It may be thrilling when a model like Amazon drops new variations of its units, however it can be overwhelming to determine which one is greatest for you (and if it is value paying greater than its authentic model). After testing the second generations of each the Echo Show 5 and the Echo Show 8, I am going to stroll you thru what’s the identical, what’s totally different, what they bring about to the desk in comparison with the primary gen variations — and which one you should purchase throughout Prime Day 2024.
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Whereas these stationary units don’t have the portability or performance of an iPad or a Floor pill, they work flawlessly with Alexa and function a wise residence HQ to make your day-to-day life just a bit bit extra streamlined.
Pricing
Whereas the 2nd gen Echo Present 5 is not obtainable, the most recent Echo Show 5 retails for $89.99. The Echo Show 8 has been phased out, however you may nonetheless get some variations of it for $129.99.
Dimension issues
Probably the most noticeable distinction between the Echo Present 5 and the Echo Present 8 is, in fact, their dimension. The Echo Present 5 has a 5.5-inch display and 6 inch by 3 inch footprint, whereas the Echo Present 8 is considerably bigger — boasting an 8-inch display and an 8 inch by 4 inch footprint.
Echo Present 5 (2nd gen) is smaller and would work higher in a bed room or workplace.
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Echo Present 8 (2nd gen) is considerably bigger — greatest for a central home hub.
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For my part, that makes the Echo Present 8 method higher suited to be your loved ones “hub” — positioned in a central location just like the kitchen or eating room for loopy straightforward video calls with the grandparents utilizing Alexa. All you need to do is add contacts you’d wish to name within the Alexa app in your cellphone. Nonetheless, it will not be a crucial buy if you have already got a pill with nice video performance.
Regardless, the Echo Present 8 gives another benefits for video calls along with its dimension, too.
Then again, the Echo Present 5 can be higher in locations the place you need the gadget’s performance, with out it being entrance and middle — like your desk or nightstand.
And in the event you’re a sucker for colorways, the Echo Present 8 solely comes within the Glacier White and Charcoal colour choices. You will get extra selection with the brand new Echo Present 5, which is available in Glacier White, Charcoal, and Deep Sea Blue. The Echo Present 5 Children is available in Chameleon inexperienced.
Digicam and video calling
The Echo Present 5 bought an honest digicam improve from its 1st gen model — rising the megapixels from 1 to 2. Nonetheless, it was an entire totally different ball recreation for the Echo Present 8. Whereas the first gen Echo Present 8 provided a 1-MP digicam, this revamped mannequin comes geared up with a 13-MP digicam.
The picture is extremely crisp, and alongside the bigger display make the Echo Present 8 the video name winner. However that’s not even one of the best half: The brand new Echo Present 8 options auto-framing features that mechanically pan and zoom the digicam to maintain it targeted on the individuals in view of it.
Each units additionally characteristic some helpful connectivity options, like Intercom to web page each Alexa gadget in the home (“We’re leaving in fifteen minutes, so be prepared!”) and Drop In, which lets you video chat with any linked Alexa gadget.
Zoom calls
The Echo Present 8 may also be a part of Zoom calls, whereas the Echo Present 5 can’t. To be completely trustworthy, I couldn’t get the Zoom name characteristic to work after a number of tries as a result of not one of the calls I joined had a dial-in quantity.
I’ll nonetheless say the Echo Present 8 wins on this one simply because it’s theoretically potential, and I’m actually hoping to have the ability to be a part of Zoom calls from it quickly to unencumber my laptop computer and further monitor for in-meeting multi-tasking.
Child-friendly content material
In the course of the preliminary set-up, you may select to make any Echo Present gadget a devoted gadget for a child. This provides you entry to some expanded parental controls, which is nice for older youngsters, tweens, and youths that you simply nonetheless wish to protect from among the worst issues the web has to supply.
Nonetheless, the Echo Present 5 Children is the primary and solely Echo Present that’s bottom-to-top and side-to-side designed for teenagers. It options the enjoyable Chameleon look (dinosaur scales, based on my 5-year-old), and comes with a free 12 months of Amazon Children (a $69 worth for Prime members) — which gives curated books, video games, and movies only for youngsters far past what’s obtainable by way of a fundamental Prime membership. As well as, it comes with souped-up parental controls so you may tweak issues much more.
Alexa performance
Each the 2nd gen Echo Present 5 and the 2nd gen Echo Present 8 have some new Alexa talents that their 1st gen counterparts don’t.
First up is the house monitoring operate, the place you may remotely entry the digicam in your gadget from the Alexa app simply to test in on issues. You’ll want a WiFi connection to do it, however I had no issues getting it to work. I can think about it could be nice to test in on pets, the babysitter, or simply to take a peek at your house whereas on trip to ensure the whole lot is on the up-and-up.
Subsequent is the addition of motion-enabled routines. This enables Alexa to detect whenever you enter or depart a room and use that exercise to begin a routine. Truthful warning, this could open a can of worms re: privateness, however it additionally opens up some thrilling potentialities for the sensible residence buff. You can have Alexa learn your calendar whenever you stroll into your workplace, or flip off all smart-enabled units when there’s no movement detected in the lounge — and people are simply two easy concepts. With the addition of Alexa-enabled units or sensible plugs, your choices open up much more. Amazon does provide methods to manage these settings if you’d like to delete recordings or handle your knowledge.
Mashable Offers
All of those units characteristic all the identical Alexa performance you got here to anticipate from the earlier iteration of Echo Present units.
Which one is best?
For under $45 extra, the Echo Show 8 was the clear winner for me. Not solely does it have a bigger display and a 13-MP digicam with auto-framing (making it the very best for video calling), it additionally lets you hop on Zoom conferences, if/when you may get that operate to work correctly.
If video calls and Zoom conferences aren’t your concern, then the Echo Show 5 remains to be a terrific selection — just like the 2nd gen Echo Present 8, the brand new Echo Present 5 boasts most of the similar expanded Alexa features, like residence monitoring and movement detection routines. And naturally, if you’d like one which’s made for teenagers, then you definitely’re gonna wish to go along with the groovy inexperienced Echo Present 5 Children.
Total, I’m a fan of each, however the Echo Present 8 got here out on high for our residence.
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