Amazon just unveiled two redesigned smart displays at its fall hardware event - the Echo Show 8 ($179.99) and first-ever Echo Show 11 ($219.99). Both devices feature slimmer profiles, upgraded cameras, and run Amazon's new Alexa Plus AI assistant powered by large language models, marking the company's biggest Echo refresh since the pivot away from motorized screens.
Amazon just shook up the smart display market with two sleek new devices that signal the company's serious push into AI-powered home assistants. The Echo Show 8 and Echo Show 11, unveiled during Tuesday's fall hardware event, represent Amazon's most significant design overhaul since it abandoned the motorized screens that defined earlier generations.
The timing isn't coincidental. These launches come after Amazon spent months demoing its upgraded Alexa Plus AI capabilities on older hardware, building anticipation for devices actually designed to showcase the new LLM-powered assistant. Now users get purpose-built hardware that matches the software ambitions.
Both displays ditch the chunky aesthetic that made previous Echo Shows feel more like kitchen appliances than premium tech. The bezels have shrunk significantly around the screens, though they're not completely edge-to-edge - Amazon needs space for the 13-megapixel cameras positioned above each display. The overall effect creates what the company clearly hopes will be a more premium look that can compete with tablets and other smart home displays.
The speaker design gets a complete rethink too. Instead of front-facing audio, both new Shows feature rounded oblong speakers positioned behind the displays and wrapped in 3D knit fabric. The screens mount slightly above and away from these speakers, theoretically improving both sound projection and microphone pickup for voice commands - crucial for an AI assistant that needs to understand natural language better than ever.
Pricing positions both devices aggressively in the market. The Echo Show 8, refreshed from its 2023 version, costs $179.99, while the brand-new Echo Show 11 - essentially replacing the discontinued Echo Show 10 from 2021 - comes in at $219.99. That puts them squarely in mainstream territory, not the premium pricing Amazon used for larger displays like the Echo Show 21.
The real story here isn't just hardware - it's Amazon's bet that AI will finally make smart displays essential rather than nice-to-have. The original Echo Show launched in 2017 with a wedge-shaped design and 7-inch screen, but the category has struggled to find its killer use case beyond video calls and kitchen timers.
