The Amazon Echo Show is what would be considered the premiere device in the Echo family of devices. At $230, it’s more than just a smart speaker; it’s a 10-inch display that can help you out no matter where you are. In the kitchen, in the bedroom, in the office, no matter where you are in the home, the Echo Show is a versatile device that can supplement your life in myriad ways. Here are three things that we believe will enhance your Amazon Echo Show experience for the better.
Watch your favorite streamer on Twitch
Did you know that you can use the Echo Show to watch your favorite streamer when they are live? The Twitch Alexa skill can help with that. Whether you’re catching some games of Apex Legends with Shroud, watching Thursday Night Football during the NFL regular season or lurking in your favorite streamer’s channel while working on something on your computer, having the Amazon Echo Show run Twitch is an easy way to keep up with your gaming content.
Here’s what you’ll need for this to work:
- Amazon Echo Show, Amazon Fire HD Tablet or Lenovo Smart Tab P10
- The Amazon Alexa App
- Twitch Skill
The setup is as simple as searching for the Twitch skill in your Alexa app. Once the skill is enabled, link your Twitch account to the Alexa skill, and you can begin watching your favorite streams on your Echo Show. To get notifications on your Echo Show for when one of your followed streamers goes live, make sure you go into the settings for the Twitch skill, and enable Alexa Notifications. Don’t forget to go into your Twitch account on the web and enable notifications for the streams you want to catch live.
Teach me how to cook a new meal
There are many recipe skills for Alexa that you can utilize to help out while in the kitchen. My personal favorite is the Food Network skill. Having access to thousands of recipes, the Food Network skill can help boost your culinary confidence and expose you to new foods that you may not have discovered on your own. You can also have Alexa read and display the ingredients and instructions to the recipes that you are trying out in your kitchen.
Here’s what you’ll need for this to work:
- Amazon Echo Show, Amazon Fire HD Tablet or Lenovo Smart Tab P10
- The Amazon Alexa App
- Food Network Skill
Setting up the Food Network Skill is as easy as finding and enabling the skill from your Alexa app, and providing your email for recipes to be sent to you. Use your Echo Show or Show Mode device to search the expansive database to help you discover a new dish for your family or a new ingredient that you can incorporate into your cooking.
Just checking on the little ones
Did you know that you can use your Echo Show as a baby monitor? You can stream video between Echo Show devices to keep tabs on your baby or toddler as they’re sleeping.
Here’s what you’ll need for this to work:
- 2 of either the Amazon Echo Show, or Amazon Fire HD Tablet
- The Amazon Alexa App
Once you set up Alexa’s Drop In feature in the Alexa app for the devices that you’ll be using, you can easily check in on the little ones by saying Alexa, Drop In. Once you select which device to drop in on, you can peek in to make sure your young one is sleeping fine.
Beyond checking in on the little one to see if they’re sleeping, you can also use the drop-in feature to gently remind your toddler that they should be sleeping if they’re up late at night playing with their toys on a school night.
Here are some additional products that can help enhance your experience with the Echo Show:
ecobee4 Smart Thermostat
$200 at Amazon
The ecobee4 has Alexa built-in, and as such, it plays fabulously well with any of your Echo devices. Ecobee even includes a separate room sensor with the ecobee4 so that it can attune its controls to keep the proper temper for both ends of your house.
TCL S517 – 43″ 4K TV
$300 at Amazon
As far as entry-level 4K televisions go, the TCL 5-series is the best you can buy. Powered by Roku and equipped Dolby Vision High Dynamic Range, your TV viewing and game playing experience takes a huge step up. Additionally, with the new Roku skill for Alexa, you can control your TCL TV using your Alexa-enabled device.
Amazon Smart Plug
$25 at Amazon
Adding voice control to any outlet is an inexpensive way to make your dumb product smart, and the Amazon Smart Plug is the best way to kick start your smart home experience.
Ring Video Doorbell
$169 at Amazon
The Ring Video Doorbell works with the Echo Spot and Echo Show to show you who is near your doorbell, with a horizontal field of view of 180 degrees and a vertical FOV of 110 degrees, plus the ability to power the doorbell via your existing wiring or via an independent battery, the Ring Video Doorbell is a perfect starting point for smart home security.
What are some tips and tricks you found with your Echo Show?
These are just three of many things you can use to enhance your Amazon Echo Show experience in your home. Have you found any additional skills that maximized your use of the Amazon Echo Show or Alexa in Show Mode? Share your favorites in the comments below.
