Amazon Echo Show Can Now Play Netflix

When Amazon launched what would be the market's first smart display, it seemed to be a perfect device for watching videos. Of course, its real purpose was for giving some visual feedback to Alexa's responses but Amazon did give the line access to some, but definitely not all, video streaming services. As it promised back in September, Amazon is now flipping the switch to allow Netflix into the fold, making the absence of Google's services now even more pronounced.

Of course, it was only expected that Amazon would favor its own VOD and streaming service when it launched the Echo Show and subsequent iterations. It wouldn't be the only one in due time and would be joined by the likes of Hulu and even Tubi. Now Netflix joins the pack and, given the streaming service's popularity, could make the Echo Show even more attractive to those who don't have one yet.

Starting Netflix on Amazon's smart display is as simple as saying "Alexa, open Netflix." AFTVnews, however, warns that if your Echo Show is linked to a Fire TV, things might not work so smoothly. In that case, you'll have to tell it open video home to navigate to the hub for all supported video services, Netflix now included.

Netflix support is available for all generations of Echo Show devices, from the first-gen down to the most recent Echo Show 8. The lone exception is the Echo Spot which does have a screen but one that's too small for comfortable watching, especially considering the angle it's on.

That pretty much leaves out YouTube as the one major VOD and video streaming service that's still unavailable on the Echo Show and there doesn't seem to be any chance of it coming any time soon. The situation between Amazon and Google is still too complicated in that regard and owners will have to make do with Firefox or Amazon's Silk web browser if they do need to access YouTube.