Amazon Echo Show 8 (3rd Gen) Review: The Best-Balanced Echo Display, if the New Alexa+ App Behaves
Great spatial-audio sound, a snappy 8-inch screen and a full Zigbee/Thread/Matter hub make it the sweet-spot Echo Show, tempered by rocky multi-room audio and the current Alexa+ app.
The Amazon Echo Show 8 (3rd Gen) is widely seen as the best-balanced Echo smart display: an 8-inch touchscreen that is the right size for a kitchen or nightstand, with genuinely good spatial-audio sound (some owners rate it on par with a HomePod), a bright responsive screen, and a snappy processor that avoids the sluggishness of the smaller Show 5. It is a full smart-home hub, Zigbee coordinator, Thread border router and Matter bridge, so it recognizes devices instantly and shows Ring, Blink and Arlo camera feeds by voice. Setup is effortless and it makes a solid video-call and photo-frame device. The frustrations are largely software-era: the forced move to Amazon's new Alexa+ app has, for some owners, degraded multi-room speaker groups, camera display and music-app preferences, and it can be unstable as a long-term participant in whole-home audio. Getting a camera to pop up on motion is also needlessly complicated. It works with Alexa (Home Assistant partially), not Google or HomeKit. On its own or as a smart display, it is excellent value; as the core of a multi-room audio setup, it is weaker.
- Kitchen or nightstand smart display
- Alexa smart-home hub (Zigbee/Thread/Matter)
- Good-sounding single-device music and video
- Showing camera feeds by voice
Pros
- Excellent spatial-audio sound that fills a room (near HomePod level for some)
- Bright, responsive 8-inch screen at a kitchen-friendly size; snappy processor
- Full smart-home hub: Zigbee coordinator, Thread border router and Matter bridge
- Shows Ring, Blink and Arlo camera feeds by voice; good video-call camera
- Effortless setup with a physical camera privacy shutter
- Strong value and a good future-proof choice for Alexa+
Cons
- Current Alexa+ app rollout has degraded speaker groups, cameras and music for some
- Weaker long-term participant in Multi-Room Music (pauses, desync)
- Bluetooth or speaker group, not both
- Auto-showing a camera on motion is convoluted (needs custom routines)
- Cannot connect to a cable DVR; idle screen can reveal Amazon searches
- Alexa only (Home Assistant partial); no Google Home or HomeKit
Who is the Echo Show 8 for?
This is an 8-inch Alexa smart display for a kitchen counter, nightstand or shared space. It has a bright touchscreen (1280x800), spatial-audio speakers, a camera with a physical privacy shutter for video calls, motion sensing and Bluetooth, and it is a full smart-home hub, a Zigbee coordinator, Thread border router and Matter bridge, so it controls a wide range of devices and shows camera feeds. It connects over dual-band Wi-Fi, comes in colors, and supports Amazon's Alexa+ AI. It works with Alexa (and Home Assistant partially), but not Google Home, HomeKit or SmartThings. It best suits a kitchen or bedside display, an Alexa smart-home hub, good-sounding single-device music and video, and showing Ring, Blink or Arlo camera feeds by voice. If your main goal is reliable whole-home multi-room audio, or you want a trouble-free experience during the current Alexa+ rollout, read the caveats first.
What buyers love
Sound and balance win owners over. The spatial-audio speakers are the standout, filling a room and, for one long-time Apple user, matching a HomePod, a big upgrade over older Echoes. The 8-inch screen is bright, sharp and responsive, the right size for recipes, videos and quick info without hogging counter space, and the processor is snappy, avoiding the lag of the smaller Show 5. As a smart-home hub it is comprehensive, with Zigbee, Thread and Matter built in, so it recognizes devices instantly and lets you pull up Ring, Blink or Arlo camera feeds by voice (handy for checking the door while cooking). Setup is effortless (it auto-recognizes you and joins the network on its own), the camera is good for video calls even in low light with a privacy slide cover, and it works nicely as a photo frame and daily organizer. Owners use it to control Kasa lights and a Nest thermostat, watch Prime Video, and even navigate a Fire TV hands-free, and many buy it to future-proof for Alexa+.
What to know before you buy
The sharpest complaints relate to the current Alexa+ app rollout and multi-room audio. One owner with seven Alexa devices details how the forced upgrade to the new Alexa+ app degraded their setup: multi-room speaker groups stopped working across floors, cameras would not display despite being connected via skills, the device ignores a preferred music app (pushing Amazon Music, refusing to play a full Apple album, or playing one song and stopping), routines broke, and it stopped overriding the Nest thermostat, with support admitting Alexa+ is effectively pre-beta and Prime members are the testers. Separately, a balanced reviewer notes the Show 8 is a weaker long-term participant in Multi-Room Music groups, introducing pauses, desync and delayed volume changes over extended uptime (reboots help temporarily), so non-display Echoes are better for whole-home audio. It is also either Bluetooth or in a speaker group, not both. Getting a camera to appear automatically on motion is convoluted, the Skills option does not work for that, and owners resort to building two custom routines per camera (one to show, one to stop after a delay), which can take many hours to perfect and is undocumented. It cannot connect to a cable DVR, its idle screen can reveal items you searched on Amazon (there is a setting), and the camera struggles in direct sunlight. It does not support Google or HomeKit.
Is the Echo Show 8 worth it?
For a single, do-it-all Alexa smart display, the Echo Show 8 (3rd Gen) is the sweet spot in the line: excellent spatial-audio sound, a snappy 8-inch screen, a full Zigbee/Thread/Matter hub, and easy voice access to camera feeds, all at good value. The reasons for caution are mostly about timing and use case: Amazon's ongoing Alexa+ app transition has, for some, broken speaker groups, camera display and music preferences, it is not the strongest choice as a core node in whole-home multi-room audio, and auto-showing a camera on motion takes real effort to set up. Buy it if you want a great-sounding, responsive kitchen or bedside Alexa display and hub, and can weather the current Alexa+ quirks; if you need rock-solid whole-home audio, effortless motion-triggered camera views, or Google/HomeKit, weigh those limits first, and consider keeping non-display Echoes for multi-room music.
Frequently asked questions
Is it faster than the Echo Show 5?
Yes, noticeably. The Show 8 has a snappier processor and stays responsive, avoiding the lag many owners report on the smaller Show 5, and it handles video apps and camera feeds better. If you found the Show 5 sluggish, the Show 8 is the step up to make.
How is it for whole-home multi-room audio?
Weaker than non-display Echoes. Owners report the Show 8 can introduce pauses, desync and delayed volume changes in Multi-Room Music groups after extended uptime, with reboots restoring normal behavior temporarily. It is great for single-device sound, but for reliable whole-home audio, standard Echo Dots or Studios are better group members.
Can it display my security cameras?
Yes on request, you can say 'Alexa, show [camera name]' to view Ring, Blink or Arlo feeds. But making a camera pop up automatically on motion is convoluted: the Skills option does not do it, so owners build two custom Alexa routines per camera (one to show, one to stop after a delay), which is undocumented and can take hours to get right.
Is it a smart-home hub?
Yes, a comprehensive one. It is a Zigbee coordinator, Thread border router and Matter bridge all in one, so it can connect directly to a wide range of smart devices and recognize them quickly, which owners cite as a reason to choose it over hub-less Echoes.
Should I worry about the new Alexa+ app?
Possibly, depending on your setup. Some owners report the forced Alexa+ app transition broke multi-room speaker groups, camera display and music-app preferences, and Amazon has described Alexa+ as still in an early testing phase for Prime members. It works well for many, but if you have a large multi-device, multi-room setup, expect some current rough edges.
