Amazon's latest addition to the Show family is its biggest yet, the Echo Show 15. It trumps the Show 10 with screen inches, but also takes on a new format for the Show.
So which is the most appropriate model for you? Here's how the Echo Show 15 and Echo Show 10 compare.
Price and availability
- Show 15: $249.99 / £239.99 / €249.99
- Show 10: $249.99 / £239.99 / €249.99
The Echo Show 15 and the Echo Show 10 come in at the same price point. That's going to make it more difficult to decide which to buy, although the Show 10 was launched in early 2021, so it's been around for longer and you might be able to find a better price on it.
The Echo Show 15 was announced on 28 September and is currently available for pre-order. There's no firm date on delivery, but it's expected within 2021.
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Design
- Show 15: 402 x 252 x 35mm, 2215g, wall mounted
- Show 10: 251 x 230 x 172mm, 2560g, free standing
The design of the Echo Show 15 and the Echo Show 10 is obviously the biggest difference. The Echo Show 10 is unique, with a round base containing the speaker, onto which the 10.1-inch tablet is mounted.
It's on a swivel mount, so the tablet part can move so you can rotate it to face you, or it can track you as you move around the room when on a video call for example. The design uses plastics and fabric coverings, like much of the rest of the Amazon Echo family.
The Echo Show 15 is designed more like a picture, so it will hang on your wall. It's pretty thick at 35mm, but that allows for the speakers that are built-in on the rear. The frame itself sits a little away from the wall so the two speakers don't get muffled.
Fundamentally, these are completely different design approaches to similar products. Both are designed to put that Alexa-powered device in your room and give you a pretty big screen.
Obviously, the Show 15 wins out on size, while also offering horizonal or vertical mounting. Putting it on the wall would potentially allow for a seamless installation, while the Show 10 will always need shelf or worktop space to accommodate it.
If you wanted to have your Show 15 on a worktop, there is actually a stand (sold separately) for it.
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Display
- Show 15: 15.6in, 1920 x 1080 pixels, 141ppi
- Show 10: 10.1in, 1280 x 800 pixels, 149ppi
There's an obvious difference between the sizes of these displays, with Show 15 naturally having a 15.6-inch display that can be mounted either vertically or horizontally.
What's more interesting is that they're not actually that different outside of the size. Although the Echo Show 15 has a higher resolution, the pixel density on these displays is essentially the same, so graphically, the performance should be pretty close.
What's important to remember about these devices is that they're not viewed from close up and the UI visuals are pretty basic. That means you don't need a huge amount of resolution.
Both are touchscreen and both are LCD, so the only real difference is size - and obviously, having a larger screen is going to be better for watching ad hoc video on the Show 15, but this is really designed more like an information window or family noticeboard.
Hardware and audio
- Show 15: Amlogic PopcornA with Amazon AZ2, 2x 1.6in drivers
- Show 10: MediaTek 8193 with Amazon AZ1, 2x 1in tweeters, 1x 3in woofer
The core hardware of the Echo Show models sort of doesn’t matter, because it's designed for a specific set of tasks. However, speed always remains an important point and we'll be sure to test these two devices side-by-side when the Echo Show 15 becomes available.
However, one key difference is that the Echo 15 introduces a new neural processing chip from Amazon called the AZ2. This is much more powerful than the chip - the AZ1 - found in the Echo Show 10.
It's designed to open up AI tasks and boost machine learning, allowing the Show 15 to do more locally rather than in the cloud.
One of the features it unlocks is that it can learn to recognise your face and associate that with a profile. This will allow it to show your calendar when you look at the Show 15 rather than someone else's.
This isn’t too far fetched as Echo devices can already identify users based on voice - and the new hardware is also in Amazon's Astro.
Moving onto audio, and the Echo Show 10 has the advantage. It has a 2.1 arrangement of speakers with a pair of 1-inch tweeters and a 3-inch woofer, so it's like a boosted version of the Echo - able to produce decent audio. The tweeters are also directional to match the display, so the sound can follow you around the room too.
The Show 15 on the other hand has a pair of 1.6-inch drivers. These are probably exactly the same as found in the Echo Dot - there's no woofer here - so the soundscape isn't likely to be as dynamic as that of the Show 10.
Functionality
The functionality of these two devices are similar. Both offer Alexa voice control as well as a physical touch point to access Alexa services, including smart home control.
The information displayed is similar, although the Echo Show 15 has shown off a different interface, using widgets and focusing on being more personal - as well as offering a vertical or horizontal view.
The Show 15 can recognise who is looking at it and show information relevant to that person, which is being pushed as one of its unique features, but it can also change the display to Photo Frame mode, showing off your photos or artwork.
However, we've previously seen Amazon talking about widgets, so we expect those to arrive on the Echo Show 10 - as well as the option for sticky notes - so we don't think there will be a huge difference in the overall functionality of these two devices.
One thing the Echo Show 10 can do - and we've talked about previously - is follow you around the room. This will allow the display to move to give you the best view, so if you're working on a recipe and working in different areas of the kitchen, for example, the Show 10 can rotate so you can see it.
This is unique to the design and obviously, with the Show 15 likely to be wall mounted, a different proposition to the Show 10.
Summing up
The difference between these two devices mostly comes down the format. They are distinctly different in design, but offer much the same in terms of functionality, for the same price.
The Show 15 will have a distinct advantage offering a larger format and wall mounting, it's likely to be a natural smart home hub and information window, while staying off your surfaces.
The Show 10 offers a little more oomph when it comes to music and that rotating display gives it a unique edge in positioning.
Of course, we'll be putting the Echo Show 15 through its paces as soon as it's available and we'll update at that time with more details about performance.
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