Unboxing the Echo Show 5 and Setup
Today we are unboxing and setting up the new Echo Show 5 we purchased during Prime Day for the bedroom. This smart home device is set to replace the 30 year old Sony Dream Machine Clock Radio we have in the bedroom on the night stand. Somehow that alarm clock has managed to squeak by the technology upgrades happening all around the house. It feels like the most ancient thing plugged into the wall and after about a month with our kitchen based Echo Show 5, I am pretty confident this granddaddy of Radio Clocks’ days are numbered.
There are a lot of videos out there that ill show you all the great features of the Show in general but this one is specifically geared toward alarm clock functionality. After using it for about a week, I can tell you that I LOVE the big font of the clock that makes it easy to read when getting up at night and the adaptive screen light is perfect. It’s a very amber orange at night and really doesn’t add much to the overall lighting of the room. I really prefer the room dark so that is a definite plus for me.
There is a sunrise mode on the Show that slowly raises the screen brightness and shows a sunrise about 15 minutes before your scheduled alarm to hopefully gently wake you up before the alarm even kicks off. It’s a super nice feature. All of the basics are still there as well like Snooze (you just tap the show anywhere – I think it uses some sort of noise or vibration sensor since you don’t have to actually press a button to enable it).
The other really nice feature of the show for interior applications is the ability to physically close the shutter on the camera. This eliminates any doubt for features like Drop-ins and Skype calls. I like that there is a separate light sensor so the camera is not needed for the automatic light adjustments during the day.
I really like the Echo Shows and will keep an eye out for deals to slowly replace many of the Echo dots we have around the house. Having the additional screen functionality is a great bonus. These devices also totally participate in Guard mode, Announcements and of course Whisper Mode.
Enjoy the video!