Amazon Echo Show 5 (3rd Gen) Review: A Strong Bedside Pick

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Overview

The Echo Show 5 is Amazon’s smallest Echo Show, and the nightstand is where it makes the most sense. Its 5.5-inch screen shows a clock, the weather and calendar updates, and the same screen handles video calls, doorbell feeds and quick smart home controls. This third generation went on sale in May 2023 in Charcoal, Glacier White and Cloud Blue. As of November 2026 Amazon sells it as its newest Echo Show 5, ready for Alexa+.

In Canada this generation arrived in July 2023 at $119, and as of November 2026 Amazon.ca sells it for $139.99 CAD. The bigger change for Canadian owners came in June 2026, when Alexa+ opened to everyone in Canada with support for both English and French. The hardware is the 2023 update, which kept the 5.5-inch, 960 x 480 screen. Amazon gave it a new speaker system that it says doubles the bass, a reengineered microphone array and its AZ2 Neural Edge processor, which it rates 20% faster than the previous Echo Show 5. Testers heard better sound, though Trusted Reviews found the bass gain marginal. Alexa doesn’t answer noticeably faster, but the screen responds more quickly.

Key Specifications

Amazon Echo Show 5 (3rd Gen) as a Bedside Alarm Clock

This is the job it does best, and Trusted Reviews calls it a great alarm clock, easy to set and adjust. Set it to dim with the room, or turn on Night Mode on a schedule, and the screen shows nothing but the clock. Testers split on how dark it gets. Trusted Reviews’ tester could sleep beside it and still read the time, while The Ambient found it didn’t dim quite enough for a bedside clock, especially next to Google’s Nest Hub.

Mornings start gently. Alarms set between 4am and 9am can come with a sunrise effect that brightens the screen over the quarter hour before they ring, The Ambient notes, and a tap on top buys 10 more minutes without a word. Turning an alarm off can also start an Alexa Routine, such as the morning headlines followed by your usual radio station.

One small annoyance: to stop a ringing alarm by voice you have to say “Alexa, stop.” Trusted Reviews notes that on Google’s Nest Hub (2nd Gen) a plain “Stop” is enough.

Alexa+, Voice Control and Smart Home

Amazon now sells this model as “Designed for Alexa+”, its newer AI version of the assistant. Alexa+ opened to everyone in Canada on June 11, 2026, in both English and French. Prime members get it at no extra cost; without Prime, the full version is $27.99 a month plus tax (as of June 2026). The reviews we found were written in 2023, before Alexa+ existed, so none of them tested it on this screen.

Hearing you has never been the problem. SlashGear’s reviewer says the Echo Show line has been very good at picking up commands for years, and that this model should hear you from anywhere in the room. Its AZ2 processor handles more voice commands on the device itself rather than in the cloud.

For smart home control it works as a Matter controller, so newer Matter plugs and bulbs can connect to it directly. It has no Thread radio, though, so it only reaches Matter devices over Wi-Fi. Thread-based Matter gear needs another hub, such as a Nest Hub (2nd Gen) or the newer Echo Show 8.

Sound Quality

The speaker is the main upgrade over earlier models. Amazon fitted a larger 1.75-inch speaker (the previous model’s was about 1.6 inches). SlashGear calls this generation the best-sounding Echo Show 5 yet and says it avoids the tinny edge of an Echo Dot, though Expert Reviews felt it was slightly behind the Echo Dot for music. It is still no match for a soundbar or a dedicated music speaker.

Music shows its limits. Trusted Reviews heard bass without real impact, a top end that could turn harsh at lower volumes and lost detail, which makes it fine for the occasional song rather than regular listening. Spoken audio is where it does well: Alexa’s replies, podcasts, talk radio and calls all come through clearly. The speaker fires out of the back, so SlashGear warns that against a thin shared wall your neighbors may hear more of it than you do.

Screen, Streaming and Camera

The screen keeps the previous model’s 5.5-inch, 960 x 480 panel, bright and clear enough for a clock, the weather and photos. Reviews split on video. Trusted Reviews and The Ambient found it not up to proper video watching, though Trusted Reviews says it is fine for a recipe video in the kitchen, while SlashGear found it sharp enough that watching videos was pleasant.

The touchscreen draws mixed reports too. SlashGear found it awkward to navigate, with missed swipes and presses that didn’t register, and Expert Reviews saw it lag badly while using the web browser. Other testers found it quicker to respond than the previous model.

Streaming is thin. Prime Video is built in, but this generation dropped the Netflix app the previous Show 5 had. Other services run only through the built-in web browser, which is slow and awkward to use.

The 2MP camera works for video calls with other Echo devices, and through the Alexa app you can view it remotely as a basic home monitor. Image quality is mediocre, and remote viewing at night needs some light in the room. A plastic shutter slides over the lens when you want privacy.

How Does It Stack Up Against the Competition?

Three alternatives for a nightstand or small counter: Amazon’s camera-free alarm clock, Google’s 7-inch display and the next Echo Show up.

Amazon Echo Show 5 (3rd Gen): Worth It as a Smart Alarm Clock

Buy it if you want Alexa beside the bed with a screen you can read at a glance and a wake-up that eases you in. In Reviewed’s comparison with the 2024 Echo Spot, it came out ahead on its larger, sharper screen and its camera for video calls. As of November 2026 it costs less than the Echo Spot on Amazon.ca and well under the Echo Show 8. Amazon’s new Echo Time bedside clock, which reached Canada in October 2026, costs about twice as much as this screen.

Look elsewhere for some needs. If you want no camera in the bedroom at all, the Echo Spot gives you the same tap-to-snooze alarm without one. If your home runs on Google, or you want a sleep tracker, the Nest Hub (2nd Gen) has a larger 7-inch screen and Google’s Sleep Sensing, which tracks sleep with motion and sound. If you plan to watch shows or want a fuller smart home hub, the Echo Show 8 adds a bigger HD screen, a 13MP camera and Thread and Zigbee support.

Amazon Echo Show 5 (3rd Gen)

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Marcus WebbSenior Editor 𝕏

Marcus has been hunting for the best tech and gear for over 40 years — as a coder, gamer, and lifelong outdoors enthusiast, he knows the gap between a good spec sheet and something that actually holds up.

How this was made: Built from the 20 sources listed above, including 9 independent reviewers such as Trusted Reviews, SlashGear and Expert Reviews. AI drafts written to our editorial research and citation standards, then checked claim by claim against those sources by a separate AI fact-checker. We haven’t tested this product ourselves. How we review →