- Amazon has launched its biggest-ever smart display – the Echo Show 21
- It combines a 21-inch screen with new features like improved audio
- The Echo Show 15 has also been upgraded with the same new features
If you like the idea of having a wall-mounted smart display for video calls, photo sharing, and family organization, Amazon has just launched two tempting new options – an upgraded Echo Show 15 and its biggest-ever smart screen, the new Echo Show 21.
The Echo Show series is already available in bewildering array of screen sizes, starting with the Echo Show 5. But these two new models are unique – not only are they Amazon’s largest options, with 15-inch and 21-inch screens respectively, they’re also designed to be wall-mountable. That makes them particularly suitable for busy kitchens with cluttered worktops.
The original Amazon Echo Show 15 launched in September 2021, but it’s been updated with several upgrades, which are also in the new Echo Show 21. The first of those directly addresses one of our main criticisms of the first Echo Show 15, which is improved audio quality. Rather than two 1.6-inch tweeters, the displays combine dual 2-inch woofers with two 0.6-inch tweeters for a bassier sound.
Combined with some new noise reduction tech and improved auto-framing skills, this should make the Echo Show 15 and 21 much better for video calls. Amazon also says that both displays now offer double the field-of-view compared to the first Echo Show 15 and “65% more zoom”, although this is presumably still just digital zoom.
The final two improvements should boost Echo Shows’ streaming and smart home powers. They now have Wi-Fi 6E, which offers better speeds and lower latency compared to Wi-Fi 6. Depending on your router, that should boost the streaming experience from YouTube, Netflix, and Prime Video.
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Lastly, the Echo Show 15 and 21 have a built-in smart home hub with Matter support. The original Echo Show 15 already supports Matter, but connecting to your various smart home devices should be easier thanks to direct support for Wi-Fi, Thread, or Zigbee protocols. Both are powered by an octa-core processor with Amazon’s AZ2 neural network engine.
On the downside, the price of getting a large, wall-mountable Echo Show has gone up since the original Echo Show 15 was launched. The new Echo Show 15 costs $299 / £299 (around AU$460) – a $50 increase from the original – while the Echo Show 21 will set you back $399 / £399 (around AU$615).
We’ll update this story when we get the official Australia pricing – and we’ll also be testing both soon to let you know if they’re new contenders for our best smart displays guide.
Analysis: The battle for your wall space heats up
We’ve seen rumors grow in recent months that Apple is planning to launch a wall-mounted smart display in early 2025 – and it seems that Amazon has pre-empted that by launching its new Echo Show 21 and refreshing its Echo Show 15.
Both of these new displays are built on the same idea as Apple’s rumored Apple Intelligence-powered screen – namely, letting you easily video call family, watch YouTube, and control your smart home from one unobtrusive kitchen hub.
As our Amazon Echo Show 15 review noted, the original kitchen nerve center wasn’t perfect. Our main complaints were the disappointing speakers, average display with weak colors and brightness, lack of resizable widgets, and the fact that the tilt stand was sold separately.
Amazon certainly seems to have addressed the criticisms of audio quality in these new Echo Shows. But while they do both come with an Alexa Voice Remote, you still need to buy the pricey stand separately (for $99 / £99).
The other big unknown is the future state of voice assistants on these devices. The upgraded Alexa AI seems to be perpetually delayed, Apple won’t be meaningfully upgrading Siri until iOS 18.4 in 2025, and Google is being characteristically non-committal with its smart home plans, despite our pleas for it to upgrade its aging Nest Hub.
Still, Amazon certainly has the most experience in making big, wall-mountable smart home displays – and on paper, the Echo Show 15 and 21 look like its best efforts yet.
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mark.wilson@futurenet.com (Mark Wilson)
