Over the years, Amazon has expanded its collection of Echo devices, all of which are equipped with its voice assistant, Alexa.
Among the range is the 3.5-star Echo Spot and the four-star Echo Show 5, but which one will suit your home best?
We’ve compared our reviews of the two smart home devices to help you decide between the two. If you’re still not convinced, then visit our guide to the best Amazon Echo devices to see what else Amazon has to offer.
Price and Availability
The Echo Spot (2024) is the latest of the Spot range and has a starting price of £79.99/$79.99. The Echo Show 5, on the other hand, is slightly more expensive with an RRP of £89.99/$89.99.
Having said that, as both the Echo Spot and Echo Show 5 are slightly older devices, it’s possible to nab either at a discounted price, especially during shopping events like Black Friday and Amazon Big Deal Days. In fact, we’ve seen both the Echo Spot and the Echo Show 5 drop to just £44.99.
Design
- Echo Spot resembles the Echo Pop, with a sphere-shaped body with a flat, front 2.83-inch rectangular screen
- Echo Show 5 has a 5.5-inch touchscreen display and curved body
- Both include volume controls and a microphone mute button, but the Echo Show also features a camera privacy slider
Visually, there’s a lot that separates the Echo Spot from the Echo Show 5. Firstly, with its round shape, albeit with a flat surface at the front, the Echo Spot resembles the Echo Pop. However, unlike the Echo Pop, the flat front is fitted with a small 2.83-inch rectangular screen.
On the other hand, the Echo Show 5 looks undoubtedly more like a tablet, with a curved body and a 5.5-inch display. Otherwise, both devices are equipped with tactile buttons for volume control and to mute the microphone so Alexa can’t pick up what you’re saying.
In keeping with privacy trends, the Echo Show 5 also has a slider which opens and closes a shutter over the camera.
Features and Screen
- The Echo Spot has a touchscreen display that allows you to control certain apps, but it’s mostly a voice device
- Echo Spot doesn’t support video playback from streaming or smart home devices
- Echo Show 5 has a built-in 2MP webcam
Naturally as Amazon devices, both the Echo Spot and Echo Show 5 are fitted with Alexa, which can answer most questions, set timers, report the weather and control compatible smart home devices.
Speaking of smart home devices, while you can control compatible products with both Echo smart speakers, the Echo Show 5 benefits from displaying a live picture from compatible video doorbells and security cameras. However, with its tiny 2.83-inch display, there’s simply no room for this on the Echo Spot interface, and no video is supported at all.
Instead, the Echo Spot acts more like a smart clock, and displays the likes of time and weather. While predominantly a voice device, you can also utilise the Spot’s touch screen to further control smart devices or to skip tracks when listening to music.
The Echo Show 5, in comparison, is a more versatile device that can be controlled just as easily with voice as with the touchscreen.
Although it is possible to make and receive video calls, which is assisted by the measly 2MP webcam, when it comes to video playback, things get a bit complicated. Although the previous iteration introduced Netflix support, the Echo Show 5 no longer includes this feature, and there’s only support for Prime Video.
However, this is not much of an issue in reality, as the screen resolution is too low for quality video watching anyway. While it’s good enough for general use, and viewing angles are excellent, streaming a show or movie through Prime Video on the Echo Show 5 wouldn’t be our first choice.
Sound Quality
- Echo Spot has a 1.73-inch speaker while Echo Show 5 has a 1.75-inch speaker
- Both offer a similar sound experience, although we were more impressed with the Echo Dot’s bass
- Both cope well with dialogue, so are good choices for podcast and audiobook listeners
Like the Echo Dot line-up, the Echo Spot is fitted with a front-firing 1.73-inch speaker, which we found delivered an overall impressive audio quality. Yes, we noted that the high-end had a tendency to sound harsh, and there’s a lack of detail in the midrange, but it still works well enough in rooms like the kitchen or bedroom.
The Echo Show has a slightly larger 1.75-inch speaker, which provides enough bass and volume for voice replies, podcasts and other dialogue-heavy content. However, its music performance was a slight letdown.
While the Echo Show 5 is fine for occasional listening, we wouldn’t recommend it as your main music player.
Verdict
Deciding between the Echo Spot and the Echo Show 5 really depends on your individual needs. If you want a compact device that’s mainly controlled via voice, then the Echo Spot is easily the better choice.
However, if you want a way to view live feeds from smart home devices, read the news, get recipes and more, all on a compact screen at an affordable price, then the Echo Show 5 is undoubtedly the winner.
