Amazon dropped a deluge of new tech and among them is the cool-looking Echo Show 15. It's a framed display that mounts to the wall and shows you information you may find relevant. You can see to-do lists, a calendar, or even smart home controls. It'll also recognize people via its camera and play music with its Alexa integration. But, you can't fully customize it. Because Amazon loves selling you crap.
Unfortunately, it won’t be possible to utilize the whole display with your own preferred items if you wanted to create a smart home dashboard, for example. Half the screen is always dedicated to the rotating home content seen on other Echo Show displays — the other half is where widgets live.
The Verge
It's sad to not have full control over the Echo Show 15 because it actually looks quite nice. I would even consider hanging one on my wall in a central, high-traffic location where it's easy to get important information. However, the fact that half of the display that I'd pay for is reserved for Amazon's advertising makes it a non-starter. At a dollar shy of $250, I would guess Amazon is selling this display at near-cost or even a loss simply to get a billboard into people's homes.
The Echo Show 15 isn't for me, but maybe if Amazon relinquishes control over the devices I'd reconsider. For now, I'll pass.
PS: It's surprising to see we're up to the "15" number for the Show. I had no idea Amazon had released so many versions in such a short time.