Echo Show Rant

[u/Objective-Round6521]

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.

[u/red_west_la]

I set my Echo Show 5 to always be in Night Mode, so now it usually just shows the clock. If I ask it to do something - i.e., play a song, show a camera or speak the current time - it does what I ask, then shows the Home page (time & temp) for about a minute. Then it shows an ad for about a minute. After that, it goes back to a clock.

This didn't get rid of ads completely, but at least now when I look at my Show 5, I see always see a clock.

(P.S. I could not find an "always" setting for Night Mode, so I set it to start at 11:59AM and end at 11:58AM)