Amazon has just unveiled new versions of its Echo Show 5 and Echo Show 8 smart displays, featuring upgraded cameras in both models, with the Echo Show 8 getting a clever wide-angle camera that can zoom and follow you even when you move around, making it even better for video calls.
These are two of the best smart speakers available to buy right now, and it’s great to see them get an upgrade with Amazon Prime Day looming on the horizon.
The new Echo Show 8’s camera is 13MP, and it uses that big resolution and its wide field of view to add flexibility. If you’re sitting neatly in front of it, it will crop in and just show you – even if you’re not sitting in the centre of frame. It detects you, and adjusts to match.
That applies if you get up and move too – it’ll follow you so you’re still visible to whoever you’re calling (though the device itself doesn’t move, unlike the Echo Show 10). If more people enter its view, it’ll reframe so everyone can be seen clearly.
We’ve just seen this same tech employed in the iPad Pro (2021) and its ‘Centre Stage’ camera – the Echo Show 8 does it for a lot cheaper, of course.
The camera has a privacy cover, and is paired with stereo speakers for big and clear sound. A new eight-core processor powers it all, which should help keep its responses snappy.
The new Echo Show 8 keeps the same price as the previous version, which is £119/$129/AU$199, and is available to pre-order now, and ships “next month”.
Meanwhile, the new Echo Show 5 is a more modest upgrade, but includes an improved HD camera, and comes in a new ‘Deep Blue Sea’ colour in addition to ‘Charcoal’ and ‘Glacier White’. The real draw is the new lower price: it now costs just £74.99/$84.99/AU$119, and again is available to order today with release “next month”.
