This Amazon tablet became the core of my smart home for its no-frills display and it's on sale

ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

• Amazon sells the Echo Hub for $180.
• The Echo Hub gives Alexa the spot it has earned successful the astute location market: A power sheet to easy entree astute devices, nary ads, and nary unnecessary fluff.
• The astute show tin beryllium dilatory and buggy, particularly portion loading aggregate camera views

The Amazon Echo Hub is presently connected merchantability for $130. Act accelerated due to the fact that this woody volition lone beryllium disposable for a constricted time.

Many astute location enthusiasts, myself included, are bushed of juggling dozens of apps connected their phones to power the smart devices successful their homes. While the merchandise of Matter alleviates this hassle, the caller astute location connectivity modular has yet to get capable enactment to destruct the challenge.

As a result, galore of america are near looking for astute displays that tin springiness america speedy entree to power our devices. Some tech-savvy folks whitethorn usage a repurposed aged tablet mounted to the partition arsenic a astute location power center, portion others opt for a astute show similar an Echo Show oregon a Google Nest Hub that tin already relation arsenic a astute location controller retired of the box, among different things.

Also: This video doorbell gave maine akin benefits arsenic a Ring but with nary monthly subscriptions

These devices ever person their drawbacks. Amazon's Echo Hub is designed to capable a spread successful the astute location controller marketplace by being what these devices are not: a astute location controller and lone that. 

There are nary frills with the Echo Hub. There's nary spatial audio talker attached to its base, nary ultra-high explanation for streaming, and nary ads to show portion successful standby mode. It doesn't service immoderate intent too being a astute location hub and controller.

Testing the Echo Hub for the past fewer months has been a refreshing experience. Its navigation is sorted into categories and widgets. At a glance, the Echo Hub displays your widgets connected astir two-thirds of the screen, with your routines and rooms connected the near broadside and instrumentality categories astatine the bottom. You tin customize the widgets and download much from the widgets store.

The Echo Hub tin get a spot laggy erstwhile you propulsion up your information camera feeds.

Maria Diaz/ZDNET

The 8-inch touchscreen show tin beryllium wall-mounted, which is my preference. I've ever wanted to repurpose a tablet arsenic a wall-mounted astute sheet oregon prop it up connected a level aboveground utilizing a tabletop stand. 

Also: This is the astir customizable astute location accessory I didn't cognize I needed

As its sanction indicates, the Echo Hub is simply a astute location power sheet with the Alexa dependable assistant. It besides works to link Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Zigbee, Matter, Thread, and Sidewalk astute devices. 

The Echo Hub makes it casual to power each of your Alexa-compatible lights.

Maria Diaz/ZDNET

Wait, if Amazon already has the Echo Show, wherefore marque the Echo Hub? The Amazon Alexa astute location web is rapidly becoming 1 of the largest and astir intuitive astute location automation systems available. The strategy supports 100 cardinal devices and is the astir compatible.

The Alexa app rapidly connects caller devices you adhd to your astute location with small effort connected your extremity and lets you power devices from antithetic manufacturers successful 1 place. If a astute location instrumentality says it "works with Alexa," you tin spot the exertion volition beryllium casual to acceptable up and power with the Alexa app, the dependable assistant, and present the Echo Hub.

Also: The champion astute location devices you tin buy

I presently person 4 Echo Shows and 4 different Echo speakers, truthful there's a batch of Alexa successful my home. As an Apple HomeKit house, I got an Echo talker to spot however Alexa fared against Siri.

I past got my kitchen's Echo Show to perceive to euphony oregon ticker the quality portion cooking meal and to power astute location devices, but besides due to the fact that I thought the show would springiness maine amended views into my calendar, which wasn't the case. The Echo Hub does precisely what it promises to do: springiness maine a wide presumption into my astute location and a speedy mode to power it.

Here's the Echo Hub camera view.

Maria Diaz/ZDNET

I've ne'er been quiescent astir the Echo Show's shortcomings, particularly arsenic a idiosyncratic who uses the exertion daily. I dislike that I can't power what is displayed during standby, that Alexa lone understands maine astir 70% of the time, that the hardware itself is dilatory and laggy, that an app similar YouTube, which requires a browser, is truthful hard to navigate with your voice, and that astute location power is specified a secondary feature.

ZDNET's buying advice

Because Alexa tin grip galore antithetic devices, maintains a reliable connection, and makes routines casual to use, I hatred to admit that I scope for it much often than my Apple Home app. The Echo Hub puts each that convenience connected my wall, wrong my reach. I tin easy tally routines from the hub, limb oregon disarm my Ring Alarm system, cheque my information cameras, set the downstairs thermostat, oregon crook a airy connected oregon disconnected connected my mode upstairs for the night.

While the Echo Hub isn't a astute speaker, Alexa does respond connected the device. You tin mute it truthful it doesn't perceive for the aftermath connection and set its volume.

Maria Diaz/ZDNET

During setup, you tin take which Echo instrumentality successful your location to play euphony connected erstwhile you inquire Alexa connected the Echo Hub to play something, arsenic it's not a talker -- different differentiator betwixt the Echo Hub and different Echo devices. This attack means you don't get an Echo Hub alternatively of an Echo talker if you inactive privation to play music, particularly if you privation astute speakers astir your home.

Like galore astute location users, I americium lone reluctant to wholly springiness successful to Alexa and Amazon owed to privacy and information concerns, particularly considering that information is not handled locally. While companies tin ever assertion to prioritize user privacy, you tin lone instrumentality them astatine look worth regarding your idiosyncratic information.