Last September Amazon announced a range of new devices which might have made it quickly to their United States customers, but here in Australia we’ve had to wait for the biggest and the best, the Echo Show 10 (3rd Generation) which goes on sale today.
“Alexa Turn around” – yep, I said that, and she did.
The new Echo Show 10’s party trick is the swivel screen which can follow you. Oh yes, that’s right. While other devices have had cameras that did a virtual follow using zoom and pan, the Echo Show 10 actually turns.
Movement isn’t fluid, but it’s doing what it needs to do.
But what really makes this a next level device for Amazon is that it’s also a great in-home security camera.
From your smartphone, open the Alexa app, choose Devices and Cameras and click your Echo Show, you get a live view in your home, AND you can pan from left to right with a swipe!
Tilting the screen is only available manually – and my biggest feedback is that in normal use the screen would always be tilted up because of the way we stand and look at these screens, so you’re always looking at the ceiling when you “dial in” to see what’s happening. A re-alignment of the camera would fix this, sadly, that’s Gen 4 we’ll have to wait for.
Sound quality is excellent – booming and a really rich sound – impressive.
It looks like a baby delivered from the union of an Apple Homepod and an iMac G4. Twisting manually is a touch of a finger, easy to do, and no issue with the mechanics of the unit doing that.
Honestly, in the short time I’ve been using it, it’s quickly become the best smart speaker/smart screen I’ve used.
I’ve always enjoyed the Show 10 for it’s big screen, lots of information and great for video, but now it has the added home security benefits and can follow me around the kitchen as we cook – I can see it being a hit!
The price is steep, but, you get quality for your $399.
