Hands-on review: The rotating Amazon Alexa Echo Show 10

I started my Amazon Echo journey with an Echo Show 8, all because I wanted to be able to spy on my dogs and see what they were up to when I wasn't home. Turns out, it could do a lot more than that, and we ended up having a great time together.

Then after a while I thought, what else can I get out of this amazing feat of technology?

Enter the Amazon Alexa Echo Show 10. 

It's bigger. That's for sure. While with Echo 8 I could neatly tuck it away between some pot plants on our side table and still get full use out of it, the Echo 10 with its 10.1-inch screen is meant to be on full display. While other smart displays are usually stationary objects, the 10 has a motorised base, allowing the device to rotate and follow you around.While this may sound creepy, it's actually a really helpful design feature - you no longer have to pick up and move your smart display if you're using while moving around the house, either reading what's on screen o making a video call.

When you speak to your Echo 10, the screen automatically rotates to face you, and will continue rotating to follow you around the room as you move.

What I found super helpful with this feature was when I was cooking. Having to use your phone or pitch your laptop up on the kitchen bench to follow a recipe is painful. With the Echo 10 I was able to have my recipe right there in front of me, and I didn't have to keep walking over to the screen to see my next step if I happened to move from the counter, to the sink, to the oven.

The display is also a great feature of the device. It offers a 1280 by 800 pixel resolution allowing for decent videos, websites, and video calls to be made through the device. The screen can also tilt 40 degrees from completely vertical to angled back.

The Alexa assistant features continue their helpfulness on the Echo 10. Just say "Alexa" followed by your question or command. My most often used is probably, "Hey Alexa, ssh" when someone decides to put a horrible song on through Spotify.

Through the device, Alexa can play music from your chosen streaming service, and videos through Amazon Video, Hulu, and Netflix.

Alexa can also control your smart home devices, just like other versions of Echo.

The sound and audio quality on the 10 is also a major plus for me. The Echo 10 boasts a 3-inch downward-facing woofer and two 1-inch tweeters. My house isn't exactly huge, and more often than not I have to tell Alexa to turn the volume down. This is a handy feature of Alexa, I simply say, Alexa, volume 3, and it adjusts immediately.

While I'm still very fond of my Echo 8 because of its size and how easily it fitted in to my home's decor, the Echo Show 10 does everything I need it to, and while it took me a while to adjust to its bigger presence in the house, we get really good use out of it, especially in the kitchen. Cooking recipes often pop up on the home screen, and they're always great motivation and inspiration to not be a lazy cook.

So for now, both our Echo devices have permanent homes in our house, and that doesn't look to be changing any time soon.

The Amazon Alexa Echo Show 10 is available for purchase for NZ$439.