Amazon Echo Show 10 review: Unmoved
Zoom and other third-party teleconference software has the opportunity to create an entire new dimension for these products, especially with the aforementioned blurring of home and work life. The Best Smart Display for Video Calls The Amazon Echo Show 10 is a significant departure from other models, and its motion tracking capabilities come at a pretty high price. Again, not everyone will have the same misgivings. An opt-in surveillance function called Live View turns the Echo Show 10 into a rotating security camera. Of course, for most of these products, video cameras are a given — and understandably so, with smart screens like the new Echo Show 10 edging into the teleconferencing space as the line between work and home has become far more fuzzy for many. If you move the Echo Show 10 to another location — you can run Device Mapping again to readjust it. A few times when I called to Alexa while the screen was facing the other way, it rotated toward me and then overshot, facing me at an awkward angle until I called Alexa again. The Echo Show 10 has a number of improvements over its predecessor. Image Credits: Brian Heater The notion of creating a home device that fades into its surroundings is really out the window with that feature. The Echo Show 10 can also serve as a home security device on its own. You can also ask Alexa to play from Amazon Music, Apple Music, Pandora, Spotify, and live radio from TuneIn, or you can listen to audiobooks through Audible. It made using the touch controls awkward while motion tracking was turned on. Like other Echo Shows, the camera has a physical shutter, along with volume controls and a microphone mute button on top. 99 Amazon Echo Show 10, which has a motorized base that lets its 10. It even works if you have multiple people on camera at once. Turning the volume down a little will help reduce this on bass-heavy tracks. A color-adaptive technology works to keep your images looking good no matter the light in the room. 99 and is available in two colors: charcoal and glacier white. It looks and sounds fantastic, and offers all the important features like the updated home screen, video streaming and smart home controls. That, in particular, has been a for the company. His work and analysis has been seen in GamePro, Tested. A black frame sits flush with the screen, measuring half an inch on the sides and bottom, and a full inch on the top. The front-firing audio also moves as the screen does. The speaker-and-screen assembly is mounted on a base with a brushless motor that rotates the entire device 350 degrees. The Echo stands out from the pack because its camera and screen physically move. Amazon has taken a few steps I applaud. The audio quality is fantastic, thanks to dual front-firing tweeters and a powerful woofer that delivers a satisfyingly thumping bass beat and crisp highs. Amazon will walk you through the feature during setup, including which direction you want the screen facing as a default and how much rotation it offers on either side. Because my hand kept waving over the camera as I reached down to touch the screen, the Echo Show 10 turned slightly to the right to regain a visual lock on me. Sometimes the screen would follow my husband and not me, even though I was the one talking and he was moving around the kitchen. 7-inch cylinder covered in grille cloth similar to what you find on recent Echo speakers. The rotating feature is primarily a way to reduce user friction. Engadget That said, this panning and zooming is somewhat inconsistent. While I was initially creeped out by the display stalking me around the kitchen, I did appreciate being able to glance at the results in a near-instant. You will be able to stream videos from Netflix, Hulu, and Prime Video right away, however. The brushless motor is completely silent, ensuring that no buzzing or other unwanted noises are picked up by the microphones which is especially important during video calls, as the Echo Show 10 follow you around the room. Note that motion tracking only applies to horizontal rotation. The processing that powers screen motion happens on device — no images or videos are sent to the cloud to provide the motion feature. The attempts to solve that problem. The form factor certainly makes sense, essentially serving as an Alexa-enabled touchscreen control for your various connected devices. You see the recipe on screen with step-by-step instructions, which you control with voice commands or via the touch screen. As with other Alexa smart displays, the Echo Show 10 supports video streaming from Amazon Prime, Netflix and Hulu, along with cooking videos from sources like SideChef and AllRecipes. If the audio service selection seems paltry, you can pair your phone or other device with the Echo Show 10 and use it like a. Will is also an ISF Level II-certified TV calibrator, which ensures the thoroughness and accuracy of all PCMag TV reviews. It's perfectly functional, if not fantastic. The main draw for the is its smart motion. Sometimes it rotates just far enough for me to be in frame and it stops. You can use voice or touch to control lighting, and the screen can monitor feeds from security cameras, including, naturally, Amazon-owned Ring. Purchases you make through our links may earn us a commission. After a quick setup process that lets the device rotate around its full range of motion to determine how it should move based on its surroundings, it locked onto me and followed me faithfully every time I used Alexa. It can work in conjunction with ADT, Ring, and other compatible. Alexa can control your compatible , and supports most major brands like Arlo, Kwikset, iRobot, Ring, and TP-Link. 99 , though you're also getting a larger screen and more powerful sound. The Home Monitoring feature checks the room the Show is in for activity, and can do things like periodically turn the lights on and off when the room is empty, or play a news report when someone enters. Will Greenwald has been covering consumer technology for a decade, and has served on the editorial staffs of CNET. Not everyone will want a camera tracking their every move, of course, which is why you can disable the motion system at any time. By contrast, a similar device from Facebook called offers a 114 to 140-degree field of view, depending on the model, because it can only pan, not rotate. When the device physically follows you around the room, however, this stuff is top of mind. The Echo Show 10's smart technology works by detecting human figures through sight and sound in the room, but. The opening acoustic guitar plucks get a strong sense of low-frequency resonance while still showing plenty of string texture in the higher frequencies. But there are other new concerns. This is either a plus or a minus, depending on how you use the device, and how many people are around. 3-inch woofer, three 2-inch midrange drivers, and a 1-inch tweeter. The screen portion is built very much like an Amazon Fire tablet, with a similar plastic body. You can even swipe left to right to remotely rotate your Echo Show 10 if you feel like taking a look around. The third-generation Echo Show 10 contains a new AZ1 Neural Edge processor, too, which makes it faster for Alexa to give you a response when you ask questions or give commands. And, when my husband ducked out of the shot, the camera went right back to focusing on me. The lower-frequency thump of the backbeat that really gives it an ominous drive is lacking, however, sitting a bit behind the higher-frequency elements of the mix. The company created some easter eggs to show off what the Echo Show 10 can do. The display looks nicely saturated and reasonably bright, but it's also quite reflective, which can be an issue if you have bright overhead lights and the screen is tilted back. Another neat feature that provides security in a different way is remote viewing. 1 inches and features 1,280-by-800-pixel resolution. Options include , which uses facial recognition to identify which family member is in front of it, and , which offers its own more limited ability to track faces during calls. Smart displays have proven to be pretty useful around the house. The rotating Echo Show 10, on the other hand, automatically swings to face you whether you're sitting on the couch, or when you're up and walking somewhere else in the room. Netflix and Hulu are now available on the device for video, and Apple Music and Spotify have been added on the music side. Please also read our and , which became effective December 20, 2019. 1-inch screen is a nice size, as well. Alexa behaves in the same way on all of them: you ask it to do something, then it provides a polite response and does that thing. For entertainment, Alexa can provide audio and video on request from a handful of services. They have microphones and speakers, and you can talk to them and they answer back, but they otherwise just stay still. So it appears that at least the Echo Show 10 is trying to learn. From the Alexa app on a phone, a member of the household can remotely see through the camera, which continues to track whoever is nearby. 1-inch screen rotate to face you, wherever you are in the room. It's a feature that you must actively set up, but once you do, it sends you Smart Alerts if the Echo Show detects the sound of smoke or carbon monoxide alarms, or glass breaking. At the time of publication, Amazon is offering a bundle that includes a Blink Mini security camera with the purchase of an Echo Show 10. In addition, you can make domestic phone calls to any non-emergency phone number in the US, Canada, or Mexico through the device. If you have your heart set on an Alexa smart display, the Echo Show 8 is overall a much wiser choice than the Echo Show 10, swiveling screen or otherwise. Similar to previous versions of the Echo Show 10, you can cook using interactive recipes from supported sites, including Food Network Kitchen. You can also change the range manually by going into settings. Not to mention that services like Spotify can be set as the default for music playback. In a different form, this is like installing a speed-dome security camera in your kitchen. Alexa can provide spoken information like weather reports, sports scores, unit conversions, and general trivia, with relevant supplemental info appearing on the display. Honestly, where the Show is currently sitting on my desk is really the perfect placement to use it for calls while working on my computer. 99 per month , you get additional security support, such as the ability to make hands-free voice calls to emergency numbers, other noise detection features, and siren sounds or dog barking sounds that play to deter potential intruders. A short arm extends from the top edge of the cylinder, on which a 9-by-9. Since the camera is in the top right corner this often results in the display facing slightly away from me. You can also mute the microphones in the same way. The original Echo was a cylinder, later models have had a spherical shape, and the Echo Show devices are effectively wedges with screens on the front. Audio Performance The Echo Show 10 is equipped with a three-inch woofer and two one-inch tweeters, making it the most powerful of Amazon's smart displays the Echo Show 8 has a pair of 2-inch drivers, and the has a single 1. Of course, the company included one on its larger Max device, so the option is there, if you want it. Amazon says that third-party developers are working on skills that make use of the rotating screen. Their screens point in one direction, and if you want them to point somewhere else, you have to move them yourself. It's a surprising jump forward in usability, as you no longer have to stay in one place to see the display or make a video call. As a result, the new Echo Show 10 takes up a lot more space — while the 2018 Echo Show measured around 9. When you speak your chosen wake word to activate the display, the screen automatically rotates to face you, and will continue rotating to follow you around the room as you move. The bottom half is a barrel-shaped 6. The device is available in black or white. are usually stationary screens. At the very least, it would give me a compelling reason to get more use out of that 13-megapixel camera on a regular basis. com, and several other publications. Like the fourth-generation , the Echo Show 10 features a built-in for wider smart home device compatibility, and can optionally work with Amazon Sidewalk. 99 Echo Show 8 remains our Editors' Choice winner for its superior value for the price. 99 is an excellent, affordable alternative that sits between the Echo Show 5 and Echo Show 8 in size and power. Additions like these have really made the smart screen category a much more compelling and capable one. Here you can limit the applications it will use to follow you, require voice to use the feature or disable it entirely. Cookie banner We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audiences come from. And the Echo Studio eclipses them all with a 5. But other things I can accomplish in three taps with my iPad require grating conversations with Alexa on the Echo Show. Oh, and a couple of connected lightbulbs, mostly because why not? The Blink Mini is an with 1080p HD video, night vision, motion detection, and two-way audio. You can adjust these later in settings, as well. And as we chat, the Echo Show works behind the scenes to follow me, spinning up to nearly 360 degrees. This month has seen rumors that Amazon is working on a wall-mounted smart home hub. If you makes lots of video calls or have limited mobility, the Echo Show 10 is absolutely worth considering. Follow Reviewed on , , and for the latest deals, product reviews, and more. Zoom — arguably the most compelling addition from a software standpoint — is coming later. How would you feel if you were a teenager knowing your parents could peer in on you at any moment? Image Credits: Brian Heater For the time being, I think the most compelling case to be made for both the camera and automatic screen swiveling is as a makeshift security camera. I was skeptical, but the rotating screen does prove somewhat useful. 9-inch HW screen is attached. When you set up a smart home in this way, you can ask Alexa, via your Echo Show 10, to turn the lights on and off, see a particular camera's view, such as that from a , and more. You can turn off the camera to disable the motion as well. It can also be used to follow you as you move around while video calling a feature the competition has offered through zooming and cropping. It was smart enough to keep both my husband and myself in the frame. I was skeptical about whether the rotating base justifies the extra expense over the Echo Show 8, but after a few minutes of using it, I was sold. Echo devices are mostly known as Alexa smart speakers, but in 2017, Amazon started adding screens with cameras in them to a line called the Echo Show. Much like with other Alexa products, Amazon says you are able to review your privacy settings and delete voice recordings if you wish. 1-inch display with the same 1,280 by 800 resolution. For one thing, it now has a 13-megapixel camera instead of a 5-megapixel one, which means that video calls look way better than before. By default, the camera-powered motion capability is on — and the Echo Show will track you when you interact with it in ways beyond video calls. Amazon's new Echo Show 10 third-generation , the first Alexa device with a motorized swiveling display, is now for delivery starting on February 25. Motion Tracking I found the Echo Show 10's motion tracking, which uses a combination of audio and camera information, to be very accurate in testing. Every new smart home device invites new questions. Image Credits: Brian Heater Notably, the tracking feature uses a vague outline of a person, rather than any sort of facial tracking. I adjust screens all of the time. For video-based devices like and , you can bring up the video feed right on the Echo Show 10, and even talk through the device. Now these kinds of countertop computers — also known as smart displays — have become their own aisle at the electronics store. Back when Google announced its first-party smart screen, the Home now Nest Hub, I thought it was a savvy decision to leave the camera off. The product experts at have all your shopping needs covered. Amazon also says the data the Echo Show captures to track your body is all processed locally on the device. Even after a few years of developing for Echo Show devices, Alexa is still primarily a voice-operated interface. When you're not actively using the screen, you can set it up to be a digital photo frame, showing a carousel of your favorite images. With it, you can set a geofence, with the Show doubling as a smart security camera when you leave home. For my part, my apartment is fairly limited when it comes to smart home tech. The Echo Show 10 supports as well. Availability Preorders are currently being accepted for the Amazon Echo Show 10. For the time being, between Show and the Alexa mobile app, I think the bases are covered pretty well — though such a device could certainly lend a more premium experience to the space. I own two large smart speakers and a third smaller one, mostly for the convenience of networking streaming music across different rooms. While any or smart display carries privacy concerns, the video and audio used to track movement on the Echo Show 10 is processed locally by the device itself, and not uploaded to Amazon. Support for music and podcasts is also included for like Amazon Music and Spotify. Certainly it does the job for my one-bedroom apartment. Sure, voice has its advantages when your fingers are covered in cookie dough or you want to quickly turn on smart lights. When Amazon first announced the device, it said it would support not only using Alexa Group Calling and , but also Zoom and Skype. From a mobile device, you can remotely enable the camera and rotate it to see what's happening around the Echo Show 10 even if you're not home or in a different room. He currently covers consumer electronics in the PC Labs as the in-house home entertainment expert, reviewing TVs, media hubs, speakers, headphones, and gaming accessories. When the track properly kicks in, the bassline settles slightly in the background, while the vocals and guitar strums stand in front of the mix. The covid-19 Zoom boom has turned us into camera operators. It has a rotating base that enables the screen to move on its own, following you around the room. Or what if you were in an abusive relationship and your partner could do the same? If you want it stop following you momentarily, you can just tell Alexa that. A well-placed Show will address that need for many. The top part of the frame features a microphone and a 13MP camera. The device is scheduled to be delivered starting February 25. The Echo Show 10 also features an updated home screen that lets you view multiple cards at the same time. These things are a part of the social media and services we regularly use. It's unclear whether Zoom and Skype calls will be available immediately upon shipping or if it's expected to roll out later. That means you don't need another hub to connect and set up supported cameras, lights, thermostats, and a variety of other smart home devices. The touch-enabled display and embedded camera rotates atop a round base, which allows the built-in smart technology to keep the camera and screen in your line of sight automatically. But it did sometimes lose track of where I was standing, or cut off the top of my head. Having used the product for several days, I would say the feature feels unnecessary in most cases — and downright unnerving in some. To learn more or opt-out, read our. Prices were accurate at the time this article was published but may change over time. The motion is powered by a brushless motor that enables 175-degree rotation. The content is also customized by time of day, so you might see trending topics during the day and relaxing song suggestions at night. To help , you can ask her to turn it off or slide a physical shutter cover over the lens. One can inherently know and passively understand that a device is using imaging and AI for tracking, but largely effectively ignore it. The motion tracking also doesn't work when the room is very dark. Doubles as a smart home hub If you want to use your Echo Show 10 as your main smart home device, you can do that, too, because the new model can act as a smart home hub for Zigbee and devices like Tile Trackers and Ring cameras. An Innovative New Design Smart displays are fundamentally attached to speakers, and the Echo Show 10 really embraces this concept: It looks like a large Fire tablet attached to a smaller version of an speaker. The resolution is low on paper compared with similarly sized tablets the has 1,920 by 1,200 pixels , but for the typical distance from which you'll be viewing it, it's sharp and easy to read. For now, calls are limited to other Alexa devices and Skype. Of course, Alexa also lets you make voice and video calls through the Echo Show 10. The Echo uses figure tracking to make sure the display is facing you at all times when using it, drawing attention to itself in the process. This is the key feature of the Echo Show 10, and the one that makes it different from every other Echo Show. By choosing I Accept, you consent to our use of cookies and other tracking technologies. In testing, I could see and hear whatever Alexa was showing and telling me no matter where I was. But I think the best argument for the swiveling screen is video calls.。 。
11
