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A black Amazon Echo Show 10 with its large screen sits on a table. Credit: Reviewed / Rachel Murphy

The Best Smart Displays of 2023

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A black Amazon Echo Show 10 with its large screen sits on a table. Credit: Reviewed / Rachel Murphy

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Editor's Choice Product image of Amazon Echo Show 10 (3rd Gen)
Best Overall

Amazon Echo Show 10 (3rd Gen)

The Echo Show 10 is the biggest and most impressive Amazon smart display yet, with a motorized touchscreen and 13MP motion-tracking camera. Read More

Pros

  • Integrated camera cover
  • Full Alexa capabilities
  • Rotating touchscreen

Cons

  • Motion can be awkward
  • No automatic screen tilt
Editor's Choice Product image of Google Nest Hub Max
Best for Google Assistant

Google Nest Hub Max

The Google Nest Hub Max is a large smart display that is great for video calls, streaming shows and music, and managing your Google smart home. Read More

Pros

  • Works with Google Assistant
  • Great streaming options
  • Works as a Matter hub

Cons

  • No physical shutter for the camera
  • No mic mute button on the device's exterior
Editor's Choice Product image of Amazon Echo Show 8 (2nd Gen)
Best Mid-Size Smart Display

Amazon Echo Show 8 (2nd Gen)

With a powerful camera and app support, Amazon's Echo Show 8 focuses on communication and entertainment, seamlessly nailing both. Read More

Pros

  • Great tool for communication
  • Appropriately focused on security
  • Supports Matter

Cons

  • Web browser can be buggy
Product image of Amazon Echo Show 5 (3rd Gen, 2023)
Best for small spaces

Amazon Echo Show 5 (3rd Gen, 2023)

The third-gen Show 5 has noticeably better sound and is faster than the previous model. It comes slightly redesigned and is ideal for small spaces. Read More

Pros

  • Improved sound and processing speed
  • Attractive new design and color options
  • Compact

Cons

  • No native support for YouTube
  • Silk browser is buggy
Product image of Google Nest Hub (2nd gen)

Google Nest Hub (2nd gen)

Google's Nest Hub (second-gen) is a compact smart display that supports gesture controls, sleep tracking, and popular video/music streaming services. Read More

Pros

  • Modern design
  • Great for entertainment
  • Compact
  • Works as a Matter hub

Cons

  • Sleep Sensing works best for singles
  • No mic mute button on exterior

Smart display devices are among the most versatile and useful smart gadgets out there. From controlling your smart home devices with Alexa and Google Assistant to making video calls, watching videos, and even using it as a digital photo frame, smart displays are an excellent way to futurize your home.

We’ve looked at each of the smart displays on the market and tried out their individual features to help you find the very best option for your setup. As with a lot of smart devices, which is right for you may depend highly on which voice assistant you prefer. The Alexa-enabled Amazon Echo Show 10 (3rd Gen) (available at Amazon for $249.99) is our top choice as the best smart display you can buy, while the Google Nest Hub Max (available at Best Buy) is the best smart display for Google Assistant. However, there are other great smart displays in our guide, each tailored to match your lifestyle and smart home needs.

The Echo Shows 10 sits on a kitchen counter
Credit: Reviewed / Rachel Murphy

The Amazon Echo Show 10 is the best smart display you can buy.

Best Overall
Amazon Echo Show 10

The Echo Show 10 is the best smart display you can buy. It features an impressive 13-megapixel motion-tracking camera to follow you throughout the room as you cook, make video calls, and more. It supports Matter and Zigbee smart home devices, eliminating the need for a separate hub. When it comes to smart displays, we think bigger is better—and the Echo Show 10 strikes the perfect balance of being great for work and play.

The base of the smart display houses a large, directional speaker with two 1-inch tweeters and a 3-inch woofer, which has the best sound quality of any display in our guide. Like the Echo Show 8, there are four built-in mics and the screen resolution is 1200 x 800.

When the camera is tracking you, it is responsive, and the rotation is smooth and quiet. However, the screen does not automatically tilt up and down. Considering its big, beautiful screen and motion-tracking capabilities from side to side, the Show 10 offers the best video calling experience of any smart display in our guide, while also offering a reliable way to manage your Alexa gadgets.

There's also an integrated sliding privacy shutter and mic mute button, ensuring you can’t be seen or heard when you don’t want to be.

It’s a great smart display for Amazon Echo ecosystems, since it can control all of your Alexa-compatible smart home devices. The Show 10 also serves as an indoor security camera, which is visible in the Alexa app, and its movability means you can see more indoors than you can with any other Amazon smart display.

Overall, the Show 10 is a powerful smart display whether you're cooking up a meal, video chatting with a friend, or simply controlling your smart home.

Read our full review of the Amazon Echo Show 10

Pros

  • Integrated camera cover

  • Full Alexa capabilities

  • Rotating touchscreen

Cons

  • Motion can be awkward

  • No automatic screen tilt

The Google Nest Hub Max smart display sits on a kitchen countertop.
Credit: Reviewed / Rachel Murphy

The Google Nest Hub Max is the best smart display for Google Assistant.

Best for Google Assistant
Google Nest Hub Max

The Nest Hub Max reigns supreme as the most powerful and feature-filled option for your Google Home ecosystem. The 10-inch device has a 6.5-megapixel camera that automatically pans and adjusts to keep you in the frame. It looks good and has great sound quality when making video calls on services like Google Duo and Zoom.

It can be used as a Nest indoor home security camera, too, via the Google Home app. With a paid Nest Aware plan, you can unlock features like Familiar Face detection, as well as smart alerts when people and motion are detected. The paid plan also allows the Hub Max to listen for events like dogs barking and smoke/carbon monoxide alarms.

If YouTube is your primary way to watch content, a Google smart display is going to give you the best experience as it offers native YouTube integration. Other streaming services are also available, such as Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, YouTube TV, Sling TV, HBO Max, and others. It also supports Chromecast, so you can beam content to your TV.

This Amazon Echo alternative also supports music streaming services like Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube Music, Pandora, Deezer, iHeartRadio, and Google Podcasts.

When not in use, the lock screen can show a variety of built-in Photo Frames like clock faces, pictures from your Google Photos account like a digital picture frame, and Google’s (totally adorable) weather frog.

Quick Gestures is another standout feature where you can pause/start videos by raising your hand near the side of your face while standing in front of the camera. Google's smart display also has Face Match technology, which means the device can differentiate between up to six users and display customized content. Once activated, you can get personalized content just for you like commute times and upcoming events from your calendar.

Google Assistant works with thousands of smart home devices, including Nest video doorbells and security cameras, and you can view the live stream of compatible cameras on the Hub Max. If you need an all-in-one device to manage your Google smart home, make video calls, and access a bevy of popular streaming services, the Nest Hub Max is your top choice.

Read our full review of Google’s Nest Hub Max

Pros

  • Works with Google Assistant

  • Great streaming options

  • Works as a Matter hub

Cons

  • No physical shutter for the camera

  • No mic mute button on the device's exterior

The Amazon Echo Show 8 smart display sits on a tablet
Credit: Reviewed / Nick Woodward

The Amazon Echo Show 8 is the best smart display you can buy.

Best Mid-Size Smart Display
Amazon Echo Show 8 (second-gen)

The Echo Show is a mid-sized smart display that offers a great mix of value, features, and overall usability—especially if Alexa is your preferred assistant.

It’s not the smallest or largest Echo smart display, but the 8 doesn’t need to be flashy to be great.

The display has a 13-megapixel camera complete with auto framing and an 8-inch screen that keeps you in the camera’s view and looks good during video calls when using compatible services like Zoom, Skype, and Alexa Calling. It also works as a home security camera (only visible in the Amazon Alexa app). When paired with an Alexa Guard subscription, Echo displays can listen for smoke/carbon monoxide alarms and glass breaking, as well as other home security features.

When it’s not in use, the Show 8 will display a variety of content like the forecast, current headlines, and smart home shortcuts. It also comes with excellent entertainment options, including Netflix, Prime Video, and Hulu.

The device can also stream/play music directly from services like Amazon Music, Apple Music, Spotify, iHeartRadio, TuneIn, and iHeartRadio Family.

This Amazon Echo controls thousands of Alexa-enabled smart home devices like video doorbells, smart thermostats, and smart bulbs. The Echo Show 8 is a powerful, medium-sized smart display for Alexa users.

Read our full review of Amazon’s Echo Show 8 (second-gen)

Pros

  • Great tool for communication

  • Appropriately focused on security

  • Supports Matter

Cons

  • Web browser can be buggy

The third-gen Amazon Echo Show 5 with the time displayed on the screen, sitting on a wood nightstand.
Credit: Amazon

The third-gen Amazon Echo Show 5 is the best smart display for small spaces.

Best for small spaces
Echo Show 5 (third-gen)

The third-gen Echo Show 5 is the best compact smart display you can buy—and is the smallest in Amazon's Echo Show line up. It packs a big punch into a 5.5-inch screen with crystal clear 960 x 480 resolution and a 2 megapixel camera for video calls and more. The Show 5 doesn’t have auto-framing or motion-tracking like our No.1 pick, but it’s a great sized smart display for taking calls at your desk.

The third-gen model replaces the second-gen, which Amazon says is about 20% faster in processing and speed. The increase in speed is noticeable, with quicker touchscreen response times and a faster built-in Alexa.

The new Echo Show 5 also has better sound than the previous model, with a 1.75-inch speaker versus the second-gen’s 1.65-inch speaker that makes for clearer vocals and deeper bass. It also features a small redesign—fabric now extends to the edges of the screen, which are more rounded than before, and there are more colors to choose from. Both are roughly the same size and weight, support Matter-enabled devices, and have privacy controls like a mic mute button and camera shutter on the top.

The difference in sound quality is noticeably better on the Echo Show 5 (third-gen), so whether you’re using it for video calls, listening to music throughout the day, or as a morning alarm, the new model with enhanced features is worth the upgrade, earning a spot in our guide as the best compact smart display you can buy.

Pros

  • Improved sound and processing speed

  • Attractive new design and color options

  • Compact

Cons

  • No native support for YouTube

  • Silk browser is buggy

Product image of Google Nest Hub (2nd gen)
Nest Hub (second-gen)

Google’s Nest Hub (second-gen) is one of the few smart displays that lacks a camera. That is necessarily a bad thing if having one built-in makes you feel uneasy, but that is one reason it ranked lower on this roundup. What it lacks in video calling capabilities, though, it makes up for with other neat features like sensor-based sleep tech that tracks your nightly slumber habits.

The 7-inch display has 1024 x 600-pixel resolution and three far-field microphones. It has a faster machine learning chip than the larger Hub Max, like the Nest Audio smart speaker, to help Google Assistant learn your most common commands and respond to them faster than ever before.

The second-gen Nest Hub supports popular video streamers like Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, Sling, and YouTube TV, music services like Spotify, Apple Music, and Pandora.

Whether this display is right for you may depend on how often you video chat with friends and family. Regardless, the Nest Hub (second-gen) packs in a lot of features and smarts for being so small. If you don’t mind losing out on the camera, the second-gen Nest Hub is a more affordable alternative to the larger Hub Max.

Read our full review of the Nest Hub (second-gen)

Pros

  • Modern design

  • Great for entertainment

  • Compact

  • Works as a Matter hub

Cons

  • Sleep Sensing works best for singles

  • No mic mute button on exterior

How We Tested Smart Displays

The Tester

Hi, I’m Rachel and I write about smart-home for Reviewed. I live in a home full of smart speakers, home security cameras, smart lights, appliances, and more connected gadgets that work with smart assistants like Alexa, Google Assistant, and Siri. I’ve been using smart displays for several years now and spent hours on end digging through every feature available to help you make the right choice.

The Tests

An Echo Show 10 displaying a Zoom video call between two people
Credit: Reviewed / Rachel Murphy

We test all aspects of smart displays, including the quality of video calls.

Because every smart display has its strengths and features, our testing could not be standardized across each device. Instead, we tested smart displays in an actual smart home for several weeks with popular smart home gadgets like smart plugs, smart locks, security cameras, and appliances. We also tested smart displays for privacy settings, streaming services, video calling experiences, and individual features.

What You Should Know About Smart Displays

What can smart displays do?

The Amazon Echo Show 10 setup next to a stand mixer and ingredients for chocolate chip cookies on a kitchen counter
Credit: Reviewed / Rachel Murphy

Smart displays, like the Echo Show 10, are handy recipe finders and kitchen helpers.

The features vary by hub and ecosystem, but smart displays are more than just a pretty video portal for your countertop. The devices can show you who is at the front door as soon as someone rings the bell. They can also listen for breaking glass and barking dogs (potentially alerting you to home security threats), as well as provide visual reminders (like that late afternoon Zoom meeting you keep forgetting about).

Smart displays from Amazon and Google also function as Matter hubs, so you can connect your Matter-enabled smart home devices to them.

Smart displays work with a variety of video and music streaming platforms. While the streaming lineup varies by ecosystem, popular services like Spotify, Apple Music, Netflix, Hulu, and YouTube are available.

Smart displays can also serve as digital keypads to disarm your home security system and to manually adjust the brightness and color of your smart bulbs and light strips. Some smart displays can also track your sleep, giving you detailed statistics about your nightly slumber habits.

Most smart displays come with adaptive audio controls, so your assistant can hear you from across the room or over loud noises.

Power and Connectivity

Most smart displays plug into any standard electrical socket using the power cord included with your purchase. Battery-operated or not, all smart displays require a Wi-Fi connection for use (most support dual-band Wi-Fi). Bluetooth is also available.

Which smart display should I buy?

The Google Nest Hub Max shows the live view from an outdoor Nest Camera.
Credit: Reviewed / Rachel Murphy

Smart displays like the Amazon Echo Show 10 (left) and Google Nest Hub Max (left) can stream the live view from your home security cameras.

Choosing the best smart display for you and your household often comes down to which smart assistant you rely on to control your smart home—Alexa or Google Assistant. If you already have an Amazon Echo or Google Nest smart speaker in your home, for instance, you’ll want to choose a device that best incorporates it (i.e. one from Amazon or Google) Alexa is the world’s most popular voice assistant and can control thousands of smart home devices similar to Google Assistant. At the time of publication, Apple does not have a Siri-enabled smart display for HomeKit.

Another thing to consider when choosing the best smart display is how it will integrate into your daily life. Do you primarily want a hands-free way to video call with friends and family or to stream videos mindlessly during your workday? Do you want help tracking your sleep or controlling your smart home gadgets? Every smart display offers a little something different in terms of features and usability. Our guide can help you determine which smart display to buy for your home.

Smart displays come in all shapes and sizes, too. Consider your living quarters and what size smart display would work best in your space. A large, motion-tracking display might not be the best choice for a nightstand or desk because it needs plenty of room to move around. That’s what smaller smart displays are for. However, the bigger display is going to be better for making video calls and following around with recipes when cooking in the kitchen.

Privacy

The camera privacy shutter is enabled on an Echo Show 5
Credit: Reviewed / Rachel Murphy

Smart displays, like the Echo Show 5 devices, feature physical privacy controls to disable the camera and microphone.

Privacy might seem like a thing of the past, as everywhere you go, it feels like there's some machine watching or listening. But in your own home, you can do a few things to protect yourself, even from naturally invasive smart home devices.

First, make sure to enable two-factor authentication for your smart display account, which sends a code to your mobile device to verify it’s you. That way, if someone tries to hack into your account, you will receive an alert and can quickly take care of the problem. Many devices also allow you to activate email or other push notifications in the settings to alert you if someone has logged on.

Additionally, make sure to use a unique, strong password composed of multiple characters, numbers, and letters. Data breaches can happen, making it all the more important to use different passwords across multiple websites and apps.

Smart assistants like Alexa and Google Assistant are built into smart displays, and you can protect your privacy by regularly deleting your voice recordings and disabling the device's mic and camera when it’s not in use.

All Echo Show displays feature integrated privacy controls like a physical sliding shutter for the camera and a mic mute button on the top of the device. Google Nest displays lack the physical slider, but you can easily access privacy controls for the camera and mic by swiping up from the bottom of the display's screen.

One thing to note is that Echo displays come with Amazon Sidewalk automatically enabled. The goal of Amazon Sidewalk is to create one large, low-bandwidth wireless network that extends the range of certain devices (like Echo devices, Ring cameras, and Tile trackers) that only work when connected to Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. The more neighbors who opt-in, the larger and stronger the Amazon Sidewalk network will be. The program only applies to Echo devices and you can opt-out any time.

Looking for more privacy tips? Read our guide to securing your smart home.

Meet the tester

Rachel Murphy

Rachel Murphy

Editor, Home

@rachel_murphy

Rachel Murphy is Reviewed's home editor. She holds a journalism degree from the University of Central Florida. Prior to joining the team, she worked as a freelance writer for publications like Insider and Mashable, and as an associate editorial producer for Good Morning America. Aside from smart home tech, her interests include food, travel, parenting, and home renovation. You can usually find her sipping on coffee at any time of the day.

See all of Rachel Murphy's reviews

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