Amazon’s biggest Echo Show yet launches in Australia

Amazon’s local Echo lineup is getting larger with the company’s biggest smart display yet: the Amazon Echo Show 15.

Launched in Australia this week, the new Echo Show 15 features a 15.6-inch display with 1080p Full HD resolution, a pair of 1.6-inch full-range drivers plus a 5-megapixel camera. 

Like Amazon’s other smart speakers, the Echo Show 15 offers up all the usual voice and touch-based smart assistant features from calendar reminders to recipe recommendations to content streaming through select platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime. It also includes many of the hardware-based privacy features that conscious consumers now expect, such as a physical camera shutter and microphone-off slider. 

Given the overlap between the Echo Show 15 and other Echo display speakers, Amazon are looking to differentiate this device by positioning it as a smart frame that takes up a little more space in exchange for added versatility.

The extra five or so inches of screen found here might not sound like a lot, but they make a definite difference when it comes to multitasking. The home screen on the Echo Show 15 offers up plenty of room for personalisation, allowing you to create your own slate of tiled widgets and at-a-glance elements.

Amazon’s latest smart display is only available in a single color, but the ubiquitous black borders on it promise to help it feel like a natural fit for a kitchen bench, living room wall or even a home study environment. 

Even if the Echo Show 15 isn’t either big or capable enough to replace something like Samsung’s Frame TV, Amazon does give consumers the option of wall-mounting the smart frame or orienting it via an optional tilt-stand accessory.

In Australia, pricing for the Amazon Echo Show 15 starts and ends at $399. The smart frame can be bundled with the optional tilt-stand accessory for $448. You can find it on the Amazon website from this week.

At that price, the Echo Show 15 ends up being one of two the most expensive Echo Show device in Amazon’s stable. For comparison, the Echo Show 10 is also priced at $399 while the Echo Show 8 and Echo Show 5 cost $199 and $119 respectively.