Echo Show 5 is Amazon’s best implementation of a smart display yet. It still has the same limitations as the larger Echo Show — no Google services, no real apps, no Netflix, no proper YouTube support, etc. — but its smaller size means you probably wouldn’t use most of those things on it anyway. Its much lower cost compared to the $230 Show makes it easier to accept that it’s good at a limited set of features and no more.
A new Alexa Sunrise feature will gradually brighten the screen when it’s time for the alarm to go off, and you can use your voice to snooze or stop the alarm. You can also tap the top of the Show 5 to snooze the alarm, much like you can do on the Lenovo Smart Clock or a traditional alarm clock.Alexa skills, and a new communications hub for all of the ways you can talk to people on the device. More often than not, it’s usually easier to use voice commands for most of these features, but it might be a good way to not annoy the person you share a bed with when you want to turn out the lights.
It’s also the best smart alarm clock available now, with a good range of functions, loud and clear audio, and easy-to-use voice commands. At $90 (and with Amazon’s penchant for putting Echo devices on sale, likely frequently less), the Echo Show 5 is less expensive than Amazon’s own Echo Spot and just $10 more than the far less impressive Lenovo Smart Clock. The combination of an accessible price and good execution earn it an easy spot on my nightstan.
-Meher Naz Mourin
YSSE, Intern
