Amazon Echo Show 8 (4th Gen, 2025) Review

Introduction

It’s only been just over a year since Amazon last graced us with a new 8-inch Echo Show, but the demands of Alexa+ mean there’s a new model this year.

The Amazon Echo Show 8 (4^th Gen, 2025) is better looking, better sounding and faster. The new version is a clear upgrade over the old and the best overall smart display available, but it is expensive, and the lack of Alexa+ in the UK somewhat limits it for now.

Design and Build

• Floating screen
• Stand not included
• No camera slider

Not just a rehash of the older Amazon Echo Show 8 (3^rd Gen), the Amazon Echo Show 8 (4^th Gen, 2025) is a complete redesign. It looks a little like a slightly squashed Echo Studio (2025) with a screen stuck on top of it. Only, the overall effect is far more pleasing than that may sound.

Available in graphite (grey) or glacier white, the Echo Show’s base has the same material finish as the current generation Echo Studio and Echo Dot Max.

The 8-inch screen then floats off the front of this base. It’s a nice effect, and makes the Amazon Echo Show 8 (4th Gen, 2025) look more stylish than the older version. It helps that the screen is thinner with smaller bezels, too.

It does feel as though the screen should be adjustable, but it’s not, and the display is locked into place. That said, Amazon has angled the display perfectly for most uses. It works nicely if you’re looking at it while sitting at a desk, but the display’s not tilted back too far, so you can still see it clearly if you place the smart display on a shelf.

If you do want a screen adjustment, Amazon sells a magnetic stand for £34.99, which is compatible with this model and the 10-inch version.

At the rear is the power input. There’s no line out on this model, although that’s fine, as I don’t think that most people would use this option.

On the right-hand side, you get the physical controls: volume controls and a mute button that turns off the camera and the microphone.

There’s no physical slider for the camera on this model, and it’s purely a digital switch that cuts off the camera. From a privacy point of view, it shouldn’t make a difference, but if you liked the shutter, you’re out of luck here.

Features

• Zigbee, Thread and Matter support
• Omnipresence gives more Routine and display options
• Limited selection of video apps

Inside the Amazon Echo Show 8 (4th Gen, 2025) is an AZ3 Pro processor with an AI Accelerator. It’s really built for Alexa+, the Gen AI upgrade to the voice assistant.

The only issue is that Alexa+ isn’t currently available in the UK, so you can’t really use this smart display to its maximum potential for now. It’s slightly disappointing that the service hasn’t launched in the UK yet, but the new processor does offer some benefits today.

Primarily, the Amazon Echo Show 8 (4th Gen, 2025) is faster to respond to requests, and it’s also more sensitive. Even with music playing and a fan heater turned on, the Echo Show 8 managed to pick up my requests, even when mumbling or whispering.

For now, then, the Echo Show 8 is limited to the Alexa that we’ve all got used to. For my money, Alexa is the best smart assistant overall. It’s better at controlling devices than Google and Siri, and it generally understands what you’re trying to say without having to use very specific phrasing.

General requests usually work well, and Alexa can pull data from lots of different sources. As I’ve mentioned before, Alexa does fall down slightly when trying to look up local information.

For example, if I ask Alexa for the nearest French restaurant, the first option is one in Wimbledon on the other side of London to me, and the second option is a restaurant that would be closer if it hadn’t shut down over a year ago.

As this is a smart display, the Echo Show 8 is more than just a smart speaker and its display is designed to show more information. By default, it will show a slideshow of images (yours or Amazon’s, depending on what you choose), plus it can show additional information, such as recipe information and news stories. As with previous devices, it’s worth diving into the settings to turn off the categories that you’re not interested in.

Visual ID is built in, using the camera to detect who’s sat in front of the speaker, and then displaying personalised information, such as calendars and favourite smart home devices. Visual ID now works across all compatible devices, so you can set it up once and have it work across all of your Echo Show devices.

One of the benefits of an Echo Show is that the screen is used to show more information in addition to a voice response. Ask about the weather, for example, and the screen shows the current weather information, but lets you swipe through screens to see additional information including the hourly forecast, the wind, and the day’s high and low temperatures.

Smart home control is also augmented. Turn on the lights, for example, and the touch controls let me adjust brightness and colour. It’s this kind of combination of touch and voice control that, for me, makes the Echo Show range the best for the Alexa experience.

There are touch-only options, too. Widgets give quick access to things, such as recently played Spotify music, your calendar and playlist. There’s also a widget for smart home devices, only you can’t select which devices you want to appear in the widget from the Echo Show 8, and have to use the app to add favourite devices.

That’s not only an additional step, but it’s not particularly helpful. For my Echo Show in my office, for example, I want one set of devices; for one in my kitchen, I’d like another set of devices.

There is an entire smart home section that gives quick access to smart devices, which is handy, but the controls aren’t always that intuitive. For example, in my office, I can turn all of my lights on and off, and use a slider to adjust brightness; I can’t adjust the colour or colour temperature of all my office smart bulbs at once, and have to do that individually. 

As with the recent Echo Studio and Echo Dot Max, the Echo Show 8 has an integrated Zigbee and Thread hub, and it’s Matter compatible, so you can add devices and directly control them.

You can also stream video from compatible video cameras, and even directly answer your Ring doorbell without having to pull out a phone.

It’s good to see Omnisense built in, which uses a combination of the camera and presence sensor to enable new options. Using the presence sensor in a routine, for example, I can do some clever things, such as turning on the heater only when I’m in my office.  Using ultrasound, the presence detection is more advanced and accurate than a dumb motion sensor – I don’t have points where I have to suddenly wave my hands in the air to keep the lights on, for example, as I do with a motion sensor.

Omnisense is also used to customise the main screen via Adaptive Content. When viewed from across a room, the Echo Show 8 can display a slideshow; get up close, and it can bring up your Widgets.

The Echo Show 8 can also play video from some services, although, as Fire TV is not built in, as with the Echo Show 15 (2024), the choice is more limited. Prime Video and Netflix get their own apps, but Disney+ and YouTube are only available via the integrated browser, so the experience isn’t quite as nice.

Sound and Video Quality

• Nice bass
• Stereo speakers
• Sharp, detailed display

Amazon has upgraded the audio from the previous version, and the smart speaker has a 2.8-inch woofer and dual full-range drivers. It’s a potent combination for most uses, with the smart display easily able to fill a room with sound, even a large one.

Having a dedicated woofer means that the bass is improved compared to the previous version. Listening to OK Go’s bass-heavy This Too Shall Pass, the Echo Show 8 handles the bass drum very well up to about 75% volume. Below this threshold, there’s a nice thumb and some power; above this and the display starts to sound a bit distorted and a little harsh.

Stereo speakers also help with certain tracks. My go-to track for stereo testing is Foo Fighters’ Enough Space, which has an opening guitar track that should swirl left-to-right. While you don’t quite get the full stereo separation here that you’d have with discrete speakers, the Echo Show 8 does a good job, with the guitars moving without creating any odd interference patterns.

Overall, sound is nicely balanced and the Echo Show 8 can produce clarity and detail in most tracks. Fire up Pink Floyd’s Wish You Were Here, and the opening guitar solo jumps out nicely from the backing guitars, and the mix of bass and electric organ in Frank Sinatra’s That’s Life really shine.

Switch to watching TV and movies via Netflix and the Echo Show 8 does pretty well. Its 1340 x 800 resolution is fine for the screen size, with enough sharpness and detail for typical viewing angles.

There’s no HDR, but the general picture quality is pretty good: the screen is bright, evenly lit and vibrant, although blacks are a little grey. Audio is pretty good, too. Watching the opening of Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein, there’s enough punch the gun shots and punches to bring the scene to life. Speech is clear and detailed, too.

Would I watch many films on this speaker? Probably not, but for catching up on the odd TV show or watching an instructional video on YouTube, the Echo Show 8 is pretty good.

The 13MP webcam is also very good. It has auto-framing and tracking, so it puts you centre of the picture automatically. Of course, it assumes that you use your Alexa device to video call people. That’s not something that I do, but if that’s your kind of thing, it’s nice to have a decent camera.

Should you buy it?

FAQs