Key takeaways
- The new Echo Show 8 and Echo Show 11 have been built from the ground up for Alexa+ and are Amazon’s most advanced smart displays.
- Both devices offer a modern design, ultra-thin display, and a personalized Alexa+ home screen experience that adapts to your home environment.
- An all-new audio architecture with front-facing stereo speakers and a custom woofer make these our best-sounding smart displays yet.
Your new Echo Show 8 or Echo Show 11 has arrived, bringing new features and Alexa+ capabilities to your home. Here's your day-one guide to making the most of your new smart display, including top features to try.
Setting up your Echo Show device
Getting started takes just a few steps. First, plug in your Echo Show and scan the QR code on the device, which will open the Alexa app. Here, the app will notify you that your new Echo Show is ready for setup. It will then guide you through the setup process in your app, and your device will automatically install software updates.
Once updates are finished, you'll see the home screen, indicating setup is complete. For a more personalized experience, enable Visual ID when prompted. That's it—now you're ready to explore what makes this device special.
New Alexa+ Home experience
The new Alexa+ home screen experience provides glanceable information and personalized content such as helpful follow-ups based on recent conversations, personalized notifications, or information based on your interests. With the 13-megapixel camera and Visual ID, Alexa recognizes when you walk up to the device, greets you, and shows you the information you want. The ambient visuals adapt to you and your environment—showing relevant information based on your proximity to the device. Alexa will also continue to learn your preferences and adapt the on-screen experience to you.
Control your Alexa home effortlessly
Your Echo Show is a command center for your home with a built-in smart home hub that works with thousands of Alexa-compatible devices.
- Smart home dashboard: The full-screen smart home dashboard lets you view connected camera feeds, access your favorite devices and groups, check device status, or switch between Home, Away, and Night modes to change the state of your home with a single tap. Launch the dashboard by tapping the “more” icon in the top left corner of the screen and pressing Smart Home. Or, say “Alexa, open my smart home dashboard.”
- Advanced routines: With Omnisense, Amazon’s new sensor fusion platform, Alexa leverages new sensors to enable more personalized, proactive, and helpful Routines. You can use temperature as a trigger in a Routine to take actions like automatically activating smart fans or adjusting smart blinds when the room gets too warm or cold. Enhanced presence detection allows Alexa to know when a person is in or has left a space, and take actions like turning on the lights and giving a weather update when someone walks into the kitchen in the morning.
- Keep an eye on your home*: With Ring Home Premium, Alexa+ can provide a summary of detected camera events and show you relevant footage on your Echo Show, like package deliveries or if the dog walker visits. Alexa+ also integrates with Ring’s Smart Video Search, so you can find and play specific moments you care about, like “show me all the footage of wildlife in the backyard this week.”
Enjoy enhanced entertainment
The new Echo Show 8 and Echo Show 11 are fully upgraded with an all-new audio architecture. They feature the same front-facing stereo speakers developed for the new Echo Studio, and a custom woofer that delivers up to double the bass compared to the previous Echo Show 8, making them our best-sounding smart displays available.
- Media control center: The new media control center puts all your audio entertainment options at your fingertips. Browse music, ambient sounds, podcasts, and books in dedicated pages, play content with a single tap, and easily manage audio and playback across multiple devices, all in one place. Tap Menu > Music & More to get started.
- Discover new music content: With Alexa+, you can conversationally search for and discover music even when you can’t remember the name of the song or artist. Build personalized playlists for any moment like “create a playlist for driving along the Pacific Coast Highway at sunset.”
- Enjoy your favorite video entertainment: Echo Show 8 and Echo Show 11 feature a new TV & Videos experience where you can watch your favorite movies and shows from your favorite providers in one place. To access entertainment, tap Menu > TV & Videos.
Video calls sound clearer than ever
Staying connected has never been better with the Echo Show's crystal-clear 13-megapixel camera. Start a call or drop-in on family and friends with a simple request. The 13-megapixel camera offers auto-framing and 3x zoom, and with our new AZ3 Pro chip, video calls are even better with advanced noise filtering technology.
Manage the entire family calendar in one place
Easily connect multiple calendars to get a full view of the entire family’s schedule. Alexa+ can help manage events using context from all your family members’ calendars to summarize your day, identify when it might be best to schedule an activity based on your availability, or learn your preferences like leaving for the airport two hours before a flight. You can also click into the calendar widget to see daily, weekly, and monthly views of your upcoming events, making it easy to see your family’s full schedule.
Keep your favorite memories front and center
With Alexa+, you can conversationally search for specific memories in your Amazon Photos library by people, places, and events, and display them across your new Echo Show devices. Or, easily create a slideshow of your favorite memories—like a recent trip you took, or a birthday party—and display your curated photos on your device. If you’ve turned on people tagging in the Amazon Photos app, you can use Alexa to name specific family members or loved ones in your photos and ask Alexa to show photos of those people. The new displays also pack in over a million pixels, bringing incredibly clear and vibrant picture quality to everything you see on the device.
More features coming soon
Amazon is preparing several Alexa+ updates that will come to the Echo Show devices starting in the coming weeks and will continue to release over time. This includes experiences like personalized recipes and a new Tasks widget, as well as Alexa+ and Ring integrations that let you create custom camera alerts, proactive Routines that recognize when regular habits are missed, and a new customizable smart home widget.
Want to learn more about your Echo devices? Explore 50 things to try with Alexa+ to make the most of your Alexa-enabled devices.
*Compatible Ring subscription required (sold separately). For customers in Illinois: Smart Video Search is not available on Ring devices due to specific state legislation.
