Amazon is shaking up the smart home market with the unveiling of its biggest and best Echo Show yet: the colossal 21-inch Echo Show 21. Simultaneously, the company has also given its popular Echo Show 15 a significant upgrade, making it an even more compelling smart home centerpiece. These new devices, announced Wednesday, represent a major leap forward in both display technology and audio quality.
The standout feature of both the Echo Show 21 and the refreshed Echo Show 15 is the dramatically improved audio. Amazon has implemented room-adapting technology and doubled the bass response, resulting in a richer, more immersive sound experience than any previous Alexa-enabled smart display. Whether you’re enjoying your favorite music, listening to podcasts, or participating in a video call, the audio clarity is noticeably enhanced.
Video calling has also received a substantial boost. The auto-framing feature, designed to keep you perfectly centered in the frame even as you move around, has been significantly improved. Users will enjoy more than double the field of view and 65% more zoom than the original Echo Show 15, ensuring everyone stays clearly visible during calls. Furthermore, Amazon has integrated noise-reduction technology, effectively isolating your voice and minimizing background distractions for clearer conversations.
Beyond enhanced audio and video, both devices are packed with smart home capabilities. Serving as a central hub, they seamlessly integrate with Matter, the leading smart home standard, and connect directly with Wi-Fi, Thread, and Zigbee devices. This allows for local control of various smart home devices, including lights, switches, and plugs, leading to faster and more responsive control. And in a first for Echo smart displays, both models feature Wi-Fi 6E, promising smoother and more reliable streaming for Fire TV and other audio-visual content.
The Echo Show’s core functionality remains: Powered by Alexa, it acts as a virtual assistant, responding to voice commands to answer questions, set reminders, provide news updates, and much more. The vibrant touchscreen brings a visual element to these interactions, displaying information like weather forecasts, news headlines, and even acting as a digital photo frame—a feature that looks especially impressive on the larger Echo Show 21.
Amazon’s commitment to enhancing its Echo Show line is evident. The updated Echo Show 15 is priced at $300 (a $50 increase from its initial launch price), while the impressive Echo Show 21 retails for $400. Both devices are available now and include an Alexa Voice Remote and wall-mounting hardware. For added customization, Amazon offers optional light brown or white frame accessories (priced at $35 for the Echo Show 15 and $40 for the Echo Show 21), and a premium counter stand for $100. This marks a substantial step forward for Amazon’s smart display lineup, promising a richer, smarter, and more enjoyable smart home experience.
