Amazon Echo Show 21
Amazon’s biggest and fastest smart display, with Wi-Fi 6E and the built-in Fire TV adding to its allure
Amazon’s Echo Show 21 is far more than a simple voice assistant
SCORE
PRICE
£333 (£400 inc VAT)
from amazon.co.uk
T
he Echo Show 21 is by far the largest Alexa device Amazon has ever made, and it’s also the most expensive. But you get much more than a simple voice assistant. It’s a smart, always-on display for checking upcoming appointments, shopping lists, the weather forecast and more at a glance; it can monitor and control a huge range of smart-home appliances using Matter, Thread and Zigbee platforms; and it doubles as a Fire TV for streaming movies and TV programmes, with a voice remote and wall mount included in the box. You can also plonk it on a desk or kitchen counter, though the optional stand costs an extra £100 inc VAT.
This isn’t Amazon’s first attempt at a big-screen Echo. In 2022 we tested the first-generation Echo Show 15 (see issue 330, p70) and found it a generally agreeable smart-home hub. The experience of using the Echo Show 21 is similar, with notable upgrades that might win over those who weren’t persuaded by the original model.
The most visible enhancement is the larger screen. The name slightly undersells the display size, which measures 21.5in across the diagonal, making all other Echo devices look tiny in comparison. The Full HD 1080p resolution is sharp, especially since this isn’t a screen that’s intended for up-close document work – it’s more for popping up reminders, displaying photos or watching films and shows, and for those purposes it looks great. The text in widgets is easy to read, and I really enjoyed catching up on TV shows or watching YouTube clips.