Verdict
For busy households with hundred of fresh devices , the Amazon Echo Hub is the machine that makes merged control a reality . Its new touch interface crap the complex easy , and I find it faster to utilise than voice control in most cases ( although phonation is there when postulate ) . There are a few inconsistencies in how gadget control is presented , but this is the best smart home dominance gadget useable .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
The Amazon Echo Hub sense like we ’ve come full band . to begin with , saucy home systems were expensive , custom builds , design for the copious and controlled via touchscreen panel .
Then , Alexa and the Echo came along and give us sleazy representative control of our impudent homes , come after by the Echo Show range , which ruffle touchscreen and vox control . With the Echo Hub , we get the same ( relatively ) low - cost controller , but we ’re back to a touch - first globe .
It ’s a brilliant onward motion , particularly for households with lots of smart machine , as the Echo Hub puts what ’s crucial upfront and primal . If you primarily want a twist for wise home control , this is brilliant .
Design
Although the Amazon Echo Hub shares an 8 - inch screen with theAmazon Echo Show 8 ( 3rdGeneration ) , the two devices could n’t be more different . While the Echo Show 8 is built to be tolerate on a desk , with a recondite body that houses its speakers , the Echo Hub looks like a tablet .
Just 15 millimetre thick , the Echo Hub is design to immingle into its milieu rather than put up out . It ships with a wall - mount only , although there is an optional controversy bandstand that you may buy ( £ 29.99 ) , similar to the one for theEcho Show 15 .
Wall mounting makes a mess of sense for this product , as it should be placed somewhere key , where it ’s prosperous to get to for verbatim control of your smart home .
Powered by USB - C , Amazon provides a 1.8 m power cable , which is farseeing enough that you should be able-bodied to hit a nearby power socket with rest . If there ’s supererogatory cable’s length , the back of the Echo Hub has a caries with clips inside , for wrapping the surplusage around .
Go with the standard installation and there ’s the issue that the cable system is seeable , but there are choice . First , you may use an in - paries passthrough to shroud the cable’s length inside a paries . Secondly , you’re able to habituate a power - over - Ethernet ( PoE ) adaptor to run cable that elbow room .
Whichever option you pick out , I consider that wall mount makes the most sensory faculty , as the plain and simple Echo Hub coalesce in well that way .
This fashion model does n’t have a camera on it ( no departure , as that ’s really not what this production is for ) , and the volume and microphone mute buttons have been displace to the side ( rather than the top ) , where they ’re wanton to reach .
Three microphones at the front are designed to pick up request even in loud environments , and there ’s a fourth mike at the rear .
There are a pair of full - reach speakers at the top of the Echo Hub . They ’re all right for basic Alexa response but audio muddled and a routine tinny for music playback . That ’s fine , as this is n’t a equipment designed for euphony playback .
Features
As this is an Alexa - power smart speaker system , the Echo Hub can do everything that the other impudent verbaliser can , from giving you weather reports to information on local business and details of approaching appointment . you’re able to also use Alexa to control all of your voguish devices using your voice , just as you ’d expect .
As with late devices , the Echo Hub is fully Matter compliant , supporting direct control condition of Wi - Fi and Thread devices , plus there ’s support for Zigbee and Bluetooth devices .
So far , so normal , but the Amazon Echo Hub also has a all new interface . When not in use , the Echo Hub has a choice of screens to show , include word reports and picture . There ’s a law of proximity sensing element that mechanically alternate to the new home base filmdom , with direct admission to the new smart home restraint .
Widgets are shown on the home pageboy , but you’re able to select a group from the panel on the left wing , which bring up tiles for machine control . A William Christopher Handy All On / All Off set of controls lets me quickly turn off everything with one tap , but there are individual controls for machine ( or groups ) .
Neatly , the grouping kindling command has a luminance slider , plus a dedicated on / off release , so adjusting lighter to the right level is dim-witted . There ’s no touch control for select scenes , so I used voice commands or the Hue app .
For item-by-item equipment , the grade of control depends on the type of gimmick . With an private Hue lighting , I could tip the control to wrench it on or off but tap the more button to impart up more advanced controls , include a smartness slider and color / temperature ascendance .
MySwitchBot Blind Tiltdevices appeared , but the only mastery option was to give or shut them , and there was no slider for more granular command .
Alongside these ascendancy , the Echo Hub give speedy access to twist type across the bottom : Security , Locks , Climate , Lights , Cameras , Switches , Plugs and Other . intercept any one of these to bring up control for just those machine . For example , tapping Lights , I could see all of the light in my home , and control them individually or turn them all on or off . The latter is handy when go out , as one tap can turn off everything .
Again , the level of ascendence differs by equipment type and the touch sensation controls are n’t always as in full have as I ’d perhaps want . For representative , by pink Climate , all of myEvohomeappeared , and I could individually set the target temperature in each elbow room .
In my outdoor office , I expend aDyson Purifier Hot+Cool Formaldehydefor heating plant , but this does n’t appear under mood equipment . My Dyson heater does have temperature command available by tap the more shortcut , plus fan and oscillation mastery but it would be nice if this gadget appeared with other heating devices . understandably , some more work on categorisation and control need to be done .
Integration with theRing Alarmis first-class . Once a PIN has been set in the Alexa app ( system PINs or a dedicated Alexa PIN can be chosen ) , the Echo Hub becomes a to the full functional alarm control .
If your be control panel ’s not in an idealistic place , say for setting plate manner when you go to bed , the extra ascendance that the Echo Hub propose are brainy .
New camera restraint are available . If you ’ve got Ring camera , such as theRing Stick - Up Cam Pro , the Echo Hub can show a thumbnail perspective of what the camera last saw , similar to how it works in the app . That ’s brilliant , as it makes it far easier to tap the television camera you want to contain without trying to remember what you called it .
All tv camera compatible with Alexa can be viewed by tap them , and there ’s an on - screen alternative to sprain the mike on and off , so you may have a two - manner chat with anyone you descry on a provender ( take over the photographic camera you ’re using has a speaker , of class ) .
A fresh Multi - view option open up the four more recently used cameras ( all brands supported , not just Ring ) , showing their feeds simultaneously . It ’s amazingly utilitarian , although I would like the option to aggroup my choice of photographic camera into this feed . Double - tap any thumbnail scene to see the full provender .
I rule that touch control condition is often quicker and quicker than using interpreter , particularly as vocalization commands often swear on me remembering what I called a twist . My only underage complaint is that the Echo Hub can sometimes be a little slow in open photographic camera feeds or extra mastery Thomas Nelson Page . It ’s not in particular a job most of the time , but can be a slight frustration if I tap the wrong control and need to go back to the home projection screen to start again .
Similar to the Echo Show 15 , the are customisable gimmick that can be added to the home Sir Frederick Handley Page . These can include Sticky Notes , upcoming calendar designation , adding a chic menage group for control ( a niggling senseless , as grouping can be accessed via the on - CRT screen menu ) , and a panel for quickly access security cameras .
They ’re a neat manner to customise the menage screen and get the information and controls that I want .
Screen quality
There ’s a 1280 x 800 , 8 - inch touch screen on this equipment , the same as on the Echo Show 8 . This firmness is fine for the smart display ’s purpose . Text looks sharp-worded , video feeds are clean-cut , and it ’s potential to view fine detail .
I could watch Amazon Prime Video content , although where the Echo Hub is likely to be placed limit how useful this is , as do the canonic speakers . Still , if you do require to determine something , at least the option is there .
More significantly , the screen is brilliant and handles reflections well . Even with bright sunlight streaming through my windows , I could easily see the display .
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Should you buy it?
A neat Modern user interface and support for thousands of devices make the Echo Hub the gimmick for managing a busy smart home .
If impudent home controller is not your thing , then a regular Echo Show 8 with its screen background design and flashy speakers may be better .
Final Thoughts
With its voguish new touchscreen interface , I have found the Amazon Echo Hub is my go - to gadget for controlling everything , show to be faster than using vox alone : if I need to conform my lights , I habituate the luminousness slider ; if I want to align the heating , I habituate the on - covert controls .
Other Echo Show gadget , such as theEcho Show 5andEcho Show 8 , may have dear speakers and webcams , making them a better choice for all - round use , but the Echo Hub is the best smart home control gadget available . For me , that makes it worth its terms and bring back to the core of what Echo machine were good at , plus summate a dashboard that makes it an essential hub for multi - machine controller . And , as the number of Matter devices grow , having a hub that ’s adequate to of ascertain and managing them start to make a passel of gumption .
Some tweaks for consistence , such as making my Dyson fan appear as a climate gimmick , would be appreciated , but that away , this Cartesian product deliver unified wise home ascendance like no other .
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Unlike other sites , we try out every voguish speaker we review good over an extended period of time . We use industry stock tests to compare feature properly . We ’ll always tell you what we find . We never , ever , take over money to review a product .
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FAQs
No , it can go on the bulwark or you may purchase the optional screen background sales booth .
No , any cameras that work with Alexa can feature in the multi - view panel . However , only Ring cameras will presently generate a thumbnail preview .
