browser. This is something Amazon could fix by getting a few streaming services into its app store or pushing out a substantial update.
Perhaps the most important element in the substantial improvements we're seeing with this Echo device (vs its predecessors) is the "infinity edge cover glass" that now adorns its front. It complements the overall sleeker look Amazon has adopted with this generation of Echo Show 5, and actually turns the device into something you quite want to look at. It's something that will actually look good in a living room or at a bedside, instead of the clunky, dull, devices that made up the previous generations.
It sounds a lot better than most Echo products
Maybe it's the new wedge-shaped speaker, maybe it's the increased bass, but Amazon has done something to make the Echo Show 5 sound better than ever. It's still not as good as a decent soundbar, or specialist high-fidelity speakers. But it is pretty good for an Amazon Echo. The sound on the Echo Show series has always been a bit better than what you'll get from an Echo Dot or that device's equivalent. And the third-generation show has the best sound yet.
While it hasn't mentioned exactly what has happened with its speaker system, Amazon promises "deeper bass and clearer vocals" (compared to its predecessors) and duly delivers on both counts. There's none of that slight tinniness you get with the Echo Dot. However, speaker placement may mean you have to be careful where you place this device in a room. The speakers are at the back of the device, so if you have thin walls and place it next to the divide between you and your neighbor — they may hear more of your music than you do.
The touchscreen is still bad
While many improvements have been made to this device, there is one area where it's been bad from the start. As with previous generations, the touchscreen is absolutely awful and the user interface is a pain to navigate.
This isn't too bad a problem, as it's an Amazon Echo, and it has voice controls. But there are times when swiping through a menu and prodding the option you want would be easier or more polite. Like if you're trying to turn the lights off and everyone else is asleep. Unfortunately, your frustrated mumbles will likely be louder than a whispered voice command as you miss swipe, struggle to navigate the awkward menus or see presses go unregistered.
Although this isn't a deal breaker, we do live in the year 2023 and even obscenely cheap smartphones manage to incorporate good quality, responsive, touch screens. So you'd think this is an area where Amazon could make a big improvement while staying within budget.
Voice commands are responsive
Amazon has added an extra microphone to the Echo Show 5, so it should hear your voice commands more clearly than ever. Or that's what they say anyway. The truth is, the Echo Show series has been almost annoyingly good at picking up what you're saying for years now. It should be able to comfortably pick up a command from anywhere in the room, and you can even slightly raise your voice if you want to tell Alexa what to do from outside the room.
If all of this creeps you out, and you want to disable the wide array of microphones that are attached to this device, you can do so by pressing the mute button on the back. We recently reviewed the Echo Pop and noted that the manual buttons were a little hard and uncomfortable. This isn't a problem on the third-generation Echo Show 5, they're smoother and of far higher quality. They also have more of a tactile feeling than previous generations of Show, which had flat, round, buttons with slightly raised symbols on them.
Camera quality could be better
The touchscreen isn't the only area where Amazon has skimped out a bit. There's a built-in two-megapixel camera that can be used for things like video calls and home security. Unfortunately, like many high-end laptops, they seem to have used the equivalent of cameras you used to find in early 2000s flip phones. The quality is absolutely terrible.
If you bought the Show 5 with security in mind, you should also be aware that it's pretty useless as a security camera. It isn't the quality that lets it down here, instead, it's the angle. The face of the device leans backward, so if you place it in the corner of the room you'll get a great view of your ceiling and not much else. You can sort of wedge things behind the back of it to adjust the angle, but this does create a situation where it may fall over. If you do settle on an angle you like, you can enable an option that lets you access the camera feed at any time through the Amazon Echo app. If the thought of someone accessing your Show's camera worries you, you'll be pleased to know that there's a privacy filter. This filter is a piece of plastic that slides over the front of the camera and is pretty foolproof.
A decent buy at launch
At full price, the third-gen Echo Show 5 retails for just under $90 on Amazon. That's a lot for your average Amazon Echo product, but this time it may actually be worth the outlay. Then again, Amazon has sales quite often and loves to drastically reduce the price of its in-house tech during those sale periods. If you spot this at a deep discount, it may be worth buying one, or even a few if you're looking to expand your smart home network.
The broad functionality is a plus, but the fact it does a great job on both the audio and video fronts means this is probably your best pick of the current Echo series of products. It might also make a great gift if you're looking for something to fill a student's stocking or want an interesting way to keep in touch with grandma. You may see a previous Echo Show 5 on sale for a more attractive price — but don't cheap out. The third-generation Echo Show 5 is worth the extra cash.