Product Library / Hubs & Controllers
Research profile · last verified 2026-07-19Amazon Echo Show 11 (2025)
Compatibility
| Ecosystem | Support | The catch |
|---|---|---|
| Amazon Alexa | WorksWorks with this ecosystem | Native Alexa device and the hub itself. The Alexa+ tier gates the advanced conversational and proactive features — free with Prime, $19.99/mo otherwise. |
| Google Home | Doesn't workVerified: does not work with this ecosystem | Amazon documents this exclusively as an Alexa device with an Alexa-only smart home hub, and no Google Home pairing path exists or is claimed. The basis is architectural — it is a competing ecosystem's controller — rather than an explicit 'we do not support Google' statement. |
| Apple Home | Doesn't workVerified: does not work with this ecosystem | No Apple Home or HomeKit path. Being a Matter CONTROLLER does not make the device a Matter ACCESSORY that another ecosystem can adopt — a distinction worth keeping straight, since the Matter badge invites the opposite assumption. |
| SmartThings | Not checkedWe have not verified this yet — this is not a claim about the product | NOT ESTABLISHED. Amazon makes no statement either way. The Zigbee, Thread and Matter radios serve Alexa's own hub and nothing indicates a SmartThings pairing path, but Amazon never affirmatively denies one, so this is recorded as unknown rather than inferred from silence. |
| Home Assistant | PartialPartial support — see the catch | Home Assistant cannot control the Echo Show as a device and cannot borrow it as a Matter controller — a Matter controller commissions accessories INTO Alexa, it does not expose Alexa's fabric outward. The practical path runs the other way: Home Assistant exposes its own entities to Alexa, so the display can voice-control them. Amazon publishes nothing about Home Assistant; this level is inference and is flagged as low-confidence. |
? Not checked means we haven’t verified that ecosystem yet — it is a statement about our research, never a verdict on the product. A Setup Check can research it for you.
Protocols: WIFI · ZIGBEE · THREAD · MATTER
Subscription reality
◐ Works without a subscription: Yes, but material features need a plan.
- Free: The device functions as an Echo Show without Alexa+, Smart home control, media, timers and alarms, Local Voice Control of locally-paired Zigbee lights, plugs and switches
- Behind a plan: Full Alexa+ conversational and proactive features on the device (from $19.99/mo)
- 5-year cost if you add the plan: ~$1199 at $19.99/mo — price verified 2026-07-19
Amazon's wording: 'Full access to Alexa+ on compatible devices is included for free with a Prime membership. For non-Prime customers, the Alexa+ Standard plan is $19.99/month.' Alexa+ is optional, not required — the device works as an Echo Show without it, and new Echo purchases include Early Access. Non-Prime users also get a limited free Alexa+ chat tier on the web and in the app, capped by usage; the $19.99 tier is what unlocks the full on-device experience.
Maintenance reality
- Cloud dependence: Yes — a server shutdown would degrade or brick this device
- Combined microphone-and-camera disable button that disconnects both, plus a separate camera-only toggle on-device and in-app. A PHYSICAL camera shutter is NOT confirmed for the 2025 release — Amazon's shutter language appears only on older Echo Show help content.
The catch
Omnisense is not the radar presence sensor it is often described as. Amazon's own wording is sensor fusion across the 13-megapixel camera, audio, ultrasound, WiFi radar, an accelerometer and WiFi CSI — so a household that objects to a camera-based presence system should know a camera is part of it. Note also that Amazon's own help pages listing which Echo devices support Matter and Thread are stale and omit the 2025 displays entirely; the launch announcement is the accurate source.
Who it's for
Alexa households wanting one screen that also carries the Zigbee, Thread and Matter radios, and who are comfortable with presence sensing that includes a camera among its inputs.
Sources & method
https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/devices/amazon-new-echo-devices-alexa-plus — Echo Show 8 (2025 release) $179.99 and Echo Show 11 (2025 release) $219.99, 'both will be available on November 12'; AZ3 Pro chip — vendor-announcement research, verified 2026-07-19 · https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/devices/amazon-new-echo-devices-alexa-plus — 'Each of these new devices also includes a built-in smart home hub with support for Zigbee, Matter, and Thread.' IMPORTANT: Amazon's own help-page lists of Echo devices supporting Matter and of Echo Thread border routers are STALE and do not include the 2025 Echo Show 8/11; relying on them would produce a false negative. Amazon says 'support for Thread' without using the words 'border router' for this model, so border-router status specifically is unconfirmed. — vendor-announcement research, verified 2026-07-19 · https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/devices/amazon-new-echo-devices-alexa-plus — Omnisense 'leverages a range of sensors and signals—the 13-megapixel camera on the new Echo Show devices, audio, ultrasound, Wi-Fi radar, accelerometer, and Wi-Fi CSI'; https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=GSR22RYDWS3KBUYW — 'The devices only emit ultrasound when a feature that uses motion detection is enabled' — vendor-announcement and help-page research, verified 2026-07-19 · https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DC91H3JK — 'Full access to Alexa+ on compatible devices is included for free with a Prime membership. For non-Prime customers, the Alexa+ Standard plan is $19.99/month.' Corroborated by https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/devices/amazon-2025-devices-alexa-event-live-updates. This re-verifies the same claim already carried on the amazon-echo-hub record — checked, not corrected. — vendor-page research, verified 2026-07-19 · https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=G8ZWSPSY6BNM5X25 — Local Voice Control 'allows Alexa to fulfill a limited set of requests on select Echo devices when the device is not connected to the internet, such as requests to control supported lights, plugs, and switches', for Zigbee devices on an Echo with a built-in hub, 'enabled by default'. Amazon publishes no per-model offline capability matrix for this device. — vendor-help-page research, verified 2026-07-19 · https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=201602230 — 'When you speak to Alexa, a recording of what you asked Alexa is sent to Amazon's cloud'. The former 'Do Not Send Voice Recordings' opt-out help pages are no longer reachable and remaining controls are retention-only. The OUTCOME is verified; no Amazon announcement of the removal or its date was found, so no removal date is asserted here. — vendor-help-page research (gap noted), verified 2026-07-19. This is a research profile: compiled from manufacturer documentation, certification registries, and published testing — we state facts, not verdicts, and we have not physically tested this unit. How we work →
Compatibility and lifecycle information reflects the last-verified date above and can change without notice (firmware updates, cloud-service changes, discontinuations). It is provided as-is, for information — verify with the manufacturer before purchasing. Spot an error? Tell us and we'll fix it. Full terms: Terms of Service.