The model new Echo Present 8 was simply formally launched by Amazon, and I have been in a position to check it for the previous few days. Coming from a first-generation Echo Present 8 makes the upgrades to the third-generation mannequin all of the extra evident.
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Except for that includes a sleeker design with edge-to-edge glass, a center-set digital camera, and a smaller speaker enclosure, the 2023 Echo Present 8 options spatial audio, a sooner processor than earlier generations, and an upgraded good house expertise.
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Echo Present 8 (2023)
The third-generation Echo Present 8 is on the market for $105 and incorporates a vibrant, upgraded display screen, improved velocity, and a sooner processor.
Amazon’s updates are evident from the second you unbox the gadget. The everyday plastic packaging shines for its absence, because the gadget is wrapped principally in recyclable supplies. Amazon says 99% of the gadget’s packaging is product of wood-fiber supplies from “responsibly managed forests or recycled sources.”
As soon as unboxed, the Echo Present 8 stands out from earlier generations for its totally different design, significantly the speaker on the again. Older generations had a tapered speaker again that doubled as a stand to carry the good show as much as make it self-standing. The newest Echo Present 8’s speaker additionally props up the show, however it has a brand new design that’s, in my humble opinion, a alternative.
The speaker on the bottom, let’s admit it, appears to be like a bit like a butt protruding of the good show, particularly when seen from an angle and only a sliver of it’s seen. This is not a destructive factor, simply the unlucky notion the gadget gave me.
Suboptimal bottom design decisions are simply one of many many new options packed into the most recent era Echo Present 8, nonetheless. Amazon lastly opted to position the gadget’s digital camera in the course of the show as a substitute of on the precise, because it’s achieved with every Echo Present.
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The upgraded 13MP digital camera is supposed for use for video calls, making the middle placement all of the extra useful to forestall folks from wanting like they’re wanting off to 1 facet when on a video name.
The digital camera placement that goes from the precise to the middle may additionally higher help Visible ID, which makes it potential for the Echo Present 8 to detect when an individual approaches the gadget.
Visible ID personalization is on the market within the Echo Present 10, Echo Present 15, and Echo Present 8 second era and newer. This function makes it simpler for every individual in a family to have a customized expertise with the good show.
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Every family member that wishes to make use of Visible ID has to enroll individually on every gadget, as Amazon explains this visible information is saved regionally on the gadget. When one of many enrolled members approaches the Echo Present 8, it can show customized content material, like sticky notes another person left for that individual, calendars, and their favourite information.
The Echo Present 8 (2023) switches from Standby Mode to a extra interactive display screen when a registered person is detected.
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However Visible ID differs from Adaptive Content material, an all-new function that Amazon is debuting with this third-generation gadget. Adaptive Content material will make it simpler for customers to view content material on the display screen from a distance by simplifying it when nobody is close to the gadget and switching to an in depth view when the individual approaches the Echo Present.
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If the person can be enrolled in Visible ID, then the displayed content material will probably be customized to that person. Adaptive Content material can be coming to the second-generation Echo Present 8 and different Echo Present units as quickly as early 2024.
The newest Echo Present 8 can be a good speaker, full with spatial audio. The gadget packs a pair of two-inch neodymium audio system for a vibrant directional really feel and a surprisingly wealthy sound expertise regardless of the scale of the speaker, particularly in comparison with the first-generation mannequin and 2023 Echo Present 5.
ZDNET’s shopping for recommendation
The latest Echo Present 8 makes a compelling case for a wise show for each Alexa followers and good house fans, however the $150 MSRP, greater than earlier generations, could possibly be a deterrent (although that is simply remediated by the lingering Cyber Monday deal). The second-generation Echo Present 8 retails for $130 although it is typically discounted, like proper now, at solely $70.
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This newest good show, nonetheless, is notably sooner than earlier fashions each within the display screen’s contact response and the way shortly Alexa responds to and processes requests.
For good house customers, the Echo Present 8 can course of widespread good house requests regionally for 40% sooner responses while you ask Alexa to activate a wise mild or good plug. The brand new Echo Present 8 can be not only a good show with Alexa built-in, however a wise house hub just like the Echo and higher-end Echo Present 10.
With help for Zigbee, Thread, and Matter, the Echo Present 8 generally is a central nexus to arrange and management appropriate good units and a wise assistant.
