But even though the Echo Show 5 is meant for personal spaces like the desk and the nightstand, it still has a front-facing camera lens meant for video calls. One of the reasons I liked the Nest Hub was its lack of camera it made me a lot more comfortable having it by my bedside. Of course, this is a personal preference - you might love seeing news headlines all the time - but I would rather my smart display be a digital photo frame than a depressing news source.

On the Echo Show, I had to dig through Settings in order to shut off the suggested Trending Topics and Alexa Tips that would otherwise clutter the screen by default. Google's machine-learning algorithms are even smart enough to automatically compile albums of my favorite people and pets while leaving out embarrassing shots and duplicate photos.Īdditionally, I like how Google's smart display puts my photos at the forefront without me having to do anything. With the Nest Hub, on the other hand, I can pick my Google Photos album with just a few taps in the app. With the Echo Show, I have to go through Settings, Home & Clock, Clock, and Personal Photos so that I could pick my preferred source of images (either the Alexa App, Amazon Photos or my Facebook account). Not only is the screen bigger at 7-inches, it's also easier to use. That said, I still think Google's Nest Hub is a much better choice for displaying photos. Amazon also recently added how-to clips from WikiHow, so you can watch instructional videos like how to open a tight jar, for example. You can also watch YouTube videos via the built-in Silk or Firefox browsers (though it's not as integrated as the YouTube experience on Google's smart displays) and step-by-step cooking videos from sources like SideChef and AllRecipes. As with other Alexa smart displays, the Echo Show 5 supports video from Amazon Prime, NBC and Hulu. I do think it's a little too tiny for watching longer videos like movies and TV shows, but it was fine for short news clips and music videos. Images look colorful enough, and I enjoyed watching videos on it despite the small screen. That, along with its 960 by 480 resolution, makes the Echo Show 5 much better suited for photos and video. While the Echo Show 5 may have a lot of the clock-centric features, it's still primarily a smart display its 5.5-inch screen is certainly a lot bigger than the 3-incher on the Smart Clock.

Seeing as the Show 5 can be used as an alarm clock, I appreciate that the screen goes dark at night, making it easier to fall asleep. Much like the Smart Clock and Google's Nest Hub, the Echo Show 5 has an ambient light sensor that automatically adjusts the screen's brightness according to its surroundings. I suppose that's understandable given that's usually when natural sunrise occurs, but I thought the whole point of having a 'sunrise alarm' is that it works at all hours, and not just at the appropriate times. The sunrise alarm on the Echo Show 5 is a little unusual however, because it only works when you set the alarm between 4 and 9 a.m. There's also a similar sunrise feature, where the display slowly brightens fifteen minutes prior to the set time to mimic the effects of daylight's arrival. Like the latter, the Echo Show 5 comes with several clock faces and you can smack the top of it to snooze the alarm. That's not the only way the Echo Show 5 is reminiscent of the Lenovo Smart Clock. The Show 5's small stature also reminds me of the Lenovo Smart Clock, with similar alarm clock aesthetics. Unlike the larger Show, however, the Echo Show 5 comes in both white ('Sandstone') and black ('Charcoal'), so you can pick one that better suits your home decor. It has the same look and feel, with a screen dominating the front and the fabric-wrapped speaker housed in the back. If you zapped the 2018 Echo Show with a shrink ray, you'd probably end up with something very similar to the Echo Show 5.

Amazon echo alarm clock