Early Prime Day deal: Get yourself an Amazon Echo Show and save up to 31%

We still don't have official word on when Amazon will host its Prime Day deals in Australia, but there are already some early offers that could rival the discounts we see when the big sale finally comes round.

Hot on the heels of the all-new Echo Show 10 announcement, Amazon Australia has dropped the price of the older Echo Show 5 and Echo Show 8 models – and the discounts are quite significant.

The smaller Echo Show 5 is now available for under AU$100 after a 23% discount, while the slightly larger and newer Echo Show 8 is getting a 31% discount, bringing the price down to a much more affordable AU$159.

Amazon Echo Show 5 | AU$99 (RRP AU$129; save AU$30)

With a 5-inch screen and all the Alexa smarts on board, this little device will fit into any space and help you control your smart home setup. If you don't have connected devices, you can still use it to watch videos, check the weather, keep up with the news and listen to music. Better yet, the 23% discount makes the Echo Show 5 a lot more affordable at just AU$99.

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Amazon Echo Show 8 | AU$159 (RRP AU$229; save AU$70)

For those who might find the 5-inch screen of the Echo Show 5 too small, there's the option of going one step higher for the 8-inch display of the Echo Show 8. Not only do you get a bigger screen, you get a better, higher resolution one, with a speaker that boasts bigger sound too. It's the perfect middle ground if you don't want to spend the premium price for the new Echo Show 10, and it's available with a AU$70 saving.

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Should I buy an Amazon smart display?

Regular smart speakers are admittedly more affordable than a smart display, but the Echo Show 5 for under AU$100 is an absolute steal.

Price aside, smart speakers are great if you only want access to a digital assistant. However, smart displays have a few advantages over their speaker brethren.

Smart displays are not only voice-activated, they also offer touch functionality on a screen if you aren't keen on speaking to an inanimate object. That means you get visual representation of everything you're asking the device or digital assistant to do. 

To put it simply – it's the difference between listening to step-by-step instructions of a recipe versus reading each step one at a time, which might be preferable.

That also means you'll get a visual representation of your smart home setup – if you have Hue lights, for example, you'll see them listed on the smart display and they can be voice- or touch-controlled individually or together.

Moreover, some smart displays have better sound quality than smart speakers, particularly the bigger displays like the Echo Show 8. So they're great for anyone who loves listening to music while pottering around.

Finally, the screen offers you the option of streaming videos as well. You can access YouTube via the built-in browser on an Amazon smart display and you'll be able to watch Prime Video if you're an Amazon Prime member. Oh, and let's not forget the ability to make video calls too.

• Amazon's all-new Echo smart speakers sport unusual spherical designs