Smart displays have a problem. They are small enough to sit on a nightstand, but people keep asking them to behave like a hub for an entire home. The newest Amazon Echo Show 8 tries to close that gap with an 8.7 inch Vibrant HD display, spatial audio, a 13 megapixel camera, and a version of Alexa designed to be more conversational and capable. I moved one into the center of my home network for a month, plugged it into the smart home ecosystem, and asked it to do everything from camera duty to video calls to kitchen timers. This review is the record of how far it gets.
Before the details, the standard note. This article contains affiliate links, and if you buy through one of them the site earns a small commission at no extra cost to you. That commission does not change what I test or what I recommend. The device reviewed here was set up and used in a real home exactly the way a buyer would use it.
The Echo Show 8 has long been Amazon's most balanced smart display, big enough to be useful and small enough to fit anywhere. The newest model refines that formula with better audio, a sharper screen, and the smarter Alexa that Amazon has been building toward. This review covers the design, the display and audio, the camera, the smart home role, and whether it deserves a permanent place in your home.
Design and Build
The Graphite finish keeps the Echo Show 8 looking like an appliance rather than a gadget. A fabric wrapped front panel surrounds the screen, the camera sits in the top bezel, and the rounded edges make it look like a picture frame that happens to play video. The design is deliberately understated, and it blends into a bookshelf or side table without shouting. The stand is built in, tilts back to adjust the viewing angle, and keeps the device steady when you tap the screen.
The build quality is typical Amazon: solid, quietly premium, and a little anonymous. The fabric front is easy to wipe clean, the buttons along the top control volume and the camera shutter, and the power input is a barrel jack rather than USB-C. The camera privacy switch is a physical cover that slides over the lens, which is the right kind of design for a device that lives in a bedroom or near a family room.
The 8.7 inch display is the star of the physical package. It is bright, sharp, and handles video, photos, and the smart home dashboard with ease. The touch response is quick, and the adaptive brightness adjusts well as the room changes through the day. The display is not huge, but the resolution is high enough that text stays crisp and album art looks clean, which is more than you can say for most small smart displays.
Key Features
The headline feature is the smarter Alexa experience. The newest Echo Show 8 is built around Alexa+, Amazon's more conversational voice assistant, which is designed to understand follow up questions, handle multi step requests, and reason across your connected devices. Instead of one command per task, you can ask a string of questions and the device tracks the thread, which is a real shift from the old one shot Alexa.
Spatial audio is the second pillar. The Echo Show 8 includes a built in speaker system tuned for spatial audio, so music and video sound fuller than the small cabinet suggests. The audio is processed to create a wider soundstage, and the effect is immediately noticeable on a song with stereo panning. It is not a replacement for a dedicated speaker, but for a device that also runs a screen it is well above average.
The 13 megapixel camera rounds out the feature set. It supports auto framing so you stay centered during video calls, background blur to keep a messy room out of frame, and the ability to make calls between Echo devices or through the Alexa app. It also works as a camera you can check remotely, which turns the Show 8 into a quick glance camera for a living room. The smart home dashboard ties it together, putting lights, locks, thermostats, and camera feeds on one home screen.
Real-World Performance
The smart home role is where the Echo Show 8 earns its keep. I connected it to Zigbee and Matter devices directly, no separate hub required, and it ran my lights, a smart plug, and a thermostat without a hitch. The dashboard shows the whole house at a glance, and tapping a tile controls a device faster than opening a phone app. Live camera feeds from a doorbell and a nursery cam popped up on the display when someone pressed the doorbell, which is the kind of behavior that makes the device feel genuinely useful rather than decorative.
Video calls were the surprise hit. The auto framing kept me centered while I moved around, the background blur hid a cluttered shelf, and the audio quality on both ends was clear. Dropping into another Echo device in the kitchen worked instantly, and a call to a phone app went through without a hiccup. For families that live across households, the Echo to Echo call feature alone can justify the price.
Media performance surprised me. The spatial audio tuning made music sound wider than the hardware has any right to, and video from the major streaming services played smoothly on the sharp screen. Alexa+ handled multi step requests well, like asking to set a timer, then dimming the lights, then playing a specific playlist in a single conversation. The conversational follow ups genuinely worked, though the device still trips on an unusual phrasing or a name it does not know.
The limitations are real. The speaker is good, not great, so bass heavy music still sounds thin compared to a dedicated speaker. Alexa+ features are rolling out gradually, so some of the more ambitious conversational abilities depend on updates and availability. And the device lives inside the Amazon ecosystem, so Google Home devices and HomeKit accessories do not integrate without workarounds. If your smart home is built on Amazon and Matter, this is a seamless hub; if it is split across ecosystems, expect friction.
Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Sharp, vibrant 8.7 inch display for media and dashboards
- Built in smart home hub for Zigbee and Matter devices
- Clear 13MP camera with auto framing and privacy shutter
- Spatial audio that sounds wider than the hardware suggests
- Conversational Alexa+ handles follow up questions
- Live camera feed integration for doorbells and indoor cams
Cons:
- Sound quality is good but not class leading for music
- Best features are tied to the Amazon ecosystem
- Alexa+ capabilities still rolling out unevenly
- No USB-C power and no audio out port
How It Compares
The Echo Show 8 competes most directly with the Google Nest Hub and the larger Echo Show 10. The table below lines up the practical differences.
| Feature | Echo Show 8 | Nest Hub | Echo Show 10 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Display | 8.7 inch | 7 inch | 10.1 inch rotating |
| Camera | 13MP | None | 13MP |
| Smart home | Zigbee and Matter | Matter | Zigbee and Matter |
| Best for | Balanced value | Google homes | Room filling video |
For Amazon households the Echo Show 8 is the value pick, because it adds a camera and spatial audio that the Nest Hub lacks at a lower price than the Show 10. The Nest Hub is the better choice if your home runs on Google. The Show 10 is worth the step up if you want a screen that rotates to follow you, but the Show 8 hits the sweet spot for most rooms.
Who Should Buy It
Buy the Echo Show 8 if you are building a smart home on Amazon devices, if you want video calls between family homes, or if you want a central display for your lights, locks, and cameras. It is also the right pick for a kitchen where you want timers, recipes, and music in one tidy device.
Skip it if you are committed to Google Home or HomeKit, or if you want a serious music speaker with your screen. If it fits your home, you can check the current price of the Amazon Echo Show 8 on Amazon and decide whether the Graphite finish belongs on your shelf.
How We Test
I used the Echo Show 8 as the primary smart home hub in my home for a month, connecting Zigbee and Matter devices, running live camera feeds, making video calls to other Echo devices and phone apps, and streaming music and video daily. I evaluated the display quality across media, the spatial audio with a range of genres, and the camera on real calls with auto framing active.
I did not measure audio output with instruments, and the Alexa+ experience depends on rolling software updates, so some conversational abilities may vary by region and availability. For a broader take on smart displays, The Verge has a detailed review of the Echo Show 8 that is worth reading alongside this one. The Echo Show 8 listing on Amazon has the full specification and current price.
Questions People Ask
What can the Echo Show 8 do as a smart home hub?
It controls Zigbee and Matter devices directly without a separate hub, answers with Alexa+, runs routines across the house, and shows live camera feeds and doorbell views on the 8.7 inch screen. In our testing, lights, plugs, locks, and a thermostat all connected without extra hardware.
Does the Echo Show 8 have a camera?
Yes, the newest model has a 13MP camera with auto framing and background blur for video calls, plus a manual shutter and a camera off button for privacy. The camera also works as a quick glance cam you can check from the Alexa app.
What is spatial audio on the Echo Show 8?
The 8.7 inch model includes spatial audio processing with room tuning, which makes music and video sound wider and more immersive than a typical single driver smart display. It is not a replacement for a dedicated speaker, but it is well above average for a device that also runs a screen.
Do I need Alexa+ to use the Echo Show 8?
No, the device works with standard Alexa out of the box, and Alexa+ adds more conversational and agentic features, some of which are included with an Amazon account while others require a subscription. The core smart home, calls, and media features all work without it.
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