Concerning the Amazon Echo Present 8 (Third Gen)
- Value: $149.99
- Colours: Charcoal, glacier white
- Connectivity: 2.4GHz and 5GHz dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
- Sensible assistants: Amazon Alexa
- Digital camera: 13 megapixels
- Decision: 1280 x 800 pixels
- Dimensions: 7.9”W x 5.5”H x 4.2”D
- Guarantee: One 12 months restricted guarantee
The Amazon Echo Present 8 (Third Gen) doesn’t reinvent the wheel by way of specs and design, in comparison with the previous-generation mannequin. It has the same total measurement, the identical show measurement and determination, and the identical digicam decision. It’s just a little dearer than final 12 months’s mannequin, at $149.99 as a substitute of $129.99. There are, nonetheless, some enhancements to warrant the upper worth—like improved audio tech and a greater processor.
Establishing the gadget is comparatively straightforward. You’ll plug the gadget in, after which enter your Amazon login info. Then the Echo Present 8 will set up any out there updates, after which you’ll be requested if you wish to join every Amazon service, like Kindle Limitless, Prime Music, and so forth. The entire course of solely takes a couple of minutes.
What we like
The audio system on this new Echo Present sound nice
Credit score:
Reviewed / Christian de Looper
You will really feel some extra bass and readability with these new audio system.
One of many largest enhancements to this era of Echo Present 8 is a few new audio tips. The gadget now helps Spatial Audio tech, and appeared extra immersive than I’d have anticipated, although there’s solely a lot you are able to do with audio on a compact gadget like this.
Don’t anticipate a encompass sound-like expertise or earth-shattering bass, however you’ll get a speaker that sounds an entire lot greater than it truly is, and that’s tuned for an satisfying listening expertise. There’s respectable element within the high-end for a speaker like this, and whereas audiophiles will need one thing higher for truly listening to music, others will discover the audio system on the Echo Present 8 to be fairly good.
The digicam appears pretty much as good because it all the time has
The Echo Present 8 affords a 13-megapixel digicam that continues to be unchanged in comparison with the last-generation mannequin—but it surely nonetheless appears fairly good. The digicam helps the identical auto framing tech, which implies it could comply with you round if you’re on a video name, and it enables you to view a feed from the digicam via the Alexa app, basically turning the gadget right into a safety digicam.
It received’t beat the digicam on any high-end telephone, however it’s versatile and an entire lot higher than the 2-megapixel digicam on the Echo Present 5.
This sensible house gadget affords good integration
The sensible house smarts transcend with the ability to use the gadget as a safety digicam. The Amazon Echo Present 8 (Third Gen) additionally helps Matter, and may work as a Thread border router, which means that it’s going to work with the opposite latest-generation sensible house gadgets. It even helps Zigbee—one thing that the earlier Echo Present 8 didn’t assist.
All because of this, in contrast to the 2nd Gen mannequin, the Echo Present 8 may be the hub to your Alexa sensible house. The one sensible home-type function that the Echo Present 8 is lacking in comparison with another Amazon gadgets is the power to work as an Eero Wi-Fi node—however that received’t be a giant concern for many customers.
Alexa is as reliable as ever
Credit score:
Reviewed / Christian de Looper
From video information clips to sensible house controls, you may ask Alexa for assist with absolutely anything.
As you’ll anticipate from an Amazon gadget, the Echo Present 8 has Alexa constructed proper into it and helps all the identical tips and options. Merely ask Alexa to begin a timer, management a wise house gadget, play audio, or discover info from the net, and it’ll accomplish that.
Through the years, Alexa has gotten fairly sensible, and I discovered that it was good at listening to my voice even when I spoke quietly or mumbled—and in case you whisper to it, it’ll even whisper again.
Sensible house controls could also be crucial use-case for Alexa on the Echo Present 8. If you happen to label and manage all of your gadgets correctly, you’ll don’t have any concern with utilizing the gadget because the digital heart in your sensible house.
The software program is simple to navigate
Credit score:
Reviewed / Christian de Looper
The interface is simple to navigate and gives an total easy expertise.
Whereas you’ll have to get used to the interface on the Echo Present 8 if that is your first time utilizing an Echo Present, it received’t take lengthy, and also you’ll typically discover the software program to be straightforward to navigate.
You may scroll down from anyplace on the interface to entry fast controls and settings, and there are buttons from the primary display that allow you to soar straight into sensible house controls, which is sort of useful.
The primary display affords widgets for various sorts of knowledge, and you’ll customise these widgets to suit the sorts of knowledge which are most useful for you.
The gadget additionally helps apps like Netflix and, in fact, Prime Video. Typically, individuals will discover that the Echo Present 8 affords most or all of what’s anticipated from a wise show in 2023.
The Third-generation Echo Present 8 has a quicker processor than earlier fashions, and the software program appeared extra responsive than the second-generation mannequin. There are nonetheless occasional hangups and second-long freezes, however they’re much less frequent, and more often than not, the software program was fast to react to the touch.
What we didn’t like
The show might be a better decision
The precise show on the sensible show is comparatively low-resolution, and whereas it does get shiny sufficient for many use circumstances, don’t anticipate assist for fancy HDR codecs. For many conditions, a high-quality show isn’t actually all that vital—adequate is, properly, adequate. However, in case you’re somebody who plans on utilizing the sensible show for watching TV exhibits and flicks within the kitchen, don’t anticipate a TV-like expertise. For that form of viewing, it could be value contemplating an iPad as a substitute.
There are some privateness implications
Credit score:
Reviewed / Christian de Looper
For privateness considerations, there’s a bodily slider to cowl the digicam.
Let’s not overlook—that is Amazon we’re speaking about, and for some, the privateness implications of getting an Amazon gadget within the house, with a digicam no much less, are an excessive amount of. Privateness-conscious consumers ought to take into account opting out of the Amazon Sidewalk community that enables Amazon gadgets to create a mesh community with each other.
The Amazon Echo Present 8 gadget has a bodily slider that you should utilize to cowl the digicam, and a devoted button to mute the microphone. So, if you’d like a wise show, however don’t need one thing with a digicam, you may nonetheless use the Echo Present 8.
Do you have to purchase the Amazon Echo Present 8 (Third Gen)?
Sure, for its low worth and excessive performance
The Amazon Echo Present 8 (3d Gen) represents an incremental but worthy step ahead for Amazon’s sensible show. The gadget improves on numerous key areas that construct on the expertise of proudly owning one—and whereas homeowners of the second-gen mannequin needn’t improve, these out there for his or her first sensible show ought to strongly take into account the Amazon Echo Present 8 (Third Gen) for its improved audio high quality and processing.
Amazon Echo Present 8 (Third Gen)
The 2023 version of the Alexa-enabled sensible house supervisor.
Meet the tester
Initially from Australia, de Looper has lengthy had a ardour for devices and shopper electronics. He has reviewed merchandise in all areas of the patron tech world, and is devoted to serving to individuals discover the perfect merchandise for his or her way of life.
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