Is there still a paper calendar stuck to your fridge, with three colors of pen and a dentist appointment nobody can read? That is the job Amazon built its large smart display for, and the newest Echo Show 15 is listed at $249.99 on Amazon, down from $349.99, under a limited time deal. The screen measures 15.6 inches, which is big enough to read from across a kitchen and small enough not to take the room over.
A Family Calendar That Also Plays Netflix
The home screen is made of widgets that you choose and arrange: the family’s calendars, to-do lists, the local weather and smart home controls can all be on screen at the same time. In a household where the morning starts with the question of who is picking up whom, having everyone’s day on one Full HD (1080p) panel answers it before anyone has to unlock a phone. When nobody is using it, the display can run a slideshow of your photos, which Amazon says it can curate automatically.
What separates this model from a plain smart display is Fire TV, which is built in and comes with its own remote in the box. Prime Video, Netflix, YouTube and Apple TV are among the apps available, each with its own subscription where one applies. I wouldn’t treat a 15.6-inch screen as a replacement for the living room television, but as a second screen for a cooking video or the news while the pasta water boils, it makes sense. Music can follow you as well: a song started in the kitchen can be extended to speakers in the living room and bedroom without stopping it.
Video calls are the other use Amazon has worked on. The camera sits in the center of the frame, has a wide field of view and a 3.3x zoom, and reframes automatically to keep the person talking in shot, with noise reduction on the audio side. That is useful for the call with grandparents where a child wanders off to the left every ten seconds. For the times when a camera in the kitchen is unwelcome, there is a button that cuts the microphones and camera, and a physical shutter that covers the lens.
As a smart home controller, the Echo Show 15 has a dashboard for compatible devices, operated by voice or by touch: all the living room lights can be switched on at once, and live feeds from cameras around the house can be pulled up on screen. Amazon describes this model as designed for Alexa+, its more conversational assistant. One thing I’d check before ordering is where it will go, because the adjustable stand Amazon shows with it is part of a separate bundle priced at $349.98, against a bundle list price of $474.98. Buyers on Amazon give the display 4.4 out of 5 across more than 6,400 ratings.
On the price side, the 15-inch Echo Show 15 is $249.99 against a list price of $349.99 on Amazon, sold as a limited time deal. The 21-inch version on the same page is $349.99, with a list price of $499.99, so the larger screen currently costs what the smaller one normally does. Returns are free, and Amazon lists a trade-in option for anyone replacing an older device.