Amazon Echo Show 21 blurs the lines between smart displays and TVs

Amazon’s Echo line of products began with smart speakers and eventually evolved to include smart displays that added a small screen that could present visual information. As Amazon has more features, the lines between smart displays, TVs, and tablets has become a bit blurry.

Now it’s blurrier than ever: the new Amazon Echo Show 21 is a smart display with screen the size of a small TV. Amazon is also refreshing the Amazon Echo Show 15 with the first update since that model first launched in 2021.

Both models feature 1920 x 1080 pixel displays that are designed to hang on a wall or stand, and both can be used in landscape or portrait orientation. Compared with the original Echo Show 15, the new models also feature camera and speaker upgrades.

With two 2 inch woofers and two 0.6 inch tweeters, Amazon says the new speakers deliver “double the bass” of the original. And the new 13MP cameras offer twice the field of view and 65% more zoom capabilities as well as improved support for automatic framing, keeping you in the picture during video calls.

These are also the first Amazon Echo devices to feature support for WiFi 6E.

While it’s unclear how popular the Echo Show 15 is compared with Amazon’s other Echo smart speakers and displays, Amazon’s announcement provides a glimpse into the company’s reasons for launching an even bigger model. Amazon says “customers already watch 7x more video monthly” on the Echo Show 15 than they do on other Echo smart displays. A bigger screen could clearly make this an even more attractive form factor for watching videos in rooms where you may not have a more traditional TV.

The new Amazon Echo Show 15 measures 16.1″ x 10.1″ x 1.4″ and weighs 4.9s pounds, while the Echo Show 21 is a 21.4″ x 13.2″ x 1.5″ device that weighs 10.7 pounds. They’re available now for $300 and $400, respectively. Customers can also pay an extra $100 for an adjustable stand that allows you to position the screens on any surface and flip them between horizontal and landscape orientation.