Long term test Amazon Echo Show 8

Get heady

e Poco X3 Pro is the most powerful phone in this group, with a Snapdragon 860 and dedicated gaming tools on board.

Psychedelic jack

Not only does the Poco include a stereo speaker setup, but you also get a port for plugging in your trusty wired cans.

Poco X3 Pro

What’s the story? For less cash than you’d reasonably expect, you could own the excellent Poco X3 Pro. This sleek phone is essentially a reinvigorated Poco X3 NFC – one of the best budget phones of last year – with a performance boost courtesy of the mighty Snapdragon 860 chipset.

Visuals are served up by a 6.67in FHD+ display and, despite that low price, the Poco also delivers a stereo speaker setup, plus a headphone port and solid Bluetooth. You’ve got NFC for contactless payments, microSD support to expand the storage and a responsive edge-mounted fingerprint sensor. Basically it’s got everything you could possibly ask for except a slot that spits out money. Is it any good? As expected, theSnapdragon 860 chipset can handle absolutely everything you need it to, even memory-guzzling games like Genshin Impact (provided you keep the detail on medium settings).

The X3 Pro sports an IPS screen rather than OLED so contrast isn’t super-strong, but your peepers will still be pleased by the punchy colours and fine details. Plus the adaptive refresh rate maxes out at 120Hz to keep things looking smoother than butteredBarry White.

The 48MP main sensor captures sharp pictures of even the squirmiest subjects, as well as respectable 4K footage. In fact, beyond the slightly garish design, there’s really not much to dislike about the Poco X3 Pro. Besides, while the rather ridiculous branding may be a bit of an eyesore, at least the phone is solidly built with Gorilla Glass 6 and IP53 splash-resistance.

Note, however, that Poco phones still use Xiaomi’s MIUI launcher – so while you get wonderful bonus bits like the gaming mode and Control Center, you’ll also be lumbered with a bunch of junk and questionable future updates.

R5400 / takealot.com

Key specs ● 6.67in 120HzFHD+ IPS ● Snapdragon 860, 6/8GB RAM ● 128/256GB ● 48+8+2+2MP rear, 20MP front ● 5160mAh ● 215g

I’ll slick around

at punchy 6.67in AMOLED display supports HDR, while a 120Hz refresh rate means visuals are buttery-smooth.

Best of view

e mighty 108MP camera sensor can take crisp, bright, good-looking pics with impressive levels of fi ne detail.

Redmi Note 10 Pro

What’s the story? From the Xiaomi stable, the Redmi Note 10 Pro is one of the most impressive budget phones right now, from its smart yet hardy design – with splash-resistance and scratch-beating Gorilla Glass 5 up front – to the specs inside.

Performance comes courtesy of the Snapdragon 732G, which can capably handle everyday life as well as light gaming. Meanwhile Netflix fans will appreciate the spacious 6.67in AMOLED screen with HDR support, plus the stereo speakers and headphone port.

There’s good news if you want to shoot your family too, in the legally acceptable sense, as Xiaomi has crammed a 108MP camera onto the back. Is it any good? For this bargain price, the display is a proper eye-pleaser. Thanks to its HDR streaming support you’ll be served with crisp contrast and lifelike visuals, while the 120Hz refresh rate means supported apps and games such as Vainglory are satisfyingly smooth.

As a bonus, this Snapdragon platform is also energy-efficient, so the Note 10 Pro’s battery should keep you going all day long, even with plenty of screen-on time. The only thing missing is 5G support.

That 108MP camera can capture great snaps of kids, pets and other hyperactive subjects, as well as richly detailed 4K home movies with crisp, clear audio. You also have an ultrawide lens to fit more action into each frame, plus the usual macro features.

But here we go again with Xiaomi’s MIUI launcher. You still get all the stock Android features, plus a feast of nifty bonus bits including the Apple-style Control Center and a proper one-handed mode. On the flipside, however, the Redmi is stuffed with bloatware and probably won’t enjoy Android updates well into the future.

R5500 / incredible.co.za

Key specs ● 6.67in 120Hz FHD+ AMOLED ● Snapdragon 732G,6/8GB RAM ● 64/128GB ● 108+8+5+2MP rear, 16MP front ● 5020mAh ● 193g

Cam up and see me

Amazon’s mid-priced smart display has been treated to a timely upgrade, including a much-improved camera… so Stuff enjoys some higher-quality face time

R4 500 / smartspeakers.co.za

As well as streaming music and audiobooks direct, it works as a standard Bluetooth speaker.

DAY 01

When we reviewed it back in 2019, we thought the original Amazon Echo Show 8 hit the smart display sweet spot: the screen was not too big nor too small; the speaker sounded surprisingly muscular (if a tad bass-heavy); and its price seemed about right.

You’d have to peer through a metaphorical magnifying glass to see what’s changed on this new version: it sports the exact same wedge-shaped design as the old model, with the majority of the exterior being wrapped in a mesh fabric. The front is pretty much all screen – an 8in 1200x800 touch display with a chunky frame. Built into that frame’s upper-right face is the upgraded 13MP camera (the original was a piddly 1MP), which has a sliding physical cover for guaranteed privacy.

A mic button on the top lets you toggle Alexa’s ears on and off, and next to it are volume controls (although you cansimply ask Alexa to adjust that).

On the back there’s just a socket for the power connector, the original Echo Show 8’s 3.5mm audio output not making the cut. Pity, but we doubt many were using it. On the inside, the processor has been upgraded to a MediaTek MT8183.

Setup is easy: pull the speaker out of its minimalist packaging, plug it in and it’ll ask to connect to your home Wi-Fi. Once that’s done, you log into your Amazon account, confirm your timezone and address (for weather, traffic, news and the like), decide which part of your home you’d like it to locate itself in, give it a name… and that’s about it.

We’re quite familiar with asking an Echo Plus to play music from a Spotify account, set timers, convert baffling US weights and volumes (a ‘cup’, you say?) and settle dinnertime arguments over who’s won the FA Cup the most times. Alexa’s a useful tool, but the Echo Show 8’s screen opens up a whole new dimension of functionality and features: TV shows via Netflix or Prime Video, video calls, recipe videos, photo viewing and more.

The wedge design is the same, but built into the frame is an upgraded 13MP camera – the original was a piddly 1MP

Tech specs

Display 8in 1200x800 touchscreen Processor MediaTek MT8183 Connectivity Wi-Fi, Bluetooth Camera 13MP Audio 2x 2in speakers with passive bass radiator Dimensions 200x136x99mm, 1037g

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Donut of Truth™

01 Really easy to set up and supports lots of services 02 Webcam is much better than before 03 Scores pretty well on sustainability 04 Makes an impressively big sound for its size... 05 …but it can cause a bit of unwanted resonance 06 YouTube only works via the browser

DAY 03

Three days in and we’re loving this. Say “Alexa, play Neon Genesis Evangelion on Netflix” and the unmistakable strains of the cult anime series’ intro sequence will be blasting out in seconds; say “Alexa, show me photos from Facebook” and you’ll be treated to a slideshow of your most recent images; ask for a weather forecast and you’ll get a nicely detailed one on screen, tailored to your location.

DAY 04

Today we’ve been trying out video calls. The new camera has a basic face-recognition tracking mode to ensure everybody in the room gets in the frame, and you can call anyone in your contacts list who has a camera-equipped Echo device, or a smartphone or tablet running the Alexa app. You can also make standard voice calls and this seems to work for pretty much anyone – no need for the recipient to own an Echo speaker or have the Alexa app.

DAY 07

We’ve got used to small speakers delivering big sound, but this one still surprises with its sheer power. A pair of 2in neodymium drivers and a bass radiator produce audio that’s big on low-end growl (a little too big at times) and able to fill a decent-sized living room, but capable of clarity and nuance too.

DAY 09

Limitations have begun to reveal themselves. If you want to watch YouTube videos, you have to do so through the device’s web browser as there’s no built-in app and no way to cast them from a phone. Also, while certain third-party services (Netflix, Facebook, Spotify, Apple Music) are fully supported, many aren’t: you can’t ask Alexa to stream video from Disney+ or Now, or music from Deezer or Tidal. Meanwhile, pictures from Facebook or Amazon Photos can be displayed, but not from your Instagram or Flickr archives.

DAY 14

Many of the new Echo Show 8’s features may not be of much use to you – it really depends on which services you use – but as long as your life is compatible, it’s a great smart home helper. That hugely improved camera can even be used as a quasi-security cam or video intercom, beaming a live window of whatever’s happening in front of it to your smartphone.