Look for practicality and functionality when choosing the best Alexa [Echo] apps. Apps should have clear, concise content and provide useful information. Many apps have a voice-driven interface that works well with the Echo’s speech recognition tool
Table of Contents
BEST APPS FOR ECHO
The Echo Show has developed into an essential part of the Alexa line-up, and that’s thanks to a range of great new Echo Show skills that make use of the screen.
Whether you’ve got the brand new Echo Show 15, Echo Show 10, Echo Show, Amazon Echo Show 5, Show 8 or an older model, you can access visual skills offer a heap of new possibilities on paper – ones that screen-less Amazon Echo speakers can’t.
However, you’d also be forgiven for wondering exactly what skills work with your smart speaker with a display, and how to download Echo skills. Amazon is quite cryptic about which skills are designed for its screened devices, after all.
That’s why we’ve pulled together this specific list of the best Amazon Echo Show and Echo Spot skills that make use of the screen. Be warned, though – the quality of these apps is progressing very slowly, and even the good ones can be terribly buggy.
Read this: Amazing Amazon Echo easter eggs
Learn more: Amazon Echo commands you need to know
How to add skills to Echo Show
How to add skills to Echo Show
There’s actually a few ways to add skills to your Echo Show (or Echo Spot) – and this doesn’t actually differ too much from how you would install them on a regular Alexa speaker.
- Ask Alexa
The easiest way to add skills to your screened Echo device is to simply say, “Alexa, enable [skill name].Or, if you want to remove a skill, just say, “Alexa, disable [skill name]”.
If you’re not sure which skills to add – even after reading our comprehensive list below – you can ask for some: “Alexa, recommend me some skills”. You can also do this for different categories of skills, such as news, smart home and games. - Use the Alexa app
Another way to add skills is through the Alexa app on your iOS or Android device.
Open the Alexa app.
Tap More.
Tap Skills and Games.
Find a skill you want to add to your collection.
On the skill’s description page, you’ll see the option to Enable to use – tap it. - Use the Amazon website
The least accessible way to download Alexa skills is through the Amazon site itself.
Open Amazon in your web browser.
Go to Shop by Department > Echo & Alexa > Alexa Skills.
On the right-hand side, there’s an option to Enable – tap it.
Best Alexa apps and skills for Amazon Echo Show
Echo Show and screen skills – skype
Skype
While you can chat to contacts using Alexa Calling, the Skype skill was a serious boon for the Alexa platform.
You can now video call contacts, and with the power of an Echo Show or Echo Spot with a quick “Alexa, call Mom on Skype.”
Amazon Prime Video
You can watch TV shows and movies from Amazon Prime Video on your Amazon Echo Show and Spot, provided you have a Prime account.
To watch shows such as The Grand Tour and Bosch (surprisingly not a show about dishwashers) just say, “Alexa, play [name of show] on Amazon Prime Video.”
Calendars
OK, not an Alexa skill per se – but more useful than most on this list. You can connect and see your calendars on your Alexa screen.
Open the Alexa app to connect calendars from Microsoft, Gmail and Apple – among others.
- Tap More.
- Tap Settings.
- Scroll down to Calendar & Email.
- Choose your calendar service and choose whether to give access to calendar and/or email.
music videos on Echo Show
Dailymotion / Vimeo
Video on the Amazon Echo has become a bit of a mess after a spat between Google and Amazon meant YouTube support was pulled from Alexa devices. Luckily, Dailymotion and Vimeo have stepped into the void – with a little help from Microsoft’s Bing; but there’s no official skill to be found.
“Alexa, play Biffy Clyro music videos” will start a search for the video you want to watch, and you’ll get on-screen results made up of the two services. Good for music videos and funnies – but those with different tastes might be found wanting. This is a good stop gap until Vevo shows up.
Conclusion
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