Amazon Echo Show 8

You can check it out, see what's going on, see the package delivery, see where they're putting the package. That is a great feature that is nice. Well...

Here's a new one. I recently left a 1 star review on a Show 8 due to being fed up with forced ads on the screen and the "Alexa for Your Day" card. 2 days later I got an unsolicited call from a real person at Amazon Customer Service asking what would compel me to leave such a review.

If you do prefer Alexa, the new Echo Show 8 remains the best smart display to get, as it has a big enough screen to read from across the room, doubles as a great speaker, and comes with a host of camera-related features, including the aforementioned video calling and security camera features. It’s also over $100 less than the motorized Echo Show 10, while still providing many of the same features and capabilities

I assume next, they'll stumble into a yard full of upturned rakes. That's the level of assclownery emanating from Amazon developer headquarters right now. They're expending energy showing ADVERTISEMENTS to people with US English regional settings, on Echo Show 8 and 10… because that's definitely the best way to treat people who've paid for an always-on screen, which purports to be able to "show" you interesting things. Okay, even if you could just turn all this crap off and use it as a clock which you never have to set, that would be okay.

My Echo Show 8 recently updated while I was cooking. When it was done, the screen was completely black instead of showing the clock and my photos like it normally does. I contacted CS who told me to turn off night mode, but after rebooting it showed the clock and then the screen turned off??? Apparently there's this new setting "Auto Sleep" that turns the screen off during the day and it was turned on by default.

After yet another bout of screaming at my Echo Show 8 to try to get it to recognize its own wake word, I've had enough. I need a Show for my kitchen that consistently recognizes its wake word. My original gen 1 Show did (and still does in my laundry room) a perfect job recognizing "Alexa" at normal speaking volume. Though I've enjoyed the richer sound quality from the Show 8, it misses what I say so often it's actually become more of a nuisance than an assistant.

PLAY. THE. SONG. My newish Echo Show 8 makes three commands at bedtime into a five minute through the roof blood pressure rise.