Review of Amazon Echo Show 5 (2nd Gen): Still the Best Alexa Smart Display for Your Bedside

The cheapest Echo with a screen, the Echo Show 5 is designed to be the perfect bedside companion for the sick, featuring the built-in voice assistant Alexa. And although this smart display can do other things, this is where it truly shines.

Updated to 2021, the 2nd generation Show 5 still does its main job well, but the minor updates mean there’s no reason to give up the old Show 5 for this model.

You might also think twice about choosing this option over the original model if you plan to connect it to higher quality speakers (there’s no audio jack here).

However, you may want this due to the slightly better camera (2 megapixels instead of 1). This makes it better for video calls with other Alexas (there’s no Zoom here), and also enhances its skills as a smart home security camera.

Guide: best Alexa smart speakers. What you need to know: best smart speakers with screens

But if you are particularly interested in any of these features on your Alexa-based smart display, we have to say that the Show 8 is better in both cases – thanks to a much higher quality camera and a faster processor. For an additional $45, you get much more bang for your buck.

We have been living with the second-generation Echo Show 5 for a few weeks now, read our full review.

Echo Show 5 (2nd generation): design and features

The design remains exactly the same as the first-generation model, with a few changes, including a slightly different camera shape that freed up space for a slightly improved camera (now with a whopping 2 megapixels).

The large, chunky frame is still here, wrapped around a 5.5-inch screen (which is actually smaller than most smartphones) with a lackluster touchscreen with a resolution of 960 x 480 pixels. The camera still has a protective shutter, and the cubic-shaped back in the Show 5 houses the speaker.

Unfortunately, the 3.5mm audio jack is gone, so you can’t connect it to external speakers using a cable, as you could with the first generation Show 5 (which is still available for $5 less).

In terms of design, there are more color options — including blue and recycled white, as well as a chameleon green option if you choose the Kids Edition. This includes a year of Amazon Kids+ service for an additional $10 (although you can add Amazon Kids+ to any Echo device during setup).

The internal components, aside from the camera, are not updated, so you get the same MediaTek MT 8163 processor as in the original Show. Instead, other changes are based on software.

The new Show 5 adds home monitoring via the camera (more on this shortly), a person detection option for routines, and a touch repeat feature. Aside from that, it offers everything that the original Show 5 does.

This includes a nice bright screen to showcase a good selection of wallpapers and watch faces. We settled on the latter, as this device is perfect for use as a bedside alarm clock.

However, the screen is not quite suitable for watching videos—even though it supports streaming from Prime and Netflix (but, strangely, not Hulu—which is available on larger Shows).

The screen adjusts to the brightness of the room, meaning it dims when the light goes out, if you want it to. However, we found that it is not dim enough to use as a night clock, especially compared to the Google Nest Hub, which is a better companion by the bedside in every way.

The expected buttons are located at the top — volume up and down, as well as a mute switch that disables the microphone, along with a physical shutter that closes the lens and powers off the camera — this is important if you place it by your bed.

The speaker located at the back is impressive, just like in the original version. It does not fill the room, but it is more than pleasant to listen to tunes in bed or while working, if you place it on your desk.

However, the microphones are not as effective. And of all the Echos we tested, the Show 5 (and its older sibling, the Show 8) are the least responsive to commands, likely because the microphones are directed away from you if you are looking at the screen.

In about seven out of ten cases, when we asked the Show 5 to do something, another Echo in a different part of the house responded.

Echo Show 5 (2nd-gen): as an alarm clock

The size and design of the Echo Show 5 make it perfect as a bedside alarm clock. And if you’re still rocking a Casio alarm clock by your bed, this is an excellent upgrade.

The easiest way to set and manage alarms is directly from the device, using either touch or voice control. You can then dismiss or snooze them with a tap or a command.

If you want to get creative, you can set up routines that will trigger when the alarm goes off. This can allow you to choose for Alexa to read you the news, gradually increase the brightness of your smart lights, raise your smart curtains, set the connected thermostat to your desired temperature, and then start playing your favorite radio station, all with a single word from you or a touch on the screen.

We also really like the sunrise effect, which gradually brightens the display starting 15 minutes before any alarm set between 4:00 and 9:00. It’s a gentle way to start waking you up before the alarm goes off.

Speaking of alarms, we enjoy the various alarm tone options (however, you can only set them in the Alexa app). Waking up to jokes from the hosts of The Grand Tour is always fun (at least it was for me when I set an alarm for my son on his first day of school – he was very scared).

The snooze function is a nice addition. It worked well during testing, giving you an extra 10 minutes of sleep without needing to say any words or groggily tap the screen.

However, the best feature here is what we all love about Alexa – music and radio on demand. Overall, the Show 5 has really good speakers for its size, and playing music on them is one of our favorite use cases, especially in a small room like the bedroom.

As a bonus, if you subscribe to Amazon Music, it scrolls the song lyrics on the display, so it can be used as a fun karaoke machine in the kids’ room.

The only real issue as a smart speaker for the bedroom here is that the screen is still too bright at night if you are sensitive to light at all.

Echo Show 5 (2nd Generation): Alexa and Everyday Use

While all the benefits of using the Alexa voice assistant are true and present (read our full guide if you need more information), as a touchscreen controller for your Alexa-based smart home, the Show 5 does not shine.

You swipe from right to left to access smart home controls for compatible devices, such as cameras and light sources, but the touchscreen interface is so sluggish and the icons for each device are so large that if you have more than a couple of connected gadgets, you’ll give up and choose voice control.

The new home monitoring feature that allows for remote viewing of the camera feed in the Alexa app is convenient in an emergency. However, the wedge design angles the camera upward, so you end up looking at the ceiling. It’s only really useful if Spider-Man is robbing your house.

The Home Monitoring feature can be disabled if you don’t want any family members checking on you. But the Show provides a handy on-screen warning if someone tries to peek — and the option to shut them down right from the device.

While the 2-megapixel camera makes video calls a bit better, it only works for Alexa calls (not Zoom, like the Show 8), and that wedge design combined with the smaller screen means everyone is looking up your nose.

The camera also allows for person detection for routines, letting you use the movement of a person in front of the camera to trigger a routine.

This works best as a safety feature — for example, create a procedure that plays “Dog Barking,” turns on all the lights, and sends me a notification when a person is detected. When we tried to set it up for a home automation procedure that would turn on the ceiling fan whenever someone was in the room, we found that it worked very inconsistently. A person must be directly in front of the camera for it to work reliably.

As for security, Show 5 can also receive a live stream from any of your compatible connected cameras — for example, when someone presses the Ring Video doorbell or if you ask to see the stream from your Blink camera.

We found that pulling up the feed was a bit slow, but once it appeared, it looked good and the sound was clear.

Echo Show 5 — an excellent little device that can be turned into an almost perfect bedside alarm clock. But the modest updates in the second generation model do not make it a must-have purchase if you already own the Show 5. Overall, this miniature smart display is overshadowed by its larger sibling, the Show 8. In this price range, it is a good choice for a child’s bedroom or a decent bedside alarm clock for you. But if you want to use it as a smart home control screen, look for other devices in the Echo lineup.

• The best camera
• Good speaker for its size
• Improved video calls
• Home monitoring option
• Privacy shutter
• Slow touchscreen
• Hearing impaired
• No audio jack
• Not the best smart home controller.