Amazon’s new Echo Show 21 is the largest smart display ever – and has an upgraded Echo Show 15 sibling
- Amazon has launched its largest smart display ever: the Echo Show 21
- It combines a 21-inch screen with new features such as 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 calling, photo sharing, and family organization, Amazon just launched two enticing new options: an upgraded Echo Show 15 and the largest smart display ever, the new Echo Show 21.
The Echo Show series is already available in a 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, at 15-inch and 21-inch respectively screens, redesigned them to be wall mounted. This makes them particularly suitable for busy kitchens with cluttered worktops.
The original Amazon Echo Show 15 launched in September 2021, but has been updated with several upgrades, which are also included in the new Echo Show 21. The first of these directly addresses one of our main criticisms of the first Echo Show 15, which has improved audio quality. Instead of two 1.6-inch tweeters, the screens combine dual 2-inch woofers with two 0.6-inch tweeters for bass sound.
Combined with some new noise cancellation technology and improved auto-framing skills, this should make the Echo Show 15 and 21 much better for video calling. 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 likely still digital zoom only.
The last 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 improve the YouTube, Netflix, and Prime Video streaming experience.
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Finally, 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.
The downside is that the price for a large, wall-mountable Echo Show has increased since the original Echo Show 15 launched. The new Echo Show 15 will cost $299 / £299 (about AU$460) – a $50 increase over the original – while the Echo Show 21 will set you back $399 / £399 (about AU$615).
We’ll update this story when we get the official pricing for Australia – 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 is intensifying
We’ve seen rumors growing in recent months that Apple is planning to launch a wall-mounted smart display in early 2025 – and it looks like Amazon has gotten ahead of that by launching the new Echo Show 21 and refreshing the Echo Show 15 .
Both new displays are built on the same idea as Apple’s rumored Apple Intelligence-powered display, which is that you can 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 kitchen’s original nerve center wasn’t perfect. Our main complaints were the disappointing speakers, the average screen with weak colors and brightness, the lack of customizable widgets, and the fact that the tilt stand was sold separately.
Amazon certainly seems to have addressed the criticism of the audio quality in these new Echo Shows. But while they both come with an Alexa Voice Remote, you’ll still have to buy the expensive stand separately (for $99 / £99).
The other big unknown is the future status of voice assistants on these devices. The upgraded Alexa AI seems to be perpetually delayed, Apple won’t meaningfully upgrade Siri until 2025 with iOS 18.4, and Google is characteristically non-committal with its smart home plans, despite our pleas to upgrade its aging Nest Hub.
Still, Amazon certainly has the most experience making large, wall-mountable smart home displays – and on paper the Echo Show 15 and 21 seem like their best efforts yet.
