Goodbye Echo Shows: I am DONE!
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- Опубликовано: 29 июн 2024
- I have been using the Amazon Echo Shows since the first one came out. But not anymore. I am packing away the Echo Shows and am done with them in my house.
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Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
01:38 The Hardware
03:03 Amazon Holding Back
04:56 The Interface
05:57 Usefullness
08:36 Amazon Doesn't Listen
09:47 The Deal Breaker!
#AmazonEchoShow #AmazonEcho #EchoShow #craigstechtalk 
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No lies were told in this video. I use my Echo as an alarm clock and to play music. Otherwise its pretty useless.
Clock+Music+Photo slide of my two little girls, until it insist on displaying ads to enable some random skill. I have disabled every single nano marketing option in the settings, it still won't go away.
Thank you. I appreciate that. I try to keep it real, good and bad. Glad you are getting some use still.
Marcus, it’s so annoying to have to turn off the different screens. The deal breaker are those annoying ones you can’t turn off.
Yep ... clock, music, photos, and weather on my Alexa capable Samsung fridge.
All the other hubs I have are Nest Max hubs ... and I use them the same way.
Why did you buy an Echo device and not a music player with a built in clock? Could have saved a pretty penny...
I renamed my Echo Show "Ad Server" about a month or so before finally pulling the plug. It now sleeps with the fishes. When Amazon anounced they would include ads in their Prime videos, THAT was the final straw for me and I ended up dumping Prime altogether.
Good for you. Getting rid of Prime is a big one.
Amazon have never been about listening to their customers
I know right like it’s sad
I’ve had mine for the last 10 years and I was expecting to see more updates get pushed but no they clearly don’t care
I didn’t buy the echo show 8 to look at ads year after year
You got that right. It is unfortunate that they create in their own little bubble. Instead of just stealing good ideas from Apple and Samsung. Google does the same thing.
I expected more updates too. Not losing features behind a paywall.
There’s a hack that I found on Reddit to stop all the ads and it’s worked for me for over a year. Im not sure if I can post a link here but you must change your device’s language in settings from English (US) to English (Canada) and I also changed Alexa voice to American 1, that second part is optional though. Canada has much more strict SPAM laws so no more ads.
I’m in the US btw.
Thank you for sharing and watching. That makes sense about the ads.
I just tried it. I'll report back to see if it works for me. if not, It'll be in the dump soon.
@@SoCalVipers cool. Let me know if it works for you.
Yes, please let us know if it still works!
It seems to have solved the problem. I have not seen any ads since I made the change. :)
I don't even use my Show to see the time and weather anymore because my ecobee thermostat displays it bigger than my Show, which has a larger screen! It's like Amazon never once talked to a real person who uses their devices.
That is a great point about the Ecobee display. You nailed it, Amazon isn’t taking input. They are in their own bubble.
Still can’t understand the Alexa app, it's AWFUL. echo dot is OK, since it was 10$. I totally agree with Craig...
It’s crazy after all these years the app is not much better. Thanks for watching.
Amazon cut much of their development staff for these devices. There's really no point in buying anything new, the devices are very limited in what they can do... Since Amazon makes no profit on these devices/Alexa, I suspect the whole ecosystem will start to decay...
There needs to be an open source smart speaker option.
I unplugged my Echo show. I don't know where it was coming from, but someone was harassing me through my Echo show. So I unplugged it. They're Fire TV devices are slow in their performance too. I also put my Chromecast Google TV back action.
An Open source option would be an interesting option. It doesn’t look good for the future with all their cuts.
That is crazy about your echo show. I do like the Google interface better than Fire TVs. Thanks for sharing.
@@CraigsTechTalkdo you remember “Mycroft Mark II” unfortunately I backed this open source device. But in the end they failed to bring to market - they ended up wasting money on all the problems it had, and its interface and AI were just too slow. There version one that used raspberry pi would have done much better
Home Assistant is getting there. Hopefully soon Nabu Casa will release a commercial one. I do have an ESPHome based speaker/voice control and it works OK.
Basically I went all in on Apple. Google and Amazon - I spent too much money on them - never again, and yep, you pretty much nailed everything wrong with Amazon echo’s, they should be paying us to place billboards in our house…
You’re absolutely correct Apple’s business model is best for customers no advertising or selling your data to third parties
I'm frustrated beyond belief with mine. I agree with everything you said, but I must add one thing: I have EVERYTHING turned off on my home screen, and about once a month Amazon either adds something new, or turns things back on that I previously turned off. I'll be sitting on my couch and see something flash in the corner of my eye, and sure enough, it's showing ads again. Infuriating.
I finally bought a tablet with a stand that I plan on using in its place. I am also done with these pieces of garbage.
i’m surprised you didn’t mention how crappy the voice recognition have been, mine may listen to me 50% of the time, and even then it will say it didn’t understand me. i’d rather tap a couple times on my phone than bother asking my echo to do something
What's annoying is you turn stuff of and amazon turns crap back on.
Tell me about it it’s freaking annoying the other week. I turned off some stupid shopping recommendation crap then I go to turn it on today then just showing me stupid shopping crap that I turned off previously. It’s bloody annoying but thankfully in the UK at the moment we’re not getting as many stupid adverts as people in America. So thank God for that saying that I’ve probably just gone jinxed it. It’s probably been jinxed.
Mines been telling me Lexus ads after doing something not even remotely related to driving or cars, like turning on a light!
I wish I went with Google.
It’s great Amazon keeps adding new screens turned on by default. You get at least 1 or 2 new ones a month. The Lexus one is great since it is a paid sponsored ad. You can’t turn off anything with the word sponsored. Lexus is doing some dumb Alexa theme.
As an Echo user who has 9 echo's throughout my home and car....I agree 110% - The only thing that has kept me from boxing up my echo's is that I need a good product to replace them...The echo's do provide an option to control my lighting throughout the house. Hoping your video on Apple products provides a greater insight to use SIRI. By the way I too am frustrated by the ads they are senseless and not in tune with the products I am most interested in. Amazon does ask for feedback from customers via their memberships- but still waiting for some of my feedback to take traction. Keep up the great videos and DON"T HOLD BACK...The only way Amazon is going to change is from video's like this one!!
Hi Craig, I used to live in Agoura Hills and had a home computer/home theater company. I have stopped using my Echo Shows - have on in every room of my house. I have moved to using my Google devices. I get RUclips TV native, better searches, faster integration with doorbells, cameras, thermostats, etc. I just used the Echos Shows for an OK Clock - so I wasted about $1000 on all of these shows.... And, don't get me started about stereo paired Echo Studios and Echos playing music filled with dropouts - pretty much stopped using those as well. I now use the Google Nest Speakers for three stereo pairs in some of my rooms. Since I am an audiophile snob, I use Sonos as background music in my two offices. Thanks for being real about the Echo Shows
Very cool David. I can understand having a home theater company, you need some good sound. Sonos are great. I can appreciate the switch to Google. The Nest hub has such a better interface.
I appreciate this video Craig. For a while I stopped watching your videos because all these things have frustrated me and it seems all you posted was favorable videos about these devices. We need to come together as a community and find ways to take back our smart homes! Words can never describe how grateful I am for this shift in your channel, THANK YOU FOR FIGHTING FOR THE END USER!
Thanks for this video, Craig. I originally gave my Show5 a glowing review right after I first got it but for awhile now, every time I look at it for the current time or temp, all I keep seeing is ad after ad after ad and it’s pretty frustrating and I thought it was just me being fickle. But now I see I’m in good company. What a shame too because it really is (was?) a pretty cool device.
I appreciate your honesty and letting me know that you had stopped watching. I do try to be positive and share what a device can do. But I need to be better about coming back around to these features and let you know if they are worth keeping.
I love the coming together as a community and putting out the frustrations. I appreciate the kind words. I don’t want to go negative, but I do think we need to raise the bar, not go backwards. I think we need to ask if these things are really worth spending more money on for upgrades. Thank you again. Have a great day.
Hello Dave, in my livestreams I kept hearing more frustration. That combined with my own and it was time to talk about it. You are not alone my friend. Like many others, we bought into something that was growing and positive for the user. Now it has become something that we didn’t sign up for. Amazon should give us users a kickback for the ad space they are using on my device.
I donated my Echo Show 8 to my mom. I got so tired of the advertising Amazon did to me constantly. I turned off all the settings I could, and still it kept showing ads to me. Screw that crap. I bought an Echo Dot and then an Echo Pop. I love them. They do what I want, and nothing more!
Have 8 inch echo show in kitchen and used for years to show me my next appointment from google calendar. Cant get it to do that anymore and cant find a way to fix it. The updates do go into calendar but no reminders when they are nearly due. Bloody useless.
I’m about a year and a half or so into smart home life. Started off with Alexa integrated products. Seemed like more products worked with Alexa than anything else at the time so I went with it. Got sick of the interface on the echo shows. The ads. The useless info popping up. I had several shows in my house at one point. 5, 8, 10, 15 you name it. Blink cameras. Ring doorbell. All owned by Amazon. Started converting to HomeKit and will never look back. I have one device left from Amazon, the show 15 because it looks nice on my wall and I use it to control my roomba. All other Alexa/amazon owned devices are retired. good riddance
Glad I held off on ever getting one. Sounds like my Echo dot with clock does everything any of the Show's do.
Packed mine away a year or so ago. I got tired of constantly having to change settings to block the ads and suggestions. I just wanted a display of the time and temperature. Instead, I paid for a device that allowed Amazon to advertise to me. I disconnected all echo devices in my home except for one. It sits in a remote bedroom and is only used as a hub to control my smart devices.
Thank you for sharing Terry. It makes sense to keep the one for the hubs. No reason to spend more money.
I'm getting annoyed with Alexa in general - just turning the light on and she starts waffling on about finding a skill or turning the light automatically, keep getting Amazon Music notifications for new music from random artists and I've checked no favourites as I'm an Apple Music user! When I Wang my light on I often have to say "ALEXA ^£^#&# SHUT UP" and then she doesn't because you swore at her and hurt her feelings 🙄🙄🙄
I agree! I keep checking my settings thinking I can turn off the ads but I cannot. So annoying. You nailed it on this.
It's relatively easy to turn it into a clock. You have to turn off all the options in Settings/Home&Clock/Home Content and then MOST IMPORTANTLY, set the Night Mode to 00:00 - 23:55 Daily. Now go back to home screen and after a minute or less it will switch to clock and stay there. No ads. Each time you interact with it, it will always return to clock after a short (minute or less) time. I have mine next to my PC and the ads were driving me mad and I was going to dump it but now it does it's job. I've had it like this for about the last year..
Thanks for the video though, I agree with the majority of it.
Craig, Craig here! I am glad you made this video. I couldn't agree more. I was a beta tester for the first Alexa and have had several in my home with "upgrades" to Shows ever since. I now despise their intrusion in my home. The one feature I really wanted is the weather and time overlayed on my photos but oh, no all I get is ad's. Not just ad's, it is stupid stuff that most 5-year olds wouldn't want. I have replaced two Show's in my heavy use areas with Pixel Tablets, which to your point, do more useful things. I plan to add one more to replace all of my Show's which are now in Closets to turn on lights. It is hard to understand how tone def Amazon has become on this or how they have taken something with so much promised and squander it. Well I vented and thank you for your great channel and all of the hard work it takes to make such useful content.
100% agree with everything you've said. If I buy any echo devices going forward, none will have a screen because never once have I looked at their advertisements and said, "hey, I need that!" NOT ONCE. Why can't someone figure out a way to jail break these devices and let the end user decide what to put on the screen?
Thanks for saying what everyone else is thinking. More smart home tech channels need to do the same.
Thank you very much 🙏 I have to keep it real with you all. I am glad to help be a voice for frustrated users. You have a Great point, I have never taken action after seeing one of the ads or their recommendation screens. I like the jailbreak idea.
The only thing Amazon created was a customer info farm with ad manipulation features. It’s pretty gross.
It is bad. I understood the device was to encourage Amazon sales, but it’s out of control.
I've had the same frustrations for quite a while now, especially about the ads. Great video.
Thanks - was considering replacing my Google Nest Max with an Echo Show, helped me make up my mind.
Glad to help. Nest Hub Max is a much better screen interface.
I agree totally with your rant! Thank you; I hope you are heard! I use mine for - time, weather, timer when cooking, FaceTiming family members.
I use my Google mini to get answers to questions because the shows never seemed to answer the question asked.
I have an Echo Dot or an Echo in every room in my house. The Echo in my office (the big one) is a great speaker for music and Podcasts. The Echo Dot with a clock in my bedroom is my alarm clock. The others are used for home automation, information requests, or for playing music while I putter. I have wanted to get an Echo Show or two several times over the past couple years, but have run into the issues you described so well in this video. There is not a single Echo Show that does everything that I needed. The combination of features I want would require buying multiple devices. And there just wasn’t enough value in any one of them to justify the cost. I’ll keep using my Echos, but the Show is not something I’ll be getting into.
right there with you Craig. Also tired of features that were there when we bought the products but then are removed so that you are forced to either buy newer or buy a service from amazon.
Love, love the rant. Spot on! Finally. More of this needed. 👍🏼 !
You lasted longer than me, I reset mine and donated it several months ago. The nonstop ads were my final straw too and I tried every tip and trick I could find to turn them off and they still kept coming.
Thank you I pulled the plug along time ago because of the ads and they have gotten worse so I have heard. I am not a google fan for automation but I have a google device I use for a digital frame and I love it because it shows me pictures NOT ADS
Craig, thank you for such a great video, I don’t look at my echo shows anymore. They just sit in the corner and I just use them for when I wanna know where my packages are that I ordered from Amazon prime which is overpriced. You made me laugh so hard at the end that was awesome. Thank you for a great video!
With one exception, I refuse to have an Amazon Echo devices with screens in my home specifically because they're basically advertising billboards. It would be different if there were at least a toggle that said "Allow sponsored content", and if turned off, it drops all ads. But that's not going to happen, so I stick with the speaker devices only, which advertise MUCH less. All I want is to be able to control my smart devices, set alarms and timers, get the time, simple stuff. And all unprofitable for Amazon. The one exception is that I do have a Fire tablet, which has show mode, but is also mostly a regular Android tablet, with the google play store sideloaded.
You are spot on Craig. Amazon should rewrite the software from the ground up for the echo show devices and make them fast, efficient, useful and minimalistic (if that’s what the end user wants). Do they listed to any feedback from customers or reviewers? Its voice and query recognition is also really poor. As you said, nobody wants to listen to long winded explanations (often about things that weren’t asked for). It looks like they have really sat back with no development in recent years.
Thanks for the honest review. I’m not ready to put my six Shows away just yet. I have also owned them all first gen through current. My biggest problem is the voice response sensitivity is just not really any better from generation to generation. I have to constantly repeat myself. And that stupid white cord on the darker devices! Amazon please take note and please please please improve these devices once and for all.
I have three fire tablets that I use in show mode but when I don’t want to look at them I just put them screen down lol. One in my living room, one in the bedroom and the other one in my closet when I’m getting dressed I’ll skim the news and weather and that’s all.
Thank you . I was almost going to purchase 1 , now i am not going to waste my $...thanks for this video!
You are welcome. I am glad that it was helpful for you. I appreciate you watching.
True, and it is very annoying especially when there is an ad instead of the time being there. A very limited product. I'm also going to shop for a clock that is more reliable without the interruptions. Great video.
That is the reason I keep using Google hubs screens. It cost double or the triple of the echos, but I guess the money for ads goes in a different direction as Google don't put ads on their smart screen devices (for now).
I have Home Assistant fire a routine every 3 hours to show photos. That's ALL I use them for now.
I love that you have Home Assistant keeping them in check.
You’re so right. The Echo Show is missing so many obvious features. Like being able to scroll through Spotify playlists on the screen and seeing updates about things I’m interested in rather than ‘trending’ gossip.
Thank you. People would use the Echo Show more if it showed what you want and was easy to use with services like Spotify
@@CraigsTechTalk I would really love proper music controls, including search, on that screen.
Same here. Unplugged all except the Flex in the bathroom. I use it for a radio in the mornings. Otherwise they are useless. I got tired of all the ads like you.
I"ve only got 3 of them to control my RING security system, mainly the Doorbell. That's it!
Great video. I feel your pain. Looonngg time Amazon Prime member here. Bought the Kindle when they had keyboards and cost $379. Long enough to remember if the unreleased iPad was rumored to be the “Kindle killer”! I had the invite to purchase first Echo speaker for $99. Imo, Amazon might have the best customer service in tech.
I had it with Amazon years ago anyway. I tolerated the slow or nonexistent device upgrades because Amazon was unique and no one could offer the services they provided better. I got sick of their privacy violations and intrusive business model. No matter what I wanted, Amazon violated that trust repeatedly. I still read, but Amazon is barely welcome in my home. They may not sell my data like Facebook but I find them equally repugnant.
I am surprised most of you get ads ?! Maybe an issue in USA only ? I live in Belgium, turned off ads in the settings 2 years ago and never see any of them. Use the device showings all my photos and for timers and reminders. All voice interactions are controlling my Home Assistant entities and it works perfectly fine. I can only agree on one thing: it is often too slow.
I believe it is US only and is expanding to Canada soon. I have been turning off the suggestion screens as they pop up. But in the US when it says Sponsored in the bottom right corner, it is an ad.
This is the same for the Nest Hubs - totally useless apart from an alarm clock and playing music. Slowest of the slow UI, everything has to be done on the Google Home app on my phone - no benefit to having the screen at all (apart from seeing a timer!).
The genius of the standard Echo was that it was ambient computing ... it didn't require your attention or even your hands. You could just work with it while doing other things. The minute you put a screen on it, you undermine the core value prop, doubly so if you have to touch it to do things.
The problem is Echo was always intended to get you to buy more, not be actually useful. That's why they went to screens so quickly ... so they could advertise to you. They (rightly) figured that the device speaking an ad to you was awkward and creepy. It's why the screen is such an afterthought.
I'm actually considering getting rid of mine and moving to HomePods, but only if Apple does replace Siri with a ChatGPT-based replacement. It might actually be worth working with, and I'll stop getting all these stupid Amazon notifications and ads.
I had 3 different Shows, I hated the slow processing, so now we switched all to HomePod. Not perfect but so much better for the smart home stuff
Great video! The problem are also the Ads on Amazon Prime.. in 40 minutes video 3 or 4 ads long nearly 2 minutes (in Italy(... please !
Like Craig I started with these years ago. Like Craig I updated these devices. They had a good run. I did not notice the demise till a little later around 2022 but agree it has been downhill since. And finally, like Craig, I will take my 6 echo devices and box up. Thank you Craig for doing the Homepod videos I will check them out.
I originally used my Echo products for many features. The one I really liked was it would listen in while I was away and would alert me to sounds of entry, or my smoke detector going off. All of a sudden, with an update, that feature no longer worked. For well over a year, I’d get messages that they were still working on it. I have also since packed up my echos.
Hi Graig, I fully support your POW, in addition of your relevant remarks, in Europe we are far having the last figures than you use in the US, it takes months and years for Amazon to update the Europeans erosion, it is very frustrating. But they very quickly update their adv..
Everything you said on video makes perfect sense to me.
It doesn't make sense for Amazon though. :) They're actually loosing money even on that cheap hardware, just to be able to sell you more ads through that devices, so they NEVER gonna remove ads. It's main device purpose.
What bugs me even more - all these vendor-locked devices spoiled everyone with their price (which, of course, is that low because they bind you to ecosystem and can sell your data, while selling you more stuff and showing you ads). And now, seeing that good hardware, that is capable of sound/display quality, comparable to that, costs 3-4 times more - people just don't want to get over.
Totally agree, I have 3, only use it for voice as touch is too slow and the widgets are confusing. We don't have adds yes in the EU, but man, the quizes and random videos of no interrest started to bug me as well last week. I even pullen the plug out of frustration.
I can't believe that no one commenting has mentioned the Ring doorbell integration. I will have to keep 1 show just for that.
When you switch back to a non screen echo you quickly realize how much better it is to just press the action button seeing as the shows never had one.
I can appreciate that. I am so used to grabbing my phone. Thanks for mentioning this.
Screw the shows…..put it on a tv with a fire stick….I got rid of my shows. Usless. I am just getting sick of Amazon itself. Next step to cancel the yearly subscription and just be done.
Not that it's even that good! Poor resolution especially at night and the delay????
The times I'm out, get a message that someone's rung my doorbell and by the time I've answered they're gone!
Thank you !!!!
It's true. Amazon is not giving their customers enough features and a returning value. I'm throwing all my echoes too, because ads are driving me mad too.
Agree 100%. The old echo spot worked best as a clock. It was small, round and looked ok on furniture. Amazon realized this and quickly cancelled the spot to replace it with the show .
I still use the 15 in my kitchen for Fire TV, and all the rest are still around the house because I have them linked and I can play music house-wide via Spotify. I'm not particularly attached to them though, and agree with all your points.
I couldn't agree more with you. I HATE all those ads for things I don't wnt. And I can't remember how ofter I've clicked on the 'no sports' button, it makes no difference, they are there all the time. It may stay till I move but then it's gone...
I am with you on this one. It is frustrating when you do a drop-in and the shows are spinning, or not, bad connection, drop call, and all the negative that you can think of. I do not know why I paid so much for something that cannot do a simple function. It shows ads all around because I do shop on Amazon. I will buy something and you can see on my husband's similar ads that his show is linked to his Amazon account. I love Amazon but these Echo's nope, not impressed ever.
Very good point I have 2 I only talk to them for weather. The camera functions are slow... I'm gonna sell
The ads are ridiculous. I’m planning on getting rid of the 8inch shows. Plus overall alexa is missing several commands daily.
I agree Craig. I have one Echo Show (2nd Gen Show 8) and I won't be buying anymore. As you stated, too much advertising, not user friendly, and very limited. I'll be gland when Apple comes out with a Home Pod with a display so you can control your home devices. Hopefully, Apple will get it right with a dedicated ecosystem hub. Give us control and give us options.
Yeah, getting very frustrated! Lately, I can't even watch the short news feed they put on the screen. When I push play to view the video she tells me it isn't available in my location. I don't understand why. It was always available before. I have 2 echo shows and a dot. I should have bought google instead!
I’ve never spent a dime on Amazon smart home garbage
I ONLY use it to answer my video doorbell. Somebody rings bell and the video pops up and ready right away to talk. Everything else deleted so it only has the ONE purpose
Oh no, say it ain’t so. I agree, but I primarily use my show 5 and 10 as an alarm clock to play music.
Sorry Reggie, it must be done. But I will check out whatever is next with them. Thanks for watching.
Preach! Everything you mentioned is 100% spot on.
You get faster load times with their tablets?! Those things are worse than the echo shows.
😂 That’s funny. Maybe it feels like the payoff is better with the tablets. Thanks for watching.
Not only I feel the same way for echo show but I also feel their ring cameras have no development in a while also. I’m starting to look for alternatives away from Amazon products.
The only show i have is the 5 which does display a full screen time. At some point someone thought these were great advertising devices and not smart home gadgets. Irony is this could be fixed with software and some cohesion across the devices. Here hoping they clue in at some point.
Echo Show for me is just an alarm clock, Spotify speaker, digital photo frame, and I use drop in feature to speak to family. Good enough for me. Other than that, use my tablet or smart tv.
I agree with most of your points but you didn't offer any alternatives. Without my echo shows I could not access my cameras or talk with my mother in a video chat. EVERYTHING is getting monetized, adapt to it or continue to use it to get more attention.
Wow! You've just made me so happy I went with Google in this space. They're not perfect but much better than what you've described.
Very much done with Amazon smart home for all the reasons you listed here. I’m in the process of rebuilding my smart home with Apple and HomeKit compatible things instead.
Definitely agree with everything you’ve stated. One thing that drives me mad is the usability of others services. Amazon music - all works perfectly, wanna use Apple Music instead? No lyrics, won’t play the specific song asked for, lags terribly etc. I feel forced into using their services with their devices but even those aren’t reliable and being plagued with more advertising.
You had more patience than I did. I dumped all of my Echos, including the Echo Show 5s I had in every room, years ago because I was tired of the incessant ads . The only ones I kept plugged in were the one in the kitchen (sole use: kitchen timers) and the one in the main bathroom (sole use: ability to check time and weather via voice command when I get out of the shower). If AAPL were ever to come out with a HomePod with a screen capable of controlling my HomeKit devices and displaying multiple timers at the same time, I’d be completely done with Echos. One can hope Siri finally grows a brain at DubDub tomorrow. Not that I’m holding my breath.
I was able to stick with the Echos because you could chase the screens away in the Home Content settings. But these new “Sponsored” ones are nonsense. I am with you on a HomePod with a screen. I do love being able to control my Apple Home from any apple device in the Home App. It would be nice to have a smart display with the same thing.
I just deregistered my only echo device that I was just using it for clock , but I could not setup up as a dedicated clock with bigger dedicated clock display & advertisements are annoying. I am just sticking to HomeKit & Apple ecosystem.
Im with you on this issue Craig..Im slowly fading out all 6 of mine too. My Googles are not brilliant but better than Amazons devices
I’m with you on this Craig. I have slowly been moving to HomeKit and as you say voice requests are becoming less and less. I find the Alexa app frustrating and confusing now. I asked Alexa for a spelling of something to do with my wife’s death and it followed up with an advert right in my face. That was the point it almost got tore off the wall.
U are totally in my head !!! I agree 💯. I have one in every room and different ones and yes, over the years they suck.
Main thing is something simple like - I want 1 background pic and it can’t even do that no matter how many times I try - it turned into garbage ,,, but I do look forward to more of your videos, because it makes me happy to know that I am not alone in this aggravation , thank you❤
Hey Craig, I agree 100% with why you are getting rid of the echo show. I only have 1 in our kitchen and my wife and I just enjoy the photos and the timer lol, but those ADS are overwhelming. So what device are you going to replace the echo with?
I can appreciate the photos and timers. I am missing timers and the clock. As for what I will be using, it will be HomePods. I have been running my smart home with HomePods for a while. I made a video a year or so back on why I switched. I may need to revisit that to let people know what I am doing. Thanks for watching.
You are absolutely right when it comes to the hardware. It feels like a typical cheap Chinese Alibaba product.
My Gosh!! Why can't I get a full-screen CLOCK!! So dumb. I'd pay the difference to remove ads.
I have the original and I use it for a clock as well!!!😢
Nice that you have the original. It would be nicer if it could do a full screen clock now. Thanks for watching.
I have to agree. I didn't quite think of all of it until I started watching this video. I downgraded my Echo Show 2 years ago because I just wasn't using it like I used to. I used to watch some movies while cooking and used some of the apps - but not many. I was sure it was going to get better and more useful, but the opposite has happened. I downgraded to a smaller Echo Show and it just shows me my photos, the weather, and many shopping suggestions. I'm a bit surprised they haven't used that screen to improve the experience. Sadly, this may be dead tech in my house in the next year or so. Thanks for the video.
My Show is on the counter next to the stove. Mostly use it to follow recipes while cooking. Or to add things to my shopping list 😅
Ihave been sick of the Echo Show just for the clock alone, being in the bottom left corner which I have asked you about. Just saw your video on the Nest Hub, I see the clock in the bottom left too, Do you know if the positioning can be changed to a diffrent location such as bigger in the middle or in an upper corner as the "default clock position" ? Or would you recommend something else as a better clock display, We pretty much have Google Nest thermostat and smart lights for the moment as far as smart products go. Thanks
I agree with everything. I got one I just use for a few pictures that rotate for a reason. I use do not disturb which helps a lot for some of the random junk it shows.
I don't like that I can't use any Echo Show devices for the Home Theater feature on my Omni Series Fire TV. The Echo, Echo Dot, Echo Sub, Echo Studio, and the Echo Pop are all compatible though.
I have an Echo 15 (bedroom), 8 (bathroom), and 5 (home office) and I mainly use them to watch or listen to content. I will not be purchasing another and find them to be a use of potential.
Totally agree with the ads rant! The only thing I use the Shows for (once in a blue moon) is to see what's going on with my cameras. What ever happened to the development of the echos being able to communicate with other apps? Like... "Alexa, order my favorite coffee from Dunkin Donuts." Or more of the conversational features in general?
I thought I was already subscribed, but anyway, I am now. I gotta say you actually triggered something in me that I didn't realize was there. I had already gotten rid of most of my Echo Shows in favor of Google Hubs, but I still had a big one in my bathroom, and I knew something bugged me, but I just hadn't put a finger on it. 50% of the time, it has something on the display that I didn't ask for! That's it! It's either an ad or some other news story or information that I didn't ask for. Like you, I'd go turn all this stuff off, and they would just add new ones back in. After watching your video I've decided to get rid of the remaining 3 Echo shows! HomePods suck IMO and Google Hubs aren't amazing either, but the one thing I can count on with my Google Hubs is that when I look at them I' only see my pictures, the time and the current temperature. They NEVER randomly show something else. Thanks for the kick to ditch my last 3 echos.
So what your recommendation? Now i have google home and i add echo show 5 for my ring doorbell! What you think about apple echo system? Any thoughts?
2 of my shows were filed in the trash. Now, I have only 1 that I use for alarms and timers. They're clunky, slow, and a waste of money.
I use it for alarm and timers, it works with my smart lights and works great to show my surveillance cameras.
I use my Echo Show as an alarm clock, to play music, to listen to news, and to control my lights/smart appliances. It's also nice to be able to glance at it and see news and such.
To be honest, I don't begrudge Amazon the ads. They have to make their money back, I guess, and 99% of the time, I'm not looking at the screen.
I think the issue with the Echo Show is the same as with their tablets and the Kindles: They exist to push Amazon products. The thing about the Shows, though, is that most of them are too small to comfortably watch a show or movie on for a long period. I'm not going to sit for 2 hours and stare at an 8-inch screen. So what exactly are they going to sell you? Stuff you can buy on Amazon, of course. That's why you see all the ads for physical products. Amazon knows you're not going to watch a lot of videos on the Shows unless you have the 15" model (and maybe not even then).
One thing I suppose they could consider doing is using the Kindle model and charging a fee to turn ads off. That would make the units a little more profitable and spare users the ads if they didn't want them.
Appreciate this video and you telling it how it is!