Amazon Launches First Echo Show for Kids, Adds HD Cameras to Popular Smart Displays

After a year spent indoors and away from family, Echo Show users are finally putting their smart display’s video chat feature to use. So it’s no surprise that Amazon’s newly-announced Echo Show 8 and Echo Show 5 feature upgraded cameras for video calls. Amazon is also debuting an Echo Show 5 Kids Edition, the first Alexa smart display marketed toward children.

Coming in at $130, the new Echo Show 8 is the most impressive smart display in Amazon’s new lineup. It features a 13-megapixel wide-angle camera with automatic, AI-powered pan and zoom features to ensure that you’re always the focus of video calls. Amazon had to stick a new octa-core processor in the Echo Show 8 to power its new AI features, but like previous models of Echo Show 8, it still features dual stereo speakers, a familiar design, and an 8-inch HD display.

As the smallest of Amazon’s smart displays, the new Echo Show 5 costs just $85 and lacks the new Echo Show 8’s AI-powered camera features. But it features an upgraded 2-megapixel HD camera for high-quality video calls and drop-ins, plus a ton of new color options. Several of the new Echo Show 5’s features, including the 5.5-inch display, are carryovers from the previous model.

And then there’s the Echo Show 5 for Kids, the first Alexa smart display for children. Its hardware is identical to the new Echo Show 5, but it features a colorful design, kid-friendly clock faces and alarms, and robust parental controls. At $95, it costs a bit more than the standard Echo Show 5, but it comes with a 1-year subscription to Amazon Kids+ and a 2-year no-questions-asked warranty. If your kid breaks it, Amazon will replace it for free.

The all-new Echo Show lineup is now available for pre-order. Units ship on June 9th—just in time for Father’s Day.

Source: Amazon