Echo Hub (Newest gen) | 8" smart home control panel | Compatible with thousands of devices, with Alexa+ Early Access

This is precisely what I was seeking: a dedicated smart screen specifically designed for home automation, rather than attempting to repurpose a tablet or another Echo device. With approximately 12 smart home devices integrated into my system, I utilize Home Assistant as my central hub. To optimize functionality, I don’t rely on the built-in Zigbee capabilities of the panel; instead, I selectively expose the devices I want it to access through Home Assistant. This level of control ensures that I can tailor the panel’s functionalities to my needs. The panel itself is a well-thought-out size—neither too large nor too small—allowing for easy placement in various locations around my home. One of the standout features is the ability to customize the menu extensively, which enhances usability. If you have a Ring home alarm, this device is particularly advantageous because it allows you to eliminate the need for a separate alarm pad; everything can be seamlessly managed through the smart screen. While I haven't yet explored direct integrations with the panel, features such as Matter support and Zigbee provide a solid foundation. These are emerging standards that suggest the device will be future-proof, allowing new users to embark on their home automation journeys with confidence. Simplicity is critical in home automation, and a reliable panel like this effectively resolves many challenges by providing immediate access to smart home integrations, making it easier than constantly reaching for your phone or relying on voice commands. There aren’t many alternatives available for a dedicated smart panel, and it genuinely feels like this product is a stellar addition to the Alexa ecosystem. Although a tablet could serve a similar function, this smart screen comes pre-configured for automation, significantly reducing setup time and complexity. Another practical feature is that the display activates automatically when someone approaches the panel. While I could tinker with setting up a tablet to achieve something somewhat similar, this device is ready to go out of the box. It also includes the option for wall mounting, which contributes to a sleek and modern aesthetic. I wholeheartedly recommend this product. Normally, I am quite discerning when it comes to tech, but I genuinely appreciate what Amazon has accomplished with this device. It’s a well-designed, straightforward product that is likely to meet the needs of both experienced users and those new to home automation alike.

this was my second purchase of this and I plan to buy more as they are great for if your room is filled with smart devices they are super easy to set up and pair with the Alexa app and are great for what I use them for with my smart home linking Alexa and Govee the screen size is perfect for what it is used for and the quality of the product is amazing however the only bit that needs improving is the sound quality however this is a non issue to me as I set the preferred speaker to a better Alexa in the same room you also need a pretty good wife network for it to work its best when toggling other smart devices and make sure your other smart devices are compatible with the echo ecosystem as I use Govee witch is - the price is also great when on sale as you can pick it up for around £100

Woks reasonably well.. has a few software glitches.. bit expensive at full price but I got it on an offer at £99

Update to my review. This is the worst Amazon device I've ever purchased. It's slow very unreliable and unresponsive. Half the time it is stuck on loading home screen or just a blank screen and unresponsive to touch so I have to pull the plug Says devices are on when they aren't. It's just unusable. Waste of money do not buy i will be attempting to return ****** I do really like this hub. It's great for keeping an eye on things and using routines. The speaker could be a little better but it's expected for such a thin unit. The interface is quite smooth when working correctly, however now and again it will completely lock up and freeze when pressing some things, including the view all smart plugs. It will lock up and then stay on loading home screen for some time before resetting it's self to the home screen. I think with a few firmware updates this should get resolved and I hope it does as it is very helpful and a great edition to my Alexa family

The idea behind the Echo Hub is brilliant. As someone with a diverse ecosystem—including Hive heating, Tapo, Blink cameras and Smartlife products—having a dedicated 8" panel to centralize everything is exactly what I needed. When it works, the interface is intuitive and makes managing multiple Alexa-compatible devices very efficient. However, the hardware itself currently feels like a work in progress. Despite having the latest firmware updates, the device freezes on a daily or bi-daily basis. When this happens, the screen becomes completely unresponsive, and the only solution is a full hardware restart. It’s frustrating for a device meant to simplify home management. I love the concept and the sleek hardware, but until the stability issues are patched, it’s hard to give this a higher rating. A great idea that still needs some work.

This is exactly what I was looking for. A smart screen with software dedicated for home automation vs trying to reverse engineer a tablet or another echo device. I have approx. 100 smart home devices and use homeassistant so I am not using the devices built in zigbee functions. Instead I am just exposing what I want the panel to have access to within homeassistant. The panel is a good size. Not too big and you are able to customise the menu to a good level. If you have a ring home alarm this is great as you can do away with the alarm pad and just use the screen. I have not tested direct integrations with the panel but things like matter support and zigbee are a good start and a good standards. Should hopefully mean this is future proof for anyone starting out their home automation journey. Simplycity is key for home automation. A decent panel like this solves allot of issues with imeadiate access to you smart home integrations vs using your phone or voice. There are few alternatives available for a dedicated smart panel and it feels like this definitely a great edition to the Alexa range. Yes you could use a tablet but this is ready for your automation. The display switches on when you go close to the panel.. Again I could mess around and set up a tablet to do somthing simular but this is already set up. Also comes ready to wall mount so looks sleek. I would definitely recommend this. I am normally hard to please but I really appreciate what Amazon are doing here. Well designed simple device which should suit experts and new entrants into the home automation.

Personally I think this is kind of poor and not what I was hoping for so returned for a refund. The sad thing is, it looks and feels great, and in theory should have been great for what we wanted. What we have... We run a basic smart home with some lights on timer settings and adjustable brightness. Heating controlled by Tado and using Tado smart thermostats. Blink Doorbell & cameras Alexa speakers around the house, some linked as a sound system. What we want... A central 'hub' in the kitchen / dining room for us to, Easily turn on lights and adjust brightness. Turn on, adjust or 'Boost' the heating using the Tado app. View cameras easily and doorbell when activated. Fully control music being played in the house, to easily select artist, song, playlist etc. The issue... Its too limited and 'locked' to the smart hub feature, the screen was unresponsive at times, the software was slow and laggy. It would freeze and take a minute or two for it to fix itself, you would have to try things multiple times for it to work. Limited control of heating, could not be used the the Tado app, so couldn't just do a simple '30 minute boost' function, which is a setting we use a lot to just take the chill off. It recognised all our smart TRV,s but said they were all unresponsive for some reason. Could open cameras and view, but incredibly slow to load! Could not get doorbell to show on the screen if it was activated. Limited controls for music, it showed our spotify screen of recently listened etc, but you could not search for artists or songs. Overall verdict... The product really looks smart and would have been great on the wall if it did what we wanted. Needs to be able to integrate with smart apps better of have more linked features. Needs to be a lot smoother to run a smart home with faster software. We are going to use a 12inch tablet mounted on the wall instead, this will give us simple control, link automatically to the select few apps we need, be faster and have updates. Its a real shame as the Amazon Echo products are so easy to set up and link to the rest of your account. In a perfect world we would try the Amazon Echo Show 15, but cant justify the price in comparison the cost of a tablet.

Exactly what I needed. I have mine in the hall and is shows my Ring Doorbell as soon as someone presses it. It will show me all the security cameras, Ring, Blink and Tapo. First class product - I've read the reviews and I honestly don't think folks read the description for what it actually is. 10 out of 10 for me.