A smart display lets you visually interact with a voice assistant in addition to interacting through voice commands, with a screen to display things like photos, song lyrics, videos, and recipes, enhancing your overall experience.
Design: A speaker with a screen
The Echo Show 10 (3rd Gen) has a completely new design, moving away from the boxy looks of the past and toward a look that’s both modern and functional. Instead of being a screen with a speaker included in its stand like many other Echo Show models, the Show 3rd Gen is more like a large speaker with a screen attached. The screen connects to the speaker via a ring, thus allowing the screen to rotate. The speaker is relatively large, measuring about 5 inches tall and roughly 5.5 inches in diameter. There are no controls on the speaker portion, but the power adapter connects into a slot on the bottom of the speaker. The Show’s screen is 10.1 inches, and the volume buttons, microphone off button, and camera slider switch sit on top of the display screen. In total—with screen and speaker included—the Echo Show clocks in at 9.88 x 6.77 x 9 inches, and weighs 5.64 pounds. It’s heavy, yes, but it’s also meant to sit in one place. Echo Shows have always been exceptional kitchen companions, and the 3rd-Gen Show 10 is no different. Available in Charcoal or Glacier White, it looks sleek and stylish on granite or quartz countertop, and it doesn’t take away from the design of a kitchen.
Setup Process: Follow the prompts
Setting up the Echo Show 10 takes only a few moments, and it’s even easier if you already have the Alexa app downloaded. Once you have the Alexa app, it’s as easy as plugging in the Show 10, connecting it to the internet, and following the prompts. Since the Show rotates, placement is especially important with this device. It needs enough clearance to rotate 360 degrees, and you also want to angle the screen in such a way where you have the best visuals.
What’s New: Better camera, rotating screen, and more
In addition to its new design, the Show 10 (3rd Gen) has a number of new hardware features. The rotating screen makes it so the screen can follow you around the room. This means, when you’re on a call or watching a video while cooking, the screen can stay facing you without you having to adjust the device.
Sound Quality: Phenomenal
Since the new Echo has a robust 3-inch woofer and dual 1-inch tweeters, the sound gets very loud. But, music sounds clean and distortion-free even on max volume levels, and movies and shows are immersive, with powerful background music and clear dialogue. To evaluate sound quality on speakers, I have three go-to songs I use for testing: “Titanium” by David Guetta featuring Sia, “Chains” by Nick Jonas, and “Comedown” by Bush. I choose these songs because they have a mix of low, mid, and high tones. The Echo Show 10’s bass is punchy and pleasant, while the mid and high-tones still come through clearly. I also watched comedy shows like “Modern Family,” action movies like “Bumble Bee,” and YouTube instructional videos on the Show 10. If the bass is too loud, I can adjust it using the equalizer in the Alexa app, but I found the default settings to be just right. The Show 10 is loud enough to play music throughout my entire two-story home. I can even connect other speakers if I want better audio, but that isn’t really necessary since the Show 10 is so powerful on its own. One thing that really impressed me is Alexa’s ability to hear my voice commands even when my song or TV show is on full volume. This has been an issue for me with other smart speakers and displays (especially Echo speakers), where the far-field mics wouldn’t do a very good job of picking up my commands in the presence of background noises. The Show 10 rarely misses a beat though, hearing almost every “Alexa” command I utter.
Display/Camera Quality: Clear video calls
The Echo Show’s 13MP camera is a vast improvement over other Show models, but it’s also an improvement over many other smart display brands like the Nest Hub Max (6.5MP) and even the larger Facebook Portal Plus (12.5MP). This makes for high-quality video calls. Like the Facebook Portal, the Show’s camera can also pan and zoom, with auto-framing to keep it focused on you during calls. Echo’s camera can also rotate to follow you all around the room—not just on calls, but when you’re watching a video or interacting with the display in general. You can disable this feature if you want, but I found it to be extremely helpful. The 13MP camera isn’t just beneficial for calls, but also home security. You can use the Show 10 to check on your house while you’re away, as it basically acts as an indoor security camera. You can move the screen around and get a pretty good view of the room too. If you’re concerned about privacy, you can block the camera using the slider switch, and this will physically obstruct the camera’s view. The display quality on the new Echo Show isn’t bad, but this is one area that didn’t see much change. The 10.1-inch screen has a resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels. The screen is clear and bright, and you can see shows and videos from a reasonable distance. It also has features like adaptive color to help make your photos look better in different lighting conditions. However, there’s a thick interior bezel surrounding the screen, and this takes away from the overall aesthetic. I would have also liked to have seen an improvement in screen resolution over other Show models.
Features: A complete smart home hub
The Zibgee hub means you can set up and manage Zigbee compatible devices, and with a temperature sensor, you can say things like, “Alexa, turn on the thermostats when it reaches 80 degrees.”
Price: You get what you pay for
The Echo Show 10 (3rd Gen) retails for $250, but you can sometimes find it on sale for around $200. Some may look at the $250 price and think it’s way too high when compared to other Echo smart displays like the Show 8 or Show 5, which retail for $110 and $80, respectively. However, the new Show 10 offers so much more than just a bigger screen—you also get a built-in Zigbee hub, much better sound, the ability to monitor your home with a built-in security camera, and a screen that follows you as you move about the room. On the other hand, if you’re just looking for a basic smart display that can display photos, assist you in the kitchen, play shows and videos, and you don’t care about the extra bells and whistles,, you might be happier with one of the more affordable models.
Echo Show 10 (3rd Gen) vs. Google Nest Hub (2nd Gen)
The Google Nest Hub (2nd Gen) has a smaller screen than the Echo Show 10, and it doesn’t have a camera. This means you can make only voice calls—no video calls—but it also means you don’t have to worry as much about switching over a slider switch when you want privacy from the camera. The Nest Hub 2 has a new sleep tracking feature and gestures, given the addition of Soli Radar.
