Echo Show 15 Features | Complete List – Is It Worth It?

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Amazon’s Echo devices are and remain the most popular voice computers on the market. The voice assistant Alexa is familiar to most people nowadays. It now comes in a wide variety of forms and designs.

The Echo devices of the Show series are very popular. All Echo Show devices have a display that can show the information even better than if it were just spoken. The Show devices are available in different sizes.

The Echo Show 5* and Show 8* have been available for quite some time, with 5 and 8-inch displays, respectively. The Echo Show 10* has also been on the market for some time and has been the largest and newest Echo Show so far. However, the Echo Show series has now been expanded with a new product.

We’re talking about the brand-new Echo Show 15*. With a 15-inch display and numerous new features, such as facial recognition, it is supposed to increase user comfort once again. The Echo Show 15 comes in the design of a picture frame and can be mounted on the wall or on a stand.

But not only the hardware has changed a lot. New software features and, for example, the possibility to display individual widgets on the home screen opens up many new possibilities for use. The Echo Show 15 is primarily intended to be a practical everyday helper for the family.

However, some additional features could make Amazon’s new voice computer very interesting in other areas as well. In this article, all features of the Echo Show 15 are listed and examined in detail.

Echo Show 15 Features

Hardware/Equipment

The most obvious innovation of the Echo model is the new display. In contrast to the predecessor models, it is 15 inches large. That is another 5 inches bigger than the display of the next smaller Echo Show.

The display looks huge at first glance. And in fact, the built-in display is about as big as an average laptop’s display. Many laptops even have a smaller display!

The real dimensions of the Echo Show 15 are 40 cm in width, 25 cm in height and 3.5 cm in depth. To be precise, the display is not 15 inches either, but 15.6 inches. The weight of the Echo Show 15 is about 2 kg, which is quite high.

The display resolves in Full HD and has a resolution of 1080p. Thus, it is not up to date, but the intended use has to be considered. Unlike a tablet, the Echo Show 15 is usually operated from a greater distance.

Therefore, the minimally lower resolution is not as noticeable as it would be on a tablet, for example.

The camera of the Echo Show 15 also has to make some concessions. With a resolution of only 5 MP, it is anything but state-of-the-art. However, you also have to ask yourself whether the still not bad resolution is not completely sufficient.

For normal video calls or remote surveillance, the camera quality will be sufficient for the vast majority of users. In addition, the camera can be covered mechanically so that it cannot record anything secretly.

This is especially important for people who are afraid of being monitored. While this feature is not new and exists on all Echo Show devices, it remains a very important one.

Unfortunately, there are no groundbreaking innovations in the speakers either. The speakers are similar to those of the Echo Dot 4, but while the Echo Dot 4 only has one 41 mm speaker, the Echo Show 15 has two.

They are also sufficient for normal use, e.g. phone calls, watching the news or occasionally listening to music. Especially the sound quality of spoken texts, which is the main purpose of the Echo Show 15, is very convincing. However, there is no strong bass for this.

As with all other Echo devices, physical buttons can be used to control both volume and mute mode. On the Echo Show 15, these are located on the upper right edge when the Echo Show 15 is used in landscape mode.

The processor is a major innovation. It is used for the first time in the Echo Show 15 and is called “AZ2 Neural Edge”. It enables many new functions that will be explained in detail later in the text.

Thanks to a scalable quad-core architecture, the processor should be able to achieve up to 22 times as many tops as the predecessor model. It will also enable both speech recognition and computer vision workloads to be processed directly on the device.

Installing Equipment

The normal scope of delivery includes all necessary parts for wall mounting. This includes a wall bracket, dowels, screws and a mounting template.

It is also very positive that the wall mount is made of metal. Comparable products are often delivered with inferior mounts. This is not the case here, the metal wall mount makes a very robust impression!

The scope of delivery also includes the corresponding power supply. However, this is only 150 cm long. It might be too short, especially for an installation on a wall without a power supply. The power supply has a power consumption of 30 watts and the included cable is white.

This has the great advantage that it is not so noticeable when hanging down on a white wall.

The last hardware point that should be mentioned is the new sensors. Several of them are installed in the Echo Show 15. Besides the camera sensor, which is responsible for face recognition, there is an RGB ambient light sensor and an accelerometer.

The latter is needed to detect whether the Echo Show 15 is used in landscape or portrait mode. The display is automatically adjusted accordingly.

Software

Even though the hardware has obviously changed quite a bit, the software remains basically the same. Users of another Echo Show device will immediately get along well with the Echo Show 15.

However, the developers adjusted the display so that it does not look unnaturally large. The large display makes it possible to show a lot of content at the same time.

In addition, certain areas have been adapted or added to the new features that have been created by the new hardware. One of the biggest new features are the widgets.

Widgets

You might be wondering what widgets are in the first place. This is not surprising, because widgets have never appeared in connection with voice assistants before.

You can think of widgets on the Echo Show 15 just like you would on your phone. They are a small window in which individual information can be displayed. What’s new is that the widgets can be displayed on the home screen of the Echo Show 15.

There are not too many widgets for the Echo Show 15 at launch, but many important and practical widgets are already available. Nevertheless, it can be assumed that more widgets will be released in the future.

This has the great advantage that the screen content can be customized very individually. A total of 6 widgets can be freely arranged on the home screen.

Calendar Widget

This widget displays all current appointments that you have entered in the calendar. Very handy is that you don’t necessarily have to enter the appointments on the Echo Show 15. Appointments entered on another Echo device linked to the same account are automatically synchronized.

To-Do List Widget

The to-do list widget displays all pending to-dos. Similar to the appointment calendar, the widget updates itself, so the entries do not necessarily have to be made on the Echo Show 15.

Shopping List Widget

This widget visualizes Alexa’s shopping list, which already existed on all other Echo devices. Here, the individual products that are on the list are clearly displayed.

More Widgets

To present all widgets individually would go beyond the scope of this article. There are also other widgets, e.g. for recipe suggestions or the last played music.

Since there is currently only a small selection of available widgets, this new feature will only become really interesting in the future. Especially when third-party providers have created their first own widgets, the widgets will significantly improve the user experience.

Currently, the widgets are exclusively reserved for the new Echo Show 15. However, the smaller Echo Show devices like the Echo Show 5, 8 and 10 will also benefit from the widgets in the future. Therefore, it is very likely that the entire widget feature will be further optimized by Amazon.

Visual ID

The new Echo Show 15 has the function to identify users by their appearance for the first time. Previous models were already able to do this, but only by voice. This is on the one hand more unreliable and on the other hand more tedious since the identification only starts when you speak.

Face recognition automatically and directly recognizes a user as soon as they stand in front of the Echo Show 15. This function is made possible by the new AZ2 processor. It can directly evaluate the data locally and identify the user based on it.

You might ask yourself what this function is supposed to do. Unlike cell phones, which usually have facial recognition, the Echo Show 15 does not have to be unlocked. What is the purpose of facial recognition then?

First and foremost, the content displayed can be personalized with the help of face recognition. This way, your calendar or your favorite songs are always displayed and suggested.

How does the visual ID setup work?

The setup of the facial recognition works similar to the cell phone and is very fast. First, you need to create your profile. You can then scan a face for this profile.

The Echo Show 15 guides you through the setup process very intuitively and understandably. All you have to do is hold your head in front of the camera and turn it according to the instructions. This way, the Echo Show 15 can comprehensively scan your head and reliably recognize it.

However, it is important to note that facial recognition is not as secure as that of a typical cell phone. However, this is also not as important since the Echo Show usually does not store such private or secret data. It is not so much a security feature, but rather a convenience feature.

If you live with several people in one household, all residents can create their own accounts. However, the maximum number of possible accounts is currently limited to 10 people. However, this should be sufficient for most people.

Just like with the widgets, facial recognition should also be available for the other current Echo Show devices in the future.

This is what happens when the Echo Show 15 recognizes you

As soon as you are within the range of the Echo Show 15’s camera, the Echo will recognize you. Afterward, you will be greeted by name via a pop-up message and receive your personal representations.

These can be, for example, your notes, appointments, to-dos or songs. But also the choice and arrangement of the widgets you can freely set within your profile, without changing anything in the other profiles.

This has the great advantage that every user can set up and decorate the Echo Show 15 as they like. In addition, users can write notes or messages to other users.

The messages are then displayed to the target person the next time they contact the Echo Show 15.

If several people are standing in front of the Echo Show 15, the profile of the user who was recognized first is displayed. 10 seconds after a user has moved out of the camera’s field of view, the Echo Show 15 searches for a new user.

Picture Frame Mode

When the Echo Show is not needed, it can display photos if this feature has been activated. The picture frame design makes the Echo Show 15 look like a real picture frame that changes the photo every now and then.

Amazon offers some pre-made images and artwork to display. But you can also display your own pictures. You can either upload them to the device via the Amazon Alexa app or upload them to the Amazon Photo Cloud.

This new feature turns the Echo Show 15 into a real eye-catcher when not in use and can visually enhance a room.

Echo Show 15 as a Smart Home Control Center

Like any other Echo device, the Echo Show 15 can control and manage numerous smart devices. Unfortunately, the Echo Show 15 does not have a Zigbee hub. Therefore, Zigbee-enabled lamps cannot be connected to the Echo directly, but via an external bridge.

Nevertheless, the enormous size of the Echo Show 15 makes it ideal as a smart home control center. The 15.6-inch display offers plenty of space to show several smart home devices.

The widgets are also very useful here. They allow accessing the smart devices directly via the home screen. However, the display is not yet fully developed because the view can get very confusing especially when many devices are used.

For all smart home owners who use their own smart home system, such as IoBroker, the Echo Show 15 could be very interesting. In such systems, individual visualizations can be programmed.

Such a visualization could be displayed very well on the large screen of the Echo Show 15. Especially when used on a wall, the Echo Show 15 could become a real smart home control center.

However, all other smart home owners can also perfectly integrate the Echo Show 15 into the smart home. Exactly like the other Echo devices, all connected devices can be controlled via voice or routine. The connections for this can be established via various skills from Amazon.

Accessories

Not everyone wants to mount the Echo Show 15 on the wall. Both the sometimes very complex doweling and the uncertainty of whether you like the Echo Show 15 are reasons against direct wall mounting.

Therefore, there is a suitable stand for the Echo Show 15 that can be used to set up the device. The stand is manufactured by an external company and has to be purchased additionally. You can also choose between landscape and portrait mode for the installation on the stand.

The stand is also useful when the Echo Show 15 is to stand in the kitchen or on a side table in the bedroom, for example. Similar to the predecessors, it can be used very flexibly.

However, it is important to know that the device has to be completely unscrewed to turn the Echo Show 15 in the stand. A quick rotation is therefore not possible.

Echo Show 15 as a Security Camera

The integrated monitoring function of the Echo Show 15 is very practical. This feature is divided into two functions.

The first function is the possibility to display video signals from Alexa-compatible doorbells or cameras on the Echo Show 15. This is then done discreetly by a popping up window in which the video is displayed.

However, the Echo Show 15 can also be used directly as a surveillance camera. You can directly access the camera image of the Echo via the app. This allows you to take a look into the room at any time, even when you are on the go.

However, secret spying is fortunately not possible. As soon as the monitoring function is started, a large notice appears on the Echo Show 15. A green light bar also lights up so that users can see that the device is being monitored.

The prerequisite for the monitoring function is, of course, that the camera is open and not covered. However, if you ever see that an Echo Show is filming you, you can stop the surveillance directly with the camera cover in case of doubt.

However, depending on where the Echo Show 15 is placed, the field of view might be limited. The Echo Show 15 does not have a rotating camera function like the Echo Show 10.

Movies and News

The large display of the Echo Show 15 is just inviting to watch movies, videos or news. It is not as big as a TV, but the size is perfectly sufficient to watch even longer movies comfortably.

Several live programs of many public broadcasters can be streamed via various skills. Netflix or Amazon Prime also run via a skill on the Echo Show 15, so you can continue watching your favorite series while cooking, for example.

Videos from YouTube can also be played on the Echo Show 15. However, this is still done via the browser. A corresponding skill is still missing.

Video Calls and Chats

Video calls are not an absolutely new feature in the Echo Show devices, but the large display diagonal enables a large view of the other person. The fun is somewhat curbed by the inferior front-facing camera that only has 5 MP.

However, it is sufficient for occasional phone calls and the large display definitely improves the overall user experience.

Related Questions

Are there any alternatives to the Echo Show 15?

The Echo Show 15 is currently unique on the market. No other manufacturer has built a voice computer into a digital picture frame so far. However, some functions of the Echo Show 15 will also come in the Echo Show 8* and 10*.

Is the Echo Show 15 the best Echo Show?

That depends on the intended use. The Echo Show can score with its size and the possibility to be mounted on the wall.

In return, it is not as mobile, visually more eye-catching and has inferior components. Therefore, the Echo Show 8 and 10 can be the better choice for many.

Can the power supply be extended?

The included power supply is only 150 cm long, so it might be too short in many situations, especially when mounting the device on a wall. However, the power supply of the Echo Show 15 can be extended with third-party accessories.

Do I need to have my face and voice scanned by Alexa?

No, this is not the case. All information about the face and voice are voluntary and not mandatory for use. However, the so-called “visual IDs” are the basis for a few functions that do not work without this data and consequently cannot be used.

How is the facial data stored?

Amazon explains that all recorded biometric data is encrypted and only stored locally on the Echo Show 15. Furthermore, no real photos are stored, but abstract vector graphics that can also be deleted if necessary.

Will there be updates for the Echo Show 15 in the future?

Amazon has always provided all Echo models with new updates very reliably so far. While the innovations for an Echo without a display were usually quite limited, it can be assumed that the widget function in particular will have some visually obvious updates.

Can the Echo Show 15 replace a family calendar?

According to Amazon, this is the case. Thanks to the new widgets, especially the new calendar widget, all family members can enter individual appointments. Thus, the Echo Show 15 can definitely replace a family calendar.

What are the disadvantages of the Echo Show 15?

Basically, there are two main negative points. The first is the software, which is unfortunately not yet fully developed, e.g. the widgets. The other weak point is the outdated equipment. Especially the camera and display quality and the quality of the speakers could have been better.

Conclusion

The new Echo Show 15* is thus the largest Echo Show that Amazon has introduced so far. The incredible display size of 15.6 inches opens up completely new possibilities in use. The design of a picture frame and the wall mounting also make the Echo unique.

Two new features, in particular, are causing a stir in the software. Widgets can be displayed and customized on the home screen. This allows popular functions, such as controlling devices, to be used directly on the home screen.

However, facial recognition is also used for the first time in the Echo Show 15. Up to 10 profiles can be provided with their own faces so that all users are recognized and greeted individually.

This allows the displayed content to be automatically adjusted to the user currently standing in front of the Echo. Currently, this is an absolutely unique selling point of the Echo Show 15.

But it must be mentioned that the two big new features mentioned will also be available on the Echo Show 8 and 10. So you don’t necessarily have to buy the new Echo Show 15 to get these features.

Still, the Echo Show 15 has its raison d’être and will be very useful for many users who want wall-mounting and a larger display.

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