Amazon Echo Show 8 (newest model), Vibrant HD 8.7" display with spatial audio, Designed for Alexa+, Graphite

Why it's worth it

Say the word and it calls you — no unlocking, no app, no hunting for a contact. The rest of the day it sits there cycling through family photos, which is the part parents end up mentioning to their friends.

Social isolation isn't a soft problem. The National Academies linked it to a 50% higher risk of dementia, a 29% higher risk of heart disease and a 32% higher risk of stroke in older adults. A screen that makes calling you a one-sentence request instead of a five-step phone task is doing more than it looks like it's doing.

The killer feature is that they never touch it. They say your name and the call starts. The camera auto-frames and follows them a bit as they move, so you're not staring at a forehead or an empty chair while they wander to the kitchen. For a parent who's given up on their smartphone, that gap between "wants to talk" and "can start a call" basically disappears.

From our review of 7 gifts for elderly parents and seniors

What we like

• +Social isolation isn't a soft problem
• +The killer feature is that they never touch it
• +It earns its counter space the rest of the day too
• +One thing to weigh honestly: it has a camera and microphones in a room your parent lives in

What to know

• –Reliability is the soft spot
• –It needs decent Wi-Fi and a person to set it up
• –Alexa mishears things, and mishearing is more annoying when your hearing isn't sharp