Amazon launches its biggest Echo Show yet

nothing says it is Just like a new Amazon device the holiday season. Amazon has been expanding its speaker options left and right this year as well as its product lineup Revived Echo Spot To Relaunch of the entire Kindle line ,with some hiccupsNow the Echo Show family is getting a big update. Literally—it’s a massive, 21-inch device being added to the roaster.

Echo Show 21 ($400) The newest member of Amazon’s vast catalog is echo-driven Devices with 21-inch displays. This is a bigger version of Echo Show 15 ($300)A 15-inch display, which also got its second generation today. If you’re not familiar with the world of smart displays, think about a smart speaker, but add a screen that can display your smart home devices, let you play music and TV, and make video calls with a built-in camera. . Both of these new devices promise an upgrade in audio quality compared to the first-generation Echo Show 15, with more bass and room-adaptation technology. This is a smart move, as these larger displays sit somewhere between smart displays and smaller TVs. Amazon includes an Alexa voice remote with both devices so you can actually use it like a TV.

I’m a little surprised to see Amazon expanding its vast line of Echo Show devices. There are some easy wins, like announcing a new Echo generation or re-stocking a popular echo dot speaker with clockEspecially since the Alexa department is Known to have recorded massive losses a few years agoWe have seen Google and Apple move forward Creating smart displays from existing devices Instead of launching a completely different device. But there are rumors of a mountable Apple TV screen, so perhaps a new giant Echo Show isn’t unexpected. If a TV-like smart display sounds up your alley, here are the most interesting updates promised in Amazon’s new devices.

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Amazon says the inspiration behind adding the Show 21 and updating the Echo 15 were customer requests for better audio and a larger screen. Amazon included both of these features; In addition to the 21’s 21-inch screen, it added an extra inch of speakers between the original Echo Show 15 and the new model. Also, both the Sho 21 and the second-gen 15 will have two 0.6-inch tweeters and two 2-inch woofers.

It still doesn’t have as impressive a speaker array as other Echo Show devices with larger bases. For example, our favorite Echo Show 8 ($150) It has two 2-inch stereo speakers and a passive bass radiator and bulbous Echo Show 10 ($250) It has two 1-inch tweeters and one 3-inch woofer. Both the Show 21 and second-gen 15 are limited by their thin profiles, as they’re designed to look like a digital photo frame that also serves as a family calendar and TV device.

Instead, you get larger screens that you can mount on your wall like mini TVs. After all, Amazon is including its remote for a reason – so you’ll be using this device not only for your Alexa queries and controlling your smart home, but also for your TV-related needs. All Echo Show devices offer it, but these larger screens are the only ones that make watching something worthwhile on. I wasn’t too impressed with the experience of using the TV features on the original Show 15 – an actual TV and streaming device works much better – but I’ll be testing these devices again soon to see if the experience improves. It has happened.

It also includes a camera and a microphone on the top, so you can use these screens for video calls or as indoor security cameras. Amazon says the Show 21 and the second-generation Show 15 have a larger field of view and 65 percent more zoom than the original, and Amazon has added noise reduction technology to make calls clearer. If you don’t want to use the camera, there is a physical shutter to cover it.

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Photograph: Amazon

The best feature of the original Echo Show 15 was widgets. You can now find them on any Echo Show device, but the Show 15 had them first and is still the best place to use them. With so much more screen real estate than smaller shows, you can really take advantage of widgets and make the screen your own. Plus, the Echo Show 15’s screen stays still, so you don’t have to wait for the widget of your choice to appear in the content carousel.