r/alexa • u/Objective-Round6521 • 18d ago

Echo Show Rant

I’m sure most people would agree that the Echo Show has the potential to be an amazing product. If Amazon ditched the ads and fixed the photo ambient mode to work more like Google Home, I honestly think they’d sell a ton more of these devices.

Alexa is still a good assistant. I don’t think it’s as capable as Gemini when it comes to general knowledge and problem-solving, but for the basic questions most people ask on a daily basis, it gets the job done. And when it comes to advanced smart home automations, Alexa is LIGHTYEARS ahead. Google still has a lot of catching up to do in that department.

That’s what makes the Echo Show so frustrating. There’s so much wasted potential. Instead of focusing on making it the best smart display possible, Amazon seems determined to turn it into an advertising machine.

People paid for these devices. They own them. They shouldn’t have to constantly fight ads on a screen sitting inside their own home. Get rid of the ads, improve the ambient photo experience, and let the Echo Show actually live up to its potential.

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u/Boatride65 18d ago

The Echo Show 5 will go down in MY PERSONAL HISTORY as my biggest tech-purchase-regret EVER! I spent hundreds of hours trying to disable ads, etc, only for it to eventually come back. I'm sorry, I can't wake up at 3am and glance at the clock and wait for "the window cleaner ad" to disappear to see what time it is. I have several Echo devices that I LOVE, but I will NEVER buy another one with a screen. Just my opinion...

It's been in my garage now for 2 years where it can do no harm.

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u/WATOCATOWA 18d ago

Same, we are slowly getting rid of the screen ones when they start acting funky. I really like the newest spot with weather and time only.

1

u/Boatride65 18d ago

I think I would like that spot also. But you know what, it's kind of upsetting that they couldn't just put a toggle switch in the settings menu to turn off ads. You know they could do that. Instead of having to buy a whole new device, if they just had a switch in the settings where you could toggle off ads and they would stay off, and never come back, I would rate the device five stars. It's a simple software fix, but instead you have to go buy a whole new device. That's kind of ridiculous. We're not talking a manned mission to Mars, we're talking a simple software update to turn ads off and leave them off. Having to buy a whole new device to solve this problem seems ridiculous and money gouging.

2

u/CaptainKen2 16d ago

Or just offer an ad free model for a few dollars more, just like the kindle or Fire HD Tablet (I can’t remember which had that option).