The Echo Show's screen should become more useful in time as third-party skill makers harness its added abilities – but for now, Amazon hasn't yet proven that a home voice assistant really needs a screen attached. There are no truly new or amazing features here; simply a sampling of familiar phone and tablet abilities put into a central device that you won't shuffle around your flat. It could be a great hub for your connected home if you have cameras, and the video calling feature might appeal to a small subset of Jetsons fans, but otherwise the Echo Show lacks killer apps. As a piece of hardware, both the design and sound quality take a hit in favour of the screen, which offers a mixed bag of meaningful enhancement to this spoken helper. It does more, sure, but we're not convinced that it's that much of an upgrade over the Echo, given that it costs £199.99 to the Echo's £89.99. Nor, for that matter, does it trump the £139.99 Echo Plus, with its superior sound quality and built-in smart home hub. In time, the Echo Show may prove its value over the screen-less Echo devices, and you might be swayed now to future-proof your investment by spending big on this ritzy new model. But if you already have enough smart screens in your home, there's little need to add another. Stick to the new 2nd gen Echo or Echo Dot for now.

Effective smart home hub; Alexa is still a helpful ally; There's potential to tap;

Needs a lot more visual apps; Underwhelming speakers; Clunky design;

The updated Show is a big step in the right direction thanks to a better design, screen, sound experience and feature set. It's still hampered by some patchy skills and limited support for third-party streaming services, but if you’re a Prime Video fan living in a smart home full of Echos, you should definitely check it out.

Big, bright, responsive touch screen; Competent smart home hub; Much better audio than 1st gen Show;

Screen apps lack polish; Audio is bass heavy; Video calling still limited

Editor's note, Sept. 20, 2018: Amazon introduced a new Echo Show with a larger screen and direct integration with Amazon's Fire TV streaming service. It ships on Oct. 11.

Amazon's touchscreen Alexa device shows potential for people interested in video chatting with friends and family members, but it needs a little more development before we'd recommend it.

The Echo Show offers everything you love about Alexa, complete with new video and touchscreen controls; It shines best as a dedicated, hands-free video calling command center.

The uninspired design feels dated; At launch, the touchscreen visuals don't do enough to bring Alexa to life, or make her much easier to use -- though that could change with the arrival of new screen-specific Alexa skills.

We’re impressed with the Amazon Echo Show – the display improves the overall Alexa experience, enabling it to do things that haven’t been possible until now, like show you how to cook things step-by-step or provide a livestream of your home security cameras (although with limitations). Video calling is another nice addition, and the quality of the included 5Mp is good enough to take some decent hands-free selfies. The 2in Dolby-powered speakers provide crisp, warm room-filling audio and even offers Bluetooth connectivity to turn it into a Bluetooth speaker. Admittedly, the design is a little odd – especially when you consider how sleek the rest of the Echo range is – but it gives the Echo Show a distinct look, and is perfectly at home in your kitchen or on a shelf in your bedroom. The question is, at £199, do you really need one? If you’ve got multiple smart security cameras, want hands-free access to Amazon Prime Video and want to look up recipes while cooking dinner, it’s the Echo device for you. But, if most of your smart devices don’t rely on video and you’re not too fussed about the hands-free access to video content or the ability to video call other Echo users, we’d recommend going for a cheaper Alexa-enabled device.

With the arrival of the Amazon Echo Show to Australian shores, it feels fair to say that the age of the mass market smart display has truly arrived. Whether or not they’ll prove as successful or popular or useful as their smart speaker counterparts feels like another question entirely.

The Echo Show is well-worth the extra expense if you’re already committed to the ecosystem and comfortable letting another front-facing camera into your home.

Beefy sound; Very easy to setup and use;

Limited video playback; Thick bezels;

The Echo Show is a super additional device for a kitchen or communal space, while the audio has been given a much-needed boost. There are some foibles - such as lack of YouTube, a slightly reflective display, and some skills lacking screen-based optimisation - but all-round the second-gen Show is a notable improvement.

Far better audio than original; Great for simple voice-controlled tasks; Ring integration (for those with the doorbell);

Reflective display isn't the brightest; Lack of native YouTube (workaround via browser); Many Alexa skills not optimised for screen; Echo Show 8 possibly more compelling;

Effective smart home hub; Alexa is still a helpful ally; There’s potential to tap;

Needs a lot more visual apps; Underwhelming speakers; Clunky design;