Amazon just launched its biggest Echo redesign in years, but there's a glaring problem: full-screen ads are now hijacking users' smart displays. What started as occasional product suggestions has evolved into constant "sponsored" content that interrupts family photos and can't be disabled. Users are so frustrated they're unplugging devices and demanding refunds, turning Amazon's smart home ambitions into a consumer revolt.
Amazon's Echo Show just became the poster child for how not to monetize smart home devices. The company's latest software update has transformed these once-beloved smart displays into what users are calling "rotating billboards" - and the backlash is swift and brutal.
The ads aren't subtle. Full-screen "sponsored" content now interrupts everything from family photo slideshows to recipe browsing, appearing with relentless frequency that has users scrambling for workarounds. Jennifer Pattison Tuohy, writing for The Verge, captured the frustration perfectly: "As I type, the last-gen Echo Show 8 on my desk just showed an ad for an herbal supplement between a snapshot of my daughter dancing at her aunt's wedding and a baby picture of my son. The ad reappeared two photos later, and then again. And again."
This represents Amazon's most aggressive monetization push yet for Alexa devices. While the voice assistant has long suggested products through its "By the way" feature, these new visual ads mark a dramatic escalation. They appear randomly during Photo Frame mode and between content categories, with no advance warning to buyers that they were purchasing an ad-supported device.
The timing couldn't be worse for Amazon. The company just unveiled two new Echo Show models as part of a major redesign led by former Microsoft design chief Ralf Groene. Amazon Devices head Panos Panay positioned these as the first step toward building "products that customers love" - but the ad experience is achieving the opposite effect.
User revolt is already underway across Reddit's Alexa community. The subreddit exploded with complaints last month, with users sharing screenshots of intrusive ads for everything from elderberry supplements to Quest protein chips. Many report they've unplugged their devices entirely, while others claim to have successfully obtained refunds from Amazon by citing the unexpected ad experience.
When confronted about the ads at Amazon's hardware event, Panay attempted damage control with semantic gymnastics. "If it's relevant, it's not an ad, it's an add-on," he told reporters. He acknowledged that "the randomness" of current ad experiences isn't great, saying "It's about how you elegantly make sure you're elevating the information that a customer needs."
