Best Smart Displays in Australia 2026

A smart display is a smart speaker with a screen: it shows the weather, plays video, walks you through recipes, makes video calls and acts as a control panel for the rest of your smart home. This guide covers the ones worth buying in Australia in 2026, across both the Amazon (Alexa) and Google (Assistant) camps, with an honest note on where to actually buy each.

Alexa vs Google, and where you buy it

There are two real smart display ecosystems in Australia: Amazon’s Echo Show range (Alexa) and Google’s Nest Hub range (Google Assistant). Both make good hardware. The practical difference for Australian buyers is where you get them and how easily they discount.

The Echo Show line is stocked directly on Amazon AU and the major retailers, and it drops sharply during sale events like Prime Day, so it is easy to buy and easy to get a deal on. The Google Nest Hub range is sold mainly through the Google Store (and retailers like The Good Guys and Telstra) rather than Amazon AU, so it is just as available in Australia, only from different shops. Pick your ecosystem first: if your phone, photos and other speakers are Google, get a Nest Hub; if you are in the Amazon or Alexa world, get an Echo Show.

Why every pick here is Amazon or Google

You will notice this list is all Echo Show and Nest Hub. That is not laziness, it is the state of the market. Smart displays are a two-horse race in 2026: Amazon and Google are the only companies still making them at scale, because the screen is really a front end for their voice assistants. The brands that used to compete have left. Lenovo’s Smart Display and Smart Clock line is discontinued, JBL’s Link View is long gone, and Facebook’s Portal was killed off in 2022. What is left on Amazon beyond Echo Show and Nest Hub is either those dead products sold as old stock, no-name generic panels, or Chinese-market units running an assistant that does not work properly in Australia. We would rather recommend six devices we would actually buy than pad the list to look balanced.

If what you really want is a large wall screen for family scheduling and chore charts, that is a different category (smart family calendars such as Skylight), not a smart display, and we cover it separately.

Our picks in detail

Amazon Echo Show 8 (2025) - Best Overall

The Echo Show 8 is the one most people should buy. The 8 inch screen is large enough to follow a recipe or hold a video call, but small enough to sit on a bench without dominating it. The 2025 model adds spatial audio that genuinely fills a room, making it a credible kitchen speaker as well as a display, and the camera auto-frames you during calls so you can move while cooking. It is the best balance of screen, sound and price anywhere in the category.

Pros:

• Best size-to-price balance of any smart display
• Room-filling spatial audio, not just a display speaker
• Auto-framing camera for hands-free video calls

Cons:

• Alexa requires a cloud connection for most features
• Not the screen for serious video watching (see the Show 11)

Australian pricing: around $249 RRP, frequently discounted on Amazon AU during Prime Day and other events. Check the live price via the link.

Google Nest Hub (2nd Gen) - Best for Google Homes

If your world is Google - Android phone, Google Photos, Google Assistant - the Nest Hub is the natural pick, and it is a genuinely good product, not a consolation prize. The 7 inch display is clean and responsive, it doubles as a lovely Google Photos frame, and it uses a radar sensor to track your sleep without a camera or a wearable. In fact it has no camera at all, which is a real privacy advantage for a bedroom or bathroom. You buy it from the Google Store rather than Amazon AU, and it is often the cheapest smart display going when it is on sale.

Pros:

• Best choice inside the Google ecosystem
• No camera at all - a genuine privacy plus for bedrooms
• Radar-based sleep tracking; excellent Google Photos frame

Cons:

• Sold via the Google Store, not Amazon AU
• No camera means no video calls

Australian pricing: around $139 RRP and frequently on sale for much less, from the Google Store and retailers like The Good Guys. Not reliably stocked on Amazon AU.

Amazon Echo Show 5 (Newest gen) - Best Compact / Budget

If you want a smart display for the least money, or for a bedside table or study desk, the Show 5 is the pick. The 5.5 inch screen is small, but that is the point: it makes an excellent smart alarm clock, a tidy controller for lights and blinds, and a cheap second display in another room. The newest generation improves on the tinny sound of older Show 5 units.

Pros:

• Cheapest way into an Alexa smart display
• Ideal footprint for a bedside table or desk
• Clearer audio than previous Show 5 models

Cons:

• Screen is too small for comfortable video watching
• Single speaker; fine for alarms and podcasts, not music-first use

Australian pricing: around $149 RRP, often lower on sale. Check the live price via the link.

Amazon Echo Show 11 (2025) - Best Big Screen

The Show 11 is for people who want the display to be the main event. The 11 inch screen makes a real difference for watching Prime Video or Netflix while cooking, doing longer video calls, or using it as a proper photo frame. It carries the newer spatial audio and Amazon’s more proactive Alexa features. If your instinct is that bigger is better, this is the countertop model, provided you have the bench space.

Pros:

• Large 11 inch screen that is genuinely good for video
• Strongest spatial audio in the countertop range
• Newer proactive Alexa features

Cons:

• Needs more bench or shelf space than the Show 8
• Overkill if you mostly want a speaker with a small screen

Australian pricing: around $299 RRP, discounted during sale events. Check the live price via the link.

Google Nest Hub Max - Best Google Big Screen

The Nest Hub Max is the larger Google display: a 10 inch screen with a stronger speaker and, unlike the standard Hub, a camera. That camera does Google Duo video calls, works as a home security camera when you are out, and supports Face Match to show your personal calendar and reminders when it recognises you. It is the pick for a bigger screen in a Google home, bought from the Google Store.

Pros:

• Big 10 inch screen and the best speaker in the Nest range
• Camera enables video calls and home monitoring
• Face Match personalises the display per person

Cons:

• Sold via the Google Store, not Amazon AU
• The camera is a consideration if privacy is your priority (physical off switch included)

Australian pricing: around $349 from the Google Store and retailers like Telstra and The Good Guys.

Amazon Echo Show 15 - Best Wall-Mount Family Hub

The Show 15 is a different kind of product: a 15 inch display designed to be wall-mounted (or stood upright) as a household command centre. It shines as a shared family noticeboard with calendars, sticky notes, shopping lists and reminders, and it includes a Fire TV interface for watching in a kitchen or living area. A poor use of money if you just want a speaker, an excellent one if you want a single screen that organises the whole house.

Pros:

• Large wall-mountable screen for a kitchen or hallway
• Excellent shared family organiser (calendars, lists, notes)
• Built-in Fire TV interface

Cons:

• Needs wall mounting or a separate stand to look right
• The most expensive option, and unnecessary as a speaker

Australian pricing: around $439 RRP; mounting kit sometimes sold separately. Check the live price via the link.

How to choose

• Ecosystem first. Pick Alexa (Echo Show) or Google (Nest Hub) based on the phone, photos and speakers you already use. That decision matters more than any single spec.
• Where you buy. Echo Show comes from Amazon AU and the big retailers and discounts hard on Prime Day. Nest Hub comes from the Google Store and retailers like The Good Guys and Telstra. Both are easy to buy in Australia; they just live in different shops.
• Size. Small for a bedside (Show 5, Nest Hub), mid for a kitchen bench (Show 8), large for watching video (Show 11, Nest Hub Max), extra-large wall-mounted for a family hub (Show 15).
• Privacy. Every model sends voice to the cloud for processing and all have a hardware mic switch. If a camera worries you, the standard Nest Hub has none at all; the Echo Shows and Nest Hub Max have cameras with physical shutters or off switches.

Smart display comparison

Smart display	Screen	AU price (RRP)	Ecosystem	Camera	Buy from
Echo Show 5	5.5 in	about $149	Alexa	Yes	Amazon AU
Google Nest Hub (2nd Gen)	7 in	about $139	Google	No	Google Store
Amazon Echo Show 8	8 in	about $249	Alexa	Yes (auto-framing)	Amazon AU
Google Nest Hub Max	10 in	about $349	Google	Yes	Google Store
Amazon Echo Show 11	11 in	about $299	Alexa	Yes (auto-framing)	Amazon AU
Amazon Echo Show 15	15 in	about $439	Alexa	Yes	Amazon AU

Prices are RRP and move with sale events; the links show the live price.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best smart display in Australia?

For most people it is the Amazon Echo Show 8, which balances an 8 inch screen, room-filling audio and a good camera at a mid-range price, and is easy to buy and discount on Amazon AU. If you are in the Google ecosystem, the Google Nest Hub is the best pick and has the bonus of no camera for privacy.

Echo Show or Google Nest Hub in Australia?

Choose by ecosystem. If you use an Android phone, Google Photos and Google Assistant, the Nest Hub (from the Google Store) is the better fit. If you are in the Amazon or Alexa world, the Echo Show (from Amazon AU) is the better fit and is easier to find on sale. Both ranges are readily available in Australia, just from different retailers.

Do smart displays need a subscription?

No. Echo Show and Nest Hub devices work with no subscription for their core features: video calls, smart home control, timers, weather, recipes and music from services you already pay for. Some content apps have their own subscriptions, but the display itself does not require one.

Which smart display is best for privacy?

The Google Nest Hub (2nd Gen) is the strongest for privacy because it has no camera at all, so there is nothing to capture video. Every smart display still sends voice to the cloud and has a hardware microphone switch; if that is a dealbreaker, a smart display is not the right category for you.

Can you make video calls on a smart display?

Yes, on any model with a camera. The Echo Show 8 and 11 add auto-framing that keeps you in shot as you move, and the Nest Hub Max does Google Duo calls. The standard Google Nest Hub has no camera, so it cannot make video calls.

Where do you buy a Google Nest Hub in Australia?

From the Google Store (store.google.com/au) and retailers such as The Good Guys and Telstra. Unlike the Echo Show range, the Nest Hub is not reliably stocked on Amazon AU, so it is not usually part of Amazon sale events.