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Amazon Echo Show 8 (3rd gen): everything we know about the next-gen smart display

Redesigned "from the outside in", the new Amazon Echo Show 8 (3rd gen) boasts a whole lot of new features to give users a more seamless experience. And, if you haven't thought about investing in one of the best smart displays before, you may want to now.

The Echo Show 8 was announced during Amazon's September device launch event, which also saw a slew of other new releases – check out our Amazon September event live blog for details of everything that was unveiled. The new smart display comes with a tweaked design, and special features like custom-built Spatial Audio, room adaptation technology, and Adaptive Content.

The only snag is that the new device comes at a higher price point than its predecessor, the Amazon Echo Show 8 (2nd gen). If you want these upgrades, you'll have to shell out $20 /£30 than for the previous model. Are they worth the uptick in price? Keep reading to find out… 

Amazon Echo Show 8 (2023): cut to the chase

  • What is it? The 3rd gen Echo Show 8
  • When is it out? Available for pre-order today, shipping next month
  • What will it cost? $149.99 / £149.99 (about AU$230)

Amazon Echo Show 8 (2023)

(Image credit: Amazon )

Amazon Echo Show 8 (2023): Price and release date

The new Amazon Echo Show 8 (3rd gen) will set you back $149.99 / £149.99 (about AU$230), which makes it a bit more expensive than the previous generation. The Echo Show 8 (2nd gen), released more than two years ago back in June 2021, and costs $129.99 / £119.99 / AU$199. So, if you're looking for a cheaper smart display, that one is a good alternative, and still available on Amazon.

If you want all the new features, however, the Echo Show 8 (3rd gen) is available now for pre-order, with shipping commencing in October.

Amazon is also releasing the Amazon Echo Show 8 Photos Edition, which comes with an additional photo-forward mode, in Q3 2023. That's a little pricier still at $159.99, with that price including a six-month subscription to Amazon's PhotosPlus service. You have the option to cancel after six months, but if you want to renew after that, it's $1.99 per month. We have yet to confirm if this special edition will be available to customers outside the US.

Amazon Echo Show 8 (2023): Design

David Limp, SVP of Amazon Devices & Services, introduced the Amazon Echo Show 8 (3rd gen) as "redesigned from outside in," meaning that its plethora of new features comes with upgraded design elements as well.

To start, it comes with edge-to-edge glass and soft curvatures, and its camera (13MP as the 2nd gen) is now located in the center of its top bezel, as opposed to the corner-placed one on the previous generation. That's about it, however. Other than those changes, this smart display is going to look a lot like its predecessor.

Amazon Echo Show 8 (3rd gen)

(Image credit: Amazon )

Amazon Echo Show 8 (2023): Features

It's in its new features that the Amazon Echo Show 8 (3rd gen) really shines. 

The first of those upgrades is that Amazon's engineers have upgraded the audio to make it better at minimizing background noise and at deliver better audio quality with improved clarity and bass. It now also fitted with custom-built spatial audio, which senses acoustics around the room and delivers a more customized sound performance.

But that's just the beginning.

It comes with an improved processor to make it faster in operation, and is running a new model that enables Alexa to response and execute your requests faster – apparently 40% faster. That includes controlling your smart home devices.

Speaking of which, the Echo Show 8 (3rd gen) comes with a built-in smart home hub to make it easier and faster than ever to control your smart home devices (at least the compatible ones). It includes support for smart home standards like Zigbee, Sidewalk, Thread, Bluetooth, and naturally, Matter.

The most exciting upgrade by far, in our opinion, is Adaptive Content. This new home screen features what's called an "on-device computer vision technology" that allows it to adjust your screen's content based on how close or far you are from the Echo Show. It detects where you are in the room and your proximity to the device, and makes the content displayed on the screen bigger, or smaller and more detailed. And if you're enrolled in visual ID, that content will also be personalized based on your history and preference. 

Adaptive Content will be available to all Echo Show 8 devices next month and will roll out to Echo Show 5, 10 and 15 devices early next year.

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