Amazon has stopped selling the Echo Show 8 Photos Edition smart display, which launched last September. The tech giant will discontinue the PhotosPlus subscription service that supports the feature on September 12.
PhotosPlus stripped away distracting UI elements to show just your photos on the screen for hours on end—making it a rival to the best digital photo frames. This feature was the basis for the $10 premium Amazon charged for this special edition Alexa device, compared to the $149.99 for the standard Echo Show 8 (3rd generation).
In an email to its users, Amazon said that all PhotosPlus subscriptions would be automatically canceled on September 12 and that “you will be able to continue to enjoy the benefits of PhotosPlus in the coming weeks leading up to that date.” The PhotosPlus service cost $1.99 per month after a six-month free trial and included 25 gigabytes of storage on Amazon Photos. Once PhotoPlus is canceled, the Echo Show 8 Photos Edition will behave like any other Echo Show 8 – it will only be able to display photos in three-hour intervals.
Many people complain about the ads and content that would plague Amazon’s Echo Show and Fire TV displays, which is why the Echo Hub and Echo Spot’s clutter-free displays have been a big hit lately. Now that the picture frame feature that buyers paid extra for is gone, the question is whether or not Amazon will credit buyers for the difference.
This news comes weeks after Amazon discontinued the popular Echo Dot with Clock. This version of the excellent Echo Dot featured bright LEDs on 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 by our staff and was our top pick among the best smart home devices we tested because it offers all of its useful features at a great price.
