Amazon discontinues Echo Show 8 Photos Edition less than a year after launch

Amazon has stopped selling the Echo Show 8 Photos Edition smart display that it launched last September. The tech giant will nix the PhotosPlus subscription service powering the feature on September 12. 

PhotosPlus removed distracting UI elements to show just your photos on the screen for hours on end—giving the best digital photo frames a run for their money. This capability was the basis of the $10 premium Amazon charged for this special edition Alexa device over the $149.99 of the standard Echo Show 8 (3rd Gen).

In an email to its users, Amazon said it would automatically cancel all PhotosPlus subscriptions on September 12, and that “you can continue enjoying the benefits of PhotosPlus” in the coming weeks until that date. The PhotosPlus service ran users $1.99 a month following a six-month free trial and included 25 gigabytes of storage on Amazon Photos. Once PhotoPlus is terminated, the Echo Show 8 Photos Edition will act like every other Echo Show 8—only capable of showing photos in three-hour bursts.

Many people gripe over the ads and content plaguing Amazon’s Echo Show and Fire TV display lineups. This is why the clutter-free displays of the Echo Hub and Echo Spot have been a big hit lately. Now that the photo frame feature buyers paid extra for is gone, this begs the question of whether or not Amazon will credit buyers with the difference. 

This news comes weeks after Amazon discontinued the popular Echo Dot with Clock. That version of the excellent Echo Dot added bright LEDs to the front of the speaker that could display the time, text, and icons for an even more useful smart speaker experience. The Echo Dot with Clock came highly recommended among our staff and was our top pick for the best smart home devices we’ve tested for all of its useful functionality at a budget price.

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