It’s been nearly two years since the second-generation Amazon Echo Show 5 display appeared on the scene, and now there are hints that a third-gen Echo Show 5 is on the horizon.
AFTVnews spotted a listing for an “Amazon Echo Show 5 (3rd Generation)” on this Amazon help page, which includes links to a pair of UK and EU regulatory documents that appear to reference the unannounced display.
We’ve reached out to Amazon for comment.
It would make sense for a new Echo Show 5 to break cover right around now. The second-generation Echo Show 5 (pictured above) arrived about two years after the first five-inch Echo Show, which itself debuted back in 2019.
Given that the Echo Show 5 (and indeed, most of Amazon’s Echo speaker and display line) seem to be on a two-year release schedule, a revamped version of the smallest Echo Show is about due.
Despite the fact that we got an updated Echo Show 5 two years ago, even the current model is feeling pretty long in the tooth.
That’s because the second-generation Echo Show 5 added only a couple of improvements over the original, including a marginally sharper camera (two megapixels, versus 1MP for the first Echo Show 5) plus the addition of a proximity sensor (which, among other things, can be used to trigger Alexa routines).
The second-gen Echo Show 5 also took away something: a 3.5mm audio-out jack, which allowed you to connect a wired speaker to the first-generation Echo Show 5.
Otherwise, the latest Echo Show 5 is almost identical to the first, complete with the same wedge-like design and 5.5-inch, 960 x 480-pixel display.
Also unchanged is the quad-core, Arm-based MediaTek processor that powers both the first- and second-gen Echo Show 5. That underpowered chip made for slow going even when the Echo Show 5 was brand-new; nowadays, following a series of display updates, performance feels positively glacial.
Meanwhile, Amazon’s other Echo Show displays have received much more substantial improvements, with the Echo Show 8 getting a big camera upgrade (13 megapixels, up from 1MP) and the Echo Show 10 now sporting a motorized screen that can follow you around the room.
We’ll be keeping an eye out for more developments on a possible third-gen Echo Show 5, not to mention updates for Amazon’s other Echo Show displays.
Author: Ben Patterson, Senior Writer
Ben has been writing about technology and consumer electronics for more than 20 years. A PCWorld contributor since 2014, Ben joined TechHive in 2019, where he covers smart speakers, soundbars, and other smart and home-theater devices. You can follow Ben on Twitter.