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Echo Show 8 2021 reviewed: Fancy video calls with a dash of disappointment

The much-improved camera on the second-gen Echo Show 8 will follow the action during video calls and track your presence to trigger routines. We take a close look at these new features to figure out if this smart display measures up to the competition. 0:00 Intro 1:07 The Basics 1:39 Sound Quality 2:25 Video Calls…

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The much-improved camera on the second-gen Echo Show 8 will follow the action during video calls and track your presence to trigger routines. We take a close look at these new features to figure out if this smart display measures up to the competition.

0:00 Intro
1:07 The Basics
1:39 Sound Quality
2:25 Video Calls
3:05 Camera Tracking Test
5:37 Camera Quality
5:51 Checking In Remotely
6:33 Smart Home Advancements
6:57 Recommendation

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16 Comments

16 Comments

  1. Auto Hunter

    June 8, 2021 at 1:01 pm

    Congrats to anybody who is early and who finds this comment useful. 🌚🌝👊💯tr

    • NoHomework16

      June 8, 2021 at 1:36 pm

      This is the most useless type of comment and should be enough to issue a 30 day ban

  2. stickonatree

    June 8, 2021 at 1:05 pm

    Amazon is going for that shotgun approach to home tech.

  3. JogBird

    June 8, 2021 at 1:06 pm

    its ‘affordabel” because it is constantly harvesting data from you

    • Michael Corcoran

      June 8, 2021 at 3:35 pm

      Yeah that and it’s also constantly upselling you

    • Ravi Teja KNTS

      June 8, 2021 at 4:10 pm

      Yeah, any service that relies on machine learning have to deal with it.

  4. Michael Corcoran

    June 8, 2021 at 3:35 pm

    Definitely not worth an upgrade if you already own an Echo Show. At least wait till your current one dies

  5. Michael Hughes

    June 8, 2021 at 6:07 pm

    You can now look at a live view of your camera on the old Show 8. And you can automatically record videos up to 1 minute (or take a photo) which is saved in Amazon Photos by adding a customized action “Alexa, take video” or “Alexa take a photo” when a contact or motion sensor is triggered.

  6. Jai Shyam

    June 8, 2021 at 7:44 pm

    The design has not changed. An upgraded camera and updated processor. Why can’t these companies make these products last longer? People keep laptops and tablets for 3-5 years. We should be keeping these devices for that long at least. Otherwise we are just going to keep dumping old devices in the landfill. The 13 megapixel camera should have been in the first version. Then no upgrade would have been needed. Just a software one.

  7. sixthday creation

    June 8, 2021 at 9:21 pm

    Nobody mentions testing out the iron man suit impact resistance?

    I would! And describe how it felt when my toe broke ….
    Just saying.

  8. Way

    June 9, 2021 at 1:36 am

    In a world of smart phones and tablets, I don’t understand why these devices even exist.

    • Scrufboy!

      June 9, 2021 at 7:37 pm

      The one plus…. No battery that will eventually die… A device on your desk, kitchen or nightstand that won’t deplete your smartphone or tablets battery cycles. Not perfect and probably not enough to sell some folks, but I can multi-task with laptop, phone and tablet and these things can handle the overload and play music, episodes of The Expanse or another show, news, weather… Video intercom… I hear these new ones can do zoom too. But you know… Like you said, cuz you’re right… They’re not for everyone. I love the deep sleep ambient tracks I can play on spotify

  9. Becky east

    June 9, 2021 at 7:03 pm

    Is it worth for your money

  10. Scrufboy!

    June 9, 2021 at 7:32 pm

    Wow… Incredibly ridiculous comment on the octa-core… Saying nothing of any consequence or value… How about comparing the speed and responsiveness of the 2 gens? You know, like a real reviewer would. SMH. Thankfully I’ll be able to do that myself before the day is over… Thanks for nothing!

  11. Christian Guevara

    June 9, 2021 at 9:59 pm

    I would bet my life CNet was going to recommend an Amazon product.

  12. Max SMoke

    June 9, 2021 at 10:29 pm

    I have never, and will never, use the Echo for video chatting. I might as well weld that camera shutter closed. It sounds like the best bet for non-video chat users is the older 8.

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