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Amazon announced the Echo Show 16, a $499.99 smart display that is available to preorder ahead of a release later this year. A hands-on report describes customizable home screens and household features, but its price is high compared with Amazon’s smaller Echo Show 11. The report did not assess microphone performance, and some product details remain unavailable in the supplied source.
Amazon has announced the Echo Show 16, a $499.99 Alexa smart display with customizable home screens designed to put family schedules, smart-home controls, photos and other household information on one large screen. The device is available to preorder ahead of a release later this year; a hands-on report from a New York media event found the display and redesigned software promising, while raising questions about whether its price will appeal beyond committed Alexa users.
The Echo Show 16’s central feature is Screen Styles, a set of home-screen options that users can tailor for different household needs. The choices include a family organizer, a smart-home dashboard, an Alexa widgets screen and a digital photo frame. According to The Verge’s hands-on report, the selected screen can remain visible or appear when someone approaches the device.
Amazon is positioning the display as a household hub for tasks such as checking a shared calendar and meal plan, viewing family photos, controlling connected devices and seeing who is at a video doorbell. The device also runs the full Fire TV interface. A newly redesigned Alexa remote is included, according to the report.
The standard model costs $499.99, including a wall mount. Amazon also offers a Nanomatte display option for $569.99. The source says a $100 preorder discount is available, but does not specify its terms or explain whether it applies to both versions. Amazon has not given a precise release date in the supplied information.
The Show 16 reflects a broader role for smart displays: not only answering voice requests, but keeping useful information and controls visible to people moving through a home. A calendar, meal plan and smart-home dashboard that can stay on screen could make the device more useful to households that do not want to ask Alexa for every update.
That approach also puts the price under scrutiny. At $499.99, the Show 16 costs twice as much as Amazon’s $250 Echo Show 11, according to the source. The report also says it is $200 more than Apple’s new HomeView smart display. Those comparisons make the question of whether the larger display and new interface justify the premium central to the product’s prospects; the hands-on account is not a full review or a test of long-term household use.
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From Voice Assistant to Home Hub
Amazon’s Echo Shows have combined a screen with Alexa, but the source describes them as devices that have traditionally remained voice-first, with visuals serving mainly as added context. The Show 16’s always-available or approach-activated Screen Styles represent a more direct attempt to make the screen itself a regular point of interaction.
The device also shares some design and technology with Amazon’s new Alexa Tablet Pro 12. The report describes a slim profile, narrow bezels, a MediaTek processor and an optional anti-glare Nanomatte screen. Amazon head of devices and services Panos Panay told The Verge: “A lot of the same work went into this as the tablet.” The Show 16 is thinner than the Echo Show 15 and Echo Show 21, the report says, though it can look large on a kitchen counter when placed on an optional stand.
At the event, the reporter found the full-HD display bright, clear and responsive. The speaker system has eight custom woofers and two tweeters in a slim enclosure, and the report describes its sound as clear and loud, but lacking some depth. These are initial impressions from a hands-on, not results from a full technical review.
“will continue to offer the broad variety of content, just as it does now.”
— Aidan Marcuss, incoming vice president of Alexa and Echo, speaking to The Verge
Price, Ads and Performance Questions
The hands-on report did not test whether Alexa can hear users more reliably from the Show 16’s new microphone arrangement. It also did not establish how well the device performs across sustained use, or whether its household features will be practical for different family routines.
Amazon says Alexa Recommendations can include ads, including full-screen ads, but the report says they will appear only on that ambient screen and that users can turn the option off. The source does not provide details about the preorder discount’s conditions, the exact release date, or availability by market. Its supplied material also ends partway through a description of the device’s camera, so further camera specifications and features are not confirmed here.
Preorders Before Later-Year Release
Amazon has opened preorders for the Echo Show 16 and says the device will be released later this year. The next concrete milestones are the company’s release date and the arrival of independent reviews that can test the display, microphones, software and household features beyond a short event demonstration.
Prospective buyers can compare the standard display with the pricier Nanomatte version and check the terms of any preorder discount before ordering. The hands-on account offers an initial view of the hardware and interface, but does not settle whether the new features warrant the Show 16’s premium over smaller smart displays.
Key Questions
How much does the Amazon Echo Show 16 cost?
The standard model costs $499.99, with a wall mount included. A Nanomatte display option is listed at $569.99. The source also reports a $100 preorder discount but does not specify its terms.
What can the Echo Show 16 display?
Its Screen Styles include a family organizer, a smart-home dashboard, an Alexa widgets screen and a digital photo frame. Amazon says users can choose to keep a selected home screen visible or have it appear when they approach.
When will the Echo Show 16 be released?
Amazon says it is due later this year. The supplied source does not give a specific release date.
Does the Echo Show 16 show advertisements?
The report says ads, including full-screen ads, may appear on the optional Alexa Recommendations ambient screen. Amazon’s incoming Alexa and Echo vice president told The Verge that users can turn off Alexa Recommendations; the report says ads will not appear on other home screens.
Has the Echo Show 16 received a full review?
No. The source is a hands-on report based on time with the device at a media event. It describes initial impressions of the screen, sound and interface, but says the microphone performance was not tested.
Source: theverge.com
