Amazon Echo Hub Review

About the Amazon Echo Hub

• Price: $179.99
• Colors: White
• Connectivity: 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth, Zigbee, Matter, Sidewalk, Thread
• Smart assistants: Amazon Alexa
• Resolution: 1280 x 800 pixels
• Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Warranty: 1-year limited warranty

The device is available in one color and one size. The main decision to make is whether you want to use it on a stand, or wall-mount it.

If you plan on using the device on a stand, you’ll have to buy the stand at an additional cost—$29.99 more. In the box can be found the hardware to wall-mount the Echo Hub.

What we like

The Echo Hub offers excellent connectivity

Before you can control your smart home devices with the Echo Hub, you have to connect to them. You can connect to most Alexa-compatible smart home devices with other Echo speakers or displays without the Echo Hub. But the Echo Hub does put all the smart home radios you might need into one simple package.

First, there are the obvious ones—like Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Beyond that, however, the Echo Hub also supports Zigbee and Thread, the latter of which is increasingly playing a role in the modern smart home. The Hub works with Matter devices, over Thread, or Wi-Fi. Importantly, it works as a Thread border router, so it’ll serve as the starting point for your Thread mesh network if you don’t already have one. Lastly, it works with Amazon Sidewalk, which is Amazon’s own mesh network that I tend to keep off for privacy concerns.

It’s hard to imagine needing more from a smart home hub in 2024 apart from Z-Wave—a niche use case and unlikely to be hugely missed here. The Echo Hub has everything most smart homes need.

The interface is simple

The interface of the Echo Hub is quite different from that of an Echo Show, in a good way. The Echo Hub prioritizes smart home control, and the home screen shows quick controls for your favorite devices, snapshots from security cameras, and information like the temperature in your home.

These controls appear as widgets that are accessible with one tap from the main screen. Keep in mind that to actually get snapshots of cameras, you may need to pay a subscription. For example, Ring locks this feature behind Ring Protect. Without Ring Protect, the camera will show as a tile on the home screen, which you can tap to see a live view.

These widgets are customizable, too. Not only can you organize the widgets as you see fit, but you can organize the information within them, too. And you can dive into controlling types of devices, like lights with a quick access button at the bottom of the display. Instead of basic device control, you can also quickly control routines or groups of devices. I found it very intuitive and very simple. While some might find it too basic for a device meant to be controlled by not only members of the home but also guests, I think that's a good thing.

Of course, as you would expect, beyond the touch controls on offer, the device also supports Alexa—so you can control your smart home with your voice.

The Echo Hub lends itself to versatile placement options

I like that the Echo Hub can be mounted to the wall or used with a stand, and while I do wish the stand hardware was included in the box, I think most will want to mount the device anyway.

If I were to use the hub permanently, I would likely mount it on the wall in the living room. There it can be easily accessible by anyone in the home, and within microphone-shot for using Alexa to control things instead of manually controlling them.

What we don’t like

It’s a little slow at times

Amazon seemingly hasn't included a super powerful processor in the Echo Hub. I found that the device was often slow to react to touch, and while it wasn't extremely slow, it was slow enough to feel a bit laggy at times.

This wasn't really apparent when simply controlling smart home devices from the home screen, but it did show up when opening different menus like the Settings menu, for example.

A slightly better processor would have gone a long way here, and while a device like this shouldn't need a smartphone-level chip in it, the fact that it's slightly laggy from the get-go is a little concerning.

It’s comparatively expensive

The Amazon Echo Show 5 starts at $89.99, while the Echo Show 8 costs $149.99 when not discounted (which it often is). The Echo Hub is more expensive than both of these, and at first glance, it may not seem obvious why.

After all, the Echo Show 8 has a better speaker, is a little more versatile given the fact that it also supports media consumption, and still works as a way to control smart home devices. So, why did the price increase? Well, it likely has to do with the connectivity tech that Amazon has stuffed into the Hub. All those radios and modems can add up in price, and while the Echo Hub perhaps isn’t as versatile as the Show, it does work better as…a hub.

If you want multiple Hubs, that cost can add up quickly. For example, those with a multi-story home might want one upstairs and downstairs—and that’ll cost $360.

Should you buy the Amazon Echo Hub?

Yes, if you want an Alexa-based smart home hub

The Amazon Echo hub may be a little more expensive than the cheaper Echo Show devices, but it does serve a slightly different purpose. If you're looking for a central hub for your Alexa-based smart home, the Echo Hub is your best bet right now. It supports a range of smart home standards, and puts smart home controls front and center in a way that both you, your family, and any guests you might have can understand.

I do hope that Amazon brings down the price over time, and even launches smaller or cheaper variants of the hub. But in the meantime, if you're willing to spend the money, the Amazon Echo Hub is a solid buy.