TheEcho HubandEcho Show 8 ( 3rd Gen)are two of the newest products to bring together the Amazon catalog . Both are design with large touch screen and make it soft to get to the Alexa voice assistant , connected impertinent gadgets , and your favorite apps . But while the two parcel a few similarities , there are braggart differences between the Echo Hub and Echo Show 8 .

Here ’s a near look at the Echo Hub and Echo Show 8 to help you decide which is best for your wise home .

Pricing and design

The Echo Hub costs $ 180 and is mean to be used as a rampart - mounted touch screen . If you require to localise it on a countertop , you ’ll need to plunk up an optional standstill . This can be buy as a bundle with the Echo Hub for $ 210 . Its overall design is bare , and it essentially look like a pad of paper with a few restraint button on its edges .

The Echo Show 8 ( 3rd Gen ) costs $ 150 and is often on sale for around $ 100 . It ’s specify to be used as a tabletop gadget , with a built - in stall that have you position it on any surface throughout your home base . Like the Echo Hub , the Echo Show 8 front comparatively simple , with a large touch screen supported by an elongated back that reserve it to sit upright without any external stands .

Winner : Echo Show 8

Display and quality

The Echo Hub uses an 8 - inch touch screen with a 1280 x 800 resolution . The display looks cracking and is easy to use , though ourEcho Hub reviewnoted that it ’s sometimes deadening to respond . It is , however , gentle to determine up and feature a high - quality , intuitive interface .

The Echo Show 8 also uses an 8 - inch touch screen and 1280 x 800 solvent . Its interface is just as easy to apply as the Echo Hub ’s , and the machine finger durable and bounty . Since the Echo Show 8 is typically placed on a Earth’s surface below eye level , its screen is angle upwardly to improve your viewing experience .

Winner : Tie

Features and smart home connectivity

Amazon designed the Echo Hub and Echo Show 8 to satisfy dissimilar roles in your place . The Echo Hub is an Alexa - enabled control panel for your smart house . That means you ’ll be using it as a way to quickly hold all your smart gadgets . And since the Echo Hub supports yard of machine ( thanks to support for Matter , Wi - Fi , Bluetooth , and other connectivity options ) , there ’s a safe hazard it ’ll process with your existing intersection . The Echo Hub also let you get at tv camera feeds or arm / disarm your certificate system of rules , making it a great all - around control hub . you may access certain apps like Prime Video and Hulu , but its underwhelming speakers make it less than idealistic as a consecrate entertainment hub .

In other words , the Echo Hub is all about giving you easygoing admittance to your voguish dwelling house .

The Echo Show 8 , meanwhile , is a seafarer - of - all - trades . It ’s not as easy to control all your smart menage devices on the Echo Show , but it offers prosperous access to dozens of apps , the Alexa vocalisation assistant , and suffer video yell thanks to a built - in webcam . Inside the Echo Show 8 , you ’ll chance two 2 - in atomic number 60 Speaker that are much right than the speakers in the Echo Hub , make it a practiced choice for playing music or teem telly shows .

Is the new Echo Hub a better smart home gadget?

Since the Echo Hub and Echo Show 8 were build with different intention in mind , one is n’t necessarily better than the other . If you plan to watch television set shows in the kitchen while you cook or take a quick video recording call , the Echo Show 8 is an light good word . The current version of the Echo Show 8 is the third iteration of the twist , gain it a bit more refined than the Echo Hub . Most homes will belike be well dish out by the Echo Show 8 than the Echo Hub .

If you postulate a smart home plate hub that lets you cursorily control all your gadget , the Echo Hub deserve a closer look . It ’s not perfect , and there are still plenty of kink to work out , but it ’s a keen first attempt for Amazon . moot adding it to your shopping tilt if you have a bunch of Ring doorbells and cameras installed around your property and need a central hub to control the action .