The Amazon Echo Show 5 (3rd gen) is the newest small smart display from Amazon, pairing a 5.5-inch touchscreen with the Alexa voice assistant and a 2MP front camera in a footprint that fits on a nightstand or beside a monitor without taking over the space. Priced around $90, it sits below the Show 8 and Show 15 in the line. This Amazon Echo Show 5 review covers setup, smart home control, audio and display quality, and how it fits a streamer-friendly desk setup.
Prime Amazon Echo Show 5 (newest model), Smart display, Designed for Alexa+, 2x the bass and clearer sound, Glacier White
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated.
Amazon Echo Show 5 at a Glance
| Component | Specification |
|---|---|
| Type | Compact smart display |
| Voice assistant | Amazon Alexa |
| Display size | 5.5″ touchscreen, 960×480 |
| Smart home protocols | Matter, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth (no Thread, no Zigbee) |
| Audio output (W) | Single 1.65″ front-firing speaker |
| Camera | Yes, 2MP front camera with physical shutter |
| Connectivity | Dual-band Wi-Fi (2.4/5GHz), Bluetooth 5.0 |
| App support | Amazon Alexa app (iOS, Android) |
| Approx price | around $90 |
Setup & App Experience
The Show 5 boots into a guided on-screen setup that takes a couple of minutes; Wi-Fi credentials can be pushed from the Alexa app, but unlike the Dot the Show has a touchscreen so you can also tap through setup directly, which is useful if you are placing one in a guest room or kitchen without a connected phone in reach. The Alexa app handles routines, multi-room audio, smart home device management and home group permissions for shared screens. The Show 5 supports widget rotations on the home screen — a clock, weather, calendar, smart home favourites and a streaming-camera tile — which makes it a more glance-able device than a speaker-only Echo. Photo Frame mode pulls from Amazon Photos or a Google Photos album, which is a tidy reuse on a desk when not in active use.
Smart Home Compatibility — Matter / Alexa / Google
The Show 5 is a Matter controller over Wi-Fi, so Matter-over-Wi-Fi devices (most newer smart plugs and many bulbs) onboard directly through the Alexa app. It does not include a Thread border router, so for Thread-only devices you want a Show 8, Echo Hub, or Hue Bridge in the same house. For Zigbee devices, you again need a Show 8 or Echo Hub. Within Alexa’s normal ecosystem the Show 5 controls everything Alexa controls — Ring, Blink, Hue, LIFX, Kasa, SwitchBot, Sonos and more — and the touchscreen exposes camera feeds, smart locks and thermostats in a way a speaker simply cannot. Google Assistant and HomeKit are not supported.
Audio & Display Quality
The 5.5-inch 960×480 display is fine for its size — sharp enough for clock faces, lyrics, recipes, video calls and camera feeds, but obviously not a media-consumption screen. Touch response is good and brightness is adequate for a bedside or desk position. The single 1.65-inch front-firing speaker is meaningfully better than the original Show 5 and better than a Dot for spoken content, but at a desk it is still a voice and background-music device rather than a stream-audio speaker. For desktop game audio you want best gaming speakers. For genuine media playback (Netflix, Prime Video) the larger Show 8 is the more sensible buy.
Use Cases — Streamer Setup / Kitchen / Garage
On a streamer’s desk the Show 5 makes a strong secondary display: pin a Ring or Blink camera feed (front door, package porch) so deliveries do not interrupt a live stream, or set widgets for clock, donation tracker via a routine, or the next stream schedule. In a kitchen it is the obvious recipe and timer device, with hands-free measurement conversions on demand. In a guest room or office it works as a clock, alarm and intercom over Drop In. For a garage or workshop it is less ideal than a tougher speaker, but the screen does double duty as a music control and camera viewer for whoever is at the front door.
Multi-room households gain extra value from Drop In, the Alexa intercom feature that effectively turns a network of Shows and Echo Dots into a property-wide PA system — useful when a streamer needs to be called for dinner without breaking immersion or alerted to a delivery without an audible doorbell on the live broadcast. The Show 5 also handles Alexa video calling to other Show users and to phones running the Alexa app, with the 2MP camera fine for casual face-to-face chat. Pair the Show 5 with a quality streaming microphone if you want to take video calls without the room’s ambient noise — see our best streaming microphones for picks that work well alongside an Echo.
Privacy & Microphone Mute
A combined mic/camera off button on top disables both in hardware and turns the LED bar red, and a built-in physical camera shutter slides over the 2MP lens — between them, that is the most reassuring privacy hardware Amazon ships on a Show. Voice recordings can be auto-deleted, and the front camera can be permanently shuttered for users who want the screen but not the lens. Because streamers are often on camera anyway, the dual physical controls are a sensible reassurance that the Show 5 is not silently sending audio or video while you are off-air.
Verdict
At around $90, the newest Echo Show 5 is the right small smart display for a desk, nightstand or kitchen counter where space is tight. The 5.5-inch screen is sharp enough for widgets, video calls and camera feeds, the single speaker is fine for voice, and the dual physical mic/camera privacy controls put it ahead of older Shows for privacy-conscious users. It is not a media-consumption device — for Netflix, recipes you watch as well as read, or larger video calls the Show 8 is a better buy — but as a compact, glance-able Alexa display it is the obvious pick. Pair it with a Dot in the kitchen and a Show 8 in the living room and you have an Alexa setup that covers a full apartment for under $250. The customisable home-screen widgets and Photo Frame mode make the Show 5 feel like a personalised device on a nightstand rather than a generic Alexa endpoint, and the rotating wallpapers from Amazon Photos or Google Photos do double duty as ambient decor when the screen is otherwise idle. See our best streaming setup guide for ideas on tying camera feeds into a live broadcast.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the Echo Show 5 have a camera shutter?
Yes. The 3rd gen Show 5 has a physical shutter that slides over the 2MP front camera and a combined mic/camera off button on top — the two together give hardware-level privacy assurance.
Can the Echo Show 5 control Matter devices?
Yes for Matter-over-Wi-Fi devices. It is a Matter controller but does not include a Thread border router, so Thread-only Matter devices need a Show 8, Echo Hub or Hue Bridge in the same home.
Is the Echo Show 5 good for watching Netflix?
Not really. The 5.5-inch screen is fine for video calls, recipes, lyrics and camera feeds but is too small for comfortable media consumption — the Show 8 or larger is the better pick for that.
Does the Echo Show 5 work with Google Assistant?
No. The Echo Show 5 is an Alexa-only device. Households committed to Google Assistant should look at the Google Nest Hub instead.
More Smart Home Reviews
- Amazon Echo Spot (Newest) Review: Smart Alarm Clock with Alexa
- Amazon Echo Show 8 Review: 8″ Spatial Audio Smart Display
- SwitchBot Hub 2 Review: Matter Bridge with IR Remote & Thermometer
- Amazon Echo Show 15 Review: 15.6″ Full HD Wall-Mount Kitchen Hub
- Amazon Echo Show 21 Review: 21″ Wall-Mount Smart Display & Fire TV
- Google Nest Thermostat Review: Affordable Smart Thermostat (Snow)
- Amazon Smart Thermostat Review: Honeywell-Built Alexa Thermostat
- Kasa Smart Power Strip HS300 Review: 6-Outlet Surge with Energy Monitoring
Affiliate Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. If you click a link and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Prices and availability are accurate as of publication and may change.
