The New Generation That Really Changes The Game

Presented in September 2025 alongside the Echo Dot Max and the Echo Show 11, this new model arrived in France in November 2025 at 199.99 euros, in Graphite or Glacier White. It’s 30 euros more than the previous generation, and Amazon is taking on this increase by delivering an update that touches on everything: design, sound, chip, camera, and the promise of unprecedented ambient intelligence in this Price range. For whom exactly? For a home already anchored in the Alexa ecosystem that wants to take the step of the connected screen, or for someone looking for a kitchen or living room home automation hub with real versatility.

Acheter l’Echo Show 8

A design that breaks with six years of heritage

Since 2019 and the first generation, the Echo Show 8 has always looked like the same thing: an inclined screen mounted on a trapezoidal base, a little massive, a little utilitarian. This model completely abandons this silhouette. The screen, now only 8 millimeters thick, appears to float above a rounded base covered in 3D knitted fabric, the same as that which covers the Echo Dot Max. The borders fall to 9 mm, compared to much more imposing margins on the previous generation, which gives the impression of a much more present screen in an overall size of 21 X 15 x 13 cm for 1 kg. Placed on a kitchen counter in anthracite color, it fits discreetly and no longer looks like a computer peripheral lost in a living room.

The materials are upgraded. The 30W power adapter now matches the color of the device and comes with a braided cable, an unusual attention to detail for a 200 euro product. There is a downside, and it is not minor: the previous generation had a physical shutter to cover the camera. It has disappeared, presumably to allow for thinning of the screen. A button on the right side still mutes the microphone and camera simultaneously with a red indicator on the screen, but for users attached to this level of hardware control, it’s a notable step backwards, and the reflex to point the camera towards a wall when you want to be quiet is not a very elegant solution.

The screen and the sound: two real progressions

The panel goes from 8 to 8.7 inches, or 15% additional display area, with a resolution increased to 1,340 × 800 pixels. The difference does not revolutionize the rendering, but the improvement is perceptible: the colors are more vivid, the brightness more homogeneous, and the viewing angles have been worked on thanks to in-cell technology which reduces the layers of lamination between the screen and the glass. Whether you’re following a recipe from the counter, watching a surveillance camera feed from the couch, or streaming an episode on Prime Video while cooking dinner, the format is a natural fit. HD definition rather than Full HD is not a problem at this size, the image remains detailed and readable, even for subtitles. On the other hand, for a two-hour film, the television in the living room is more suitable!

It is in the sound that the jump is most obvious. The Echo Show 8 2025 features a 71 mm woofer supported by two front-oriented full-range speakers, all processed in spatial audio. Amazon promises twice as much bass as in 2023, and it’s a promise that is verified by ear. The soundstage is wider, the voices are cleaner, and at high volume the device does not saturate. Even with the sound of a frying pan in the background, Alexa’s voice remains clear and clearly audible. For mixed use, music in the background, occasional streaming, video calls, it is one of the best size/sound ratios in the segment.

The AZ3 Pro chip and the Omnisense platform: ambient intelligence in practice

The most structuring change of this generation is invisible to the naked eye. The AZ3 Pro chip replaces the AZ2 Neural Edge of the 2023 model, with an onboard AI accelerator capable of running local processing models without relying on the cloud for each interaction. Alexa responses are faster, interface transitions smoother, and those small latencies that made certain interactions slightly frustrating have all but disappeared.

But it is the Omnisense platform that constitutes the real pivot of this generation. It merges data from several onboard sensors: 13 megapixel camera, ultrasound, Wi-Fi radar, microphones, accelerometer, and a temperature sensor with hour-by-hour history, all to build a contextual representation of the environment. In practice, the screen turns on or off depending on the detected presence, the brightness automatically adapts to the lighting environment, and with the Visual ID function activated, the device recognizes faces and adapts the display, personal agenda, reminders, personalized content, from one user to another. This recognition works on several Echo Shows registered on the same account, which allows you to find your profile from one device to another in the house.

The integrated temperature sensor has also been seriously improved. It no longer simply displays a raw value, it logs readings hour by hour and can be integrated into home automation routines to control a thermostat, trigger an alert or activate a fan. It’s a sensor that we can finally really use.

A home automation hub and everyday companion

The Echo Show 8 2025 natively integrates Zigbee, Matter and Thread Border Router, making it an autonomous home automation hub without an additional box. The combination of Philips Hue bulbs or a connected socket is done directly, without an intermediate gateway. In practice, voice control works the first time, and a swipe to the right displays a touchscreen home automation panel with buttons for each device, handy when you don’t want to talk. Ring compatibility automatically displays the video doorbell feed as soon as it rings, and asking Alexa to display the garden camera is frictionless. Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3 connectivity complete this ecosystem with more stable speeds on 6 GHz networks.

For video calls, the 13 megapixel camera with auto-framing is one of the most concrete arguments of the product. The device automatically tracks movements in the room and reframes the image to keep the interlocutor in the frame, even if they step back to grab something. The dual microphone with noise reduction effectively filters out background noise, dishwasher, coffee maker, cooking, without degrading audio quality. For everyday family calls or hands-free meetings, the experience is truly at the level of a high-end tablet.

On a daily basis, the device naturally interferes with uses: step-by-step recipes via Marmiton in the kitchen, digital photo frame with Amazon Photos when it is inactive, “good night” routine which closes the connected shutters, turns off the lights and switches the screen to a dim clock. The screen can be discreet at night by lowering its brightness to a minimum, a detail that matters if you use it in a bedroom.

Alexa+: the big absentee in France

We need to address the annoying point. Alexa+, the augmented version of the voice assistant, based on a generative language model capable of managing complex queries in natural language, of chaining tasks together without reformulating, and of reasoning over several steps, is one of the reasons for this hardware. The hardware is explicitly designed for it. But at the time of this test, Alexa+ is only available in the United States, offered at no additional cost to American Prime members. In France, we have the classic Alexa, faster and better integrated than before thanks to the AZ3 Pro chip, certainly, but far from the central promise which partly justifies the price positioning.

It is also necessary to mention a limitation of the ecosystem: YouTube is only accessible through the integrated Silk browser, without a dedicated application. While Prime Video is perfectly integrated, Spotify and Netflix require explicit voice control and their integration is less fluid than on a Google device. For a household that consumes a lot of YouTube or Google content, this is a real obstacle.

Acheter l’Echo Show 8

Echo Show 8 vs Google Nest Hub Max: two connected screen philosophies

The natural comparison is the Google Nest Hub Max. The two devices target the same room, kitchen or living room, with a home automation + multimedia + voice assistant proposition. But their philosophies clearly diverge.

The Nest Hub Max is priced around 229 euros with a 10-inch screen, which makes it the next size competitor rather than a direct equivalent. Google has installed a 6.5-megapixel camera, an excellent audio system, and Face Match facial recognition, but without Zigbee built-in, it requires a separate hub to drive Zigbee-enabled devices. Its differentiating asset is the Soli sensor, which detects contactless hand gestures, raising your hand to pause music, for example, and allows sleep monitoring when the device is placed in the room. YouTube is a native application, Netflix and Disney+ too, which gives Google an advantage in access to third-party video content.

Where the Echo Show 8 regains the advantage is in home automation compatibility: integrated Zigbee, Matter and Thread make it an autonomous hub that the Nest Hub Max cannot be without an additional box. The 13-megapixel camera with auto-focus is superior to Google’s for video calls. And the Alexa ecosystem offers compatibility with third-party devices, Ring, Philips Hue, TP-Link, Netatmo, more direct and less constrained than Google Home for already equipped homes.

The choice often comes down to a simple question: If the home ecosystem is already built around Alexa and Zigbee devices, the Echo Show 8 is more consistent. If the household is rooted in Google, watches YouTube constantly, and doesn’t have Zigbee devices to control, the Nest Hub Max wins, with a larger screen and better integrated content.