Amazon Echo Show 15 review: Untapped potential

(Pocket-lint) - Amazon introduced the Echo Show 15 successful 2021, taking its household of Alexa-enabled connected astute devices into a caller realm, pushing retired to a caller larger 15.6-inch size and inviting you to equine it connected the wall.

Indeed, this flattened Alexa instrumentality doesn't travel with the basal - that's an optional other - alternatively you get the drilling usher and a mounting plate. But what further benefits does the Echo Show 15 bring by going bigger than its forebears? Not many, it seems...

It looks great

• Dimensions: 402 x 252 x 35mm / Weight: 2215g
• Wall-mounting kit supplied successful the box
• Picture framework design

The Amazon Echo Show 15 looks similar a abdominous representation frame, a 15.6-inch display, surrounded by a achromatic mat committee (or passepartout), with a achromatic frame. As such, it looks similar different framed pictures, but that it is immoderate 35mm deep.

The framework itself is 20mm deep, the remaining 15mm is the rear conception of the device, which slopes towards the centre slightly, giving the quality of a floating framework alternatively than a immense container stuck connected the wall. That's neat and tidy and it looks bully erstwhile successful place.

The framework oregon bezel is location to a mates of controls: the volume, the mute fastener to halt Alexa listening to you, and the slider for the carnal camera cover.

The camera itself if successful the achromatic mat committee betwixt the framework and the disposable show area. You'll spot a achromatic ellipse erstwhile it's open, but the screen is white, truthful it blends successful reasonably good erstwhile covered.

The measurement controls are worthy an further mention, due to the fact that they are divided into positive and minus, giving the content that the Echo Show 15 was designed arsenic a instrumentality to beryllium mounted successful portrait. Why? Because past the positive measurement fastener is the precocious of the two; erstwhile mounted horizontally, the positive measurement fastener is past connected the left, which is counter-intuitive: a rocker that changed predisposition erstwhile you rotated the instrumentality would person been a amended solution to support up/down power conventions.

In the container you get the powerfulness proviso and the bits you'll request for wall-mounting. That includes the screws, partition plugs (rawlplugs, US friends) and the framework the Echo Show volition past hook onto. There's besides a drilling usher truthful you tin presumption and drill - and it's each precise simple, a 5 infinitesimal job.

If you don't privation to wall-mount the Echo Show 15, past Amazon offers a tilt basal arsenic an accessory. This £/$30 basal attaches via 2 screws and allows you to spot the Echo Show 15 connected a array oregon worktop. There's a sturdy metallic basal topped with rubber truthful it volition grip the Show 15 astatine immoderate space you privation it, truthful it's again casual to setup.

Let's speech astir sound

• 2x 1.6in speakers

Starting astatine the beginning, the Echo Show 15 offers a mates of mics truthful it tin perceive you and person Alexa respond to your commands. Like different Echo Show devices we've used, it has nary occupation proceeding those commands and actioning them, adjacent successful a engaged and noisy room. That's a large starting point, arsenic the Alexa acquisition remains overmuch arsenic you expect - you ask, you get.

Many radical usage Echo devices arsenic speakers. They evolved from a household of devices sold arsenic astute speakers, the show coming to boost the experience, but audio was and is inactive a immense portion of what's offered, beryllium that listening to euphony oregon watching different contented connected that larger display.

There are 2 1.6-inch full-range drives connected the rear broadside of the Echo Show 15. These mightiness dependable acquainted due to the fact that Amazon uses 1.6-inch drivers successful a batch of its devices, similar the Echo Dot.

Here they are mounted successful the abbreviated sides, with a grille astatine each end. The positioning means that the dependable prime changes based connected the predisposition and however you take to equine the product. If you're utilizing the tilt basal successful portrait, past 1 of these speakers is efficaciously firing into the baseplate - this muffles it somewhat but does springiness the bass somewhat much resonance. It's a antithetic dependable if it's mounted successful landscape, which gives a wider soundscape.

The large occupation is that the dependable ne'er truly sounds robust oregon precocious quality. The speakers and the casing they are successful conscionable don't look engineered to nutrient the dependable prime we've go accustomed to connected Echo devices erstwhile playing music.

That's a important failing of this device: it sounds worse than the smaller Echo Show 10 models and the modular Echo. We wanted and expected to wall-mount this flagship Echo instrumentality and person a boost successful quality, not a reduction.

You tin tweak the equaliser, but it doesn't truly lick the problem.

Amazon's biggest Echo display

• 15.6-inch touchscreen
• 1920 x 1080 resolution

The surface itself is of a precocious capable solution to look good, it's bully and vibrant, adjusting to the brightness of the country and going to slumber erstwhile there's nary 1 there. At this size, it's large to telephone up TV shows from the likes of Amazon Video, Netflix oregon YouTube.

When watching video contented the speakers aren't truthful atrocious - they're evidently optimised for code implicit euphony oregon dynamic content. Watching video contented is great, but enactment that YouTube opens successful the browser alternatively than an app, truthful you mightiness request to pat immoderate of the controls to get the champion solution and power to afloat screen.

With a larger display, the Echo Show introduces widgets, allowing greater customisation of the surface space, which beryllium alongside the location surface conception and volition rotate done a scope of topics that you tin take from. The location surface enactment is fundamentally the aforesaid arsenic connected erstwhile Echo Show devices - news, shot scores, weather, recipes, and truthful on.

The widgets springiness you speedy entree to immoderate different information, but the scope isn't hugely extended - calendar, astute location control, Amazon Photos, music, Sticky Notes, much weather, much recipes.

Some of these are useful, but there's constricted customisation. Only 2 connection a larger size (calendar and music) the others relying connected scrolling. Some volition unfastened afloat surface with a pat - utile for looking implicit the calendar - but 1 that doesn't is astute home.

More and much Alexa is becoming the location hub for many, controlling devices crossed the location hub. But the handling of astute location power connected the Echo Show is really beauteous janky if you privation to bash it connected the display. The widget shows you your "favourites" (which seems to beryllium a self-defined database and not user-defined), portion to get to each your astute location devices, you person to swipe down the apical paper and pat to participate a afloat surface experience.

Why the widget won't fto you pat done to each your astute location devices is simply a mystery. Voice enactment with astute location remains fine, but again you can't look to unfastened to a location power page, which is what you truly privation connected this benignant of device.

So from a astute location constituent of view, the Echo Show 15 truly doesn't instrumentality vantage of the accidental staring it successful the face. Once you bash get to the astute location page, it's fundamentally the aforesaid arsenic it is connected the Echo Show 5, a azygous enactment of devices for you to scroll done if it's successful landscape. This could each beryllium truthful overmuch much dynamic.

Then there's the struggle betwixt what the Echo Show 15 is doing and what it's showing. When you inquire it to play euphony oregon a vigor station, it takes implicit the full screen. For thing similar Spotify that gives you onscreen power and immoderate different euphony recommendations that's fine, but if you past instrumentality to the location surface portion the euphony is inactive playing, there's nothing connected the show to bespeak that.

Shouldn't the euphony widget beryllium telling you what's playing? Shouldn't it connection interaction controls? The full acquisition feels disconnected and incomplete. You tin swipe down from the apical and there's a banner that tells you what's playing, but that's it, nary playback controls. There's adjacent astir 6-inches of bare abstraction that'd beryllium cleanable for playback control, but it's not there, negating immoderate of the crushed for determination to adjacent beryllium a 15.6-inch surface here.

Having a bigger show is large - particularly arsenic you tin equine it connected the partition truthful it doesn't consciousness similar it's taking up immoderate much abstraction - but there's nary existent reward, nary enhancement of the acquisition for going larger.

Camera and Visual ID

• 5-megapixel camera
• Visual ID

We mentioned the camera successful the beforehand of the Echo Show 15. This is principally present to powerfulness Alexa Calling truthful you tin marque video calls, beryllium that astir your location oregon to different Alexa users. It's a small unusual that successful the Echo Show 8 you person a 13-megapixel camera with auto-framing to support you successful the centre of that video telephone and connected the Echo Show 15 it's static and doesn't connection that feature.

Anyway, the camera isn't hugely awesome erstwhile it comes to quality, but we're not definite it matters connected this benignant of instrumentality - it serves perfectly good for those casual calls.

There's a caller feature, however, called Visual ID. This is fundamentally the aforesaid arsenic Voice ID, which is wherever Alexa learns to recognise your dependable truthful it tin respond with accusation pertinent to you - and connection thing antithetic to different users.

Visual ID lets you registry your look (which is stored connected the Echo Show, not connected Amazon's servers, truthful don't interest astir the privateness hazard there), truthful that erstwhile you're successful beforehand of the Echo Show it tin fundamentally log you successful and amusement contented tailored to you.

That strategy seems to enactment well, but it's not particularly utile astatine the moment. When it logs america in, it shows america the calendar, precocious played euphony and upwind - duplicating the different widgets we've already got connected the screen, which makes it a redundant function. We took to closing the camera screen truthful that it didn't prosecute Visual ID.

For it to beryllium useful, you'd person to person a wholly antithetic acceptable of accusation for antithetic registered users, similar abstracted calendars. This mightiness enactment for a powerfulness mates with engaged abstracted calendars which Alexa has entree to, but for a family, wherever the Echo Show 15 is pitched arsenic a hub for the household, it seems to marque small oregon nary consciousness astatine present.

Give it up for Stickies

Turning to a much affirmative portion of the experience, the quality to inquire Alexa to make a Sticky Note and really show it is some utile and fun. Other Echo Show devices volition besides springiness you Stickies, but won't show them - you'd person to ask.

Yes, we're getting excited astir a yellowish rectangle with words successful it, but they are useful, meaning you tin permission a elemental enactment for someone, grounds the value of the turkey you're prepping for the oven, oregon immoderate other tickles your fancy.

But again, the deficiency of involvement successful the idiosyncratic interface shows through. It's virtually a yellowish rectangle, not adjacent a hint astatine a turned country oregon thing other - and it has to acceptable rigidly successful the layout of the different widgets. It is premier for a small resistance to reposition, overlaying different widgets, pinch resizing, and truthful forth. Again, there's truthful overmuch that the bundle could beryllium doing present that it isn't and it's conscionable disappointing arsenic a result.

Writing by Chris Hall.