I've spent the past week reviewing the excellent Amazon Echo Hub and its extensive feature set reminded me why the best smart displays are so helpful for everyday tasks. This compact 8-inch touchscreen panel neatly streamlines all of your smart home devices and widgets into a single device that sits on your wall. But a lot of the things I like about it such as the real-time smart home status information and the ability to catch up on shows fit better on the normally pricier Echo Show 15's larger TV-like screen.
The massive, wall-mountable Echo Show 15 offers double the screen real estate for just $20 more than the new $179 Echo Hub and is one of several Amazon Echo devices on sale from $54 at Amazon right now. That's 45% off and some serious savings on one of the best smart displays we've tested. If you don't need a screen, the Echo (4th Gen) is $54 at Amazon in a deal that takes $45 off one of the best smart speakers we've reviewed. It has excellent sound quality, a built-in temperature sensor, and is great for controlling your other smart home devices.
Echo deals — Quick links
- shop all Echo devices on sale at Amazon
- Echo (4th Gen): was $99 now $54 @ Amazon
- Echo Show 10 (3rd Gen): was $249 now $194 @ Amazon
- Amazon Echo Show 15: was $279 now $199 @ Amazon
Echo deals — Best sales now
Alexa widgets have been a game changer for controlling my smart home. I've been using the Echo Show 15 as my primary home controller because of the live widgets that are always sitting on its home screen. I can leave sticky notes behind for family members, update to-do lists, and even see my commute update in real time. While smaller Echo Shows can store up to 5 widget shortcut buttons, these tools and information blocks require a tap to open and aren't as helpful. That's why the Echo Hub's pivot from a focus on media to helpful widgets that range from smart home controls to reminders really shakes things up and is my top pick for a smaller device if the Echo Show 15 is too big for your space.
Meanwhile the Amazon Echo (4th Gen) has a rounded shape that effectively fills my townhome's open concept living space with rich sound. Admittedly I primarily use smart displays in my home and received this Echo as a parting gift about two years back when Amazon killed off its Amazon Cloud Cam service. Since then I've bought two more on my own. This little sphere can pump out the hardest of bass and keeps lyrics and strings clean and separated without muddying up. Its built-in motion detection can trigger routines like automatically turning on a set of lights when you walk into a room. Plus its temperature sensor can automatically kick on a smart space heater if your climate gets too cold.
