The smart display is a great smart TV option for the kitchen
Amazon’s Echo Show 15 is now capable of broadcasting live TV channels using Sling.
Amazon announced the addition earlier this week, adding the popular streaming platform to the big smart display mix.
Our verdict: Amazon Echo Show 15 review
You’ll need a Sling TV subscription, of course (they start from $35 per month), but then it’s as easy as saying “Alexa, open Sling TV” to get started.
For your first use you’ll have to log in to your account but once you’re up and running, you’ll be able to request specific channels by saying things like, “Alexa, watch ESPN on Sling.”
It makes the Echo Show 15 much more of a kitchen TV than it was, and that’s definitely the objective from the Good Ship Bezos: it was described as a smart kitchen TV a few times during the big launch event last year.
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When you consider that it’s also capable of streaming Netflix, Prime Video, Hulu and Tubi as well (and YouTube with a workaround), it’s quite the streaming package.
The Amazon Echo Show 15, which costs $249, added a bunch of new features and a revamped UI from the regular Show experience that you get with the likes of the Echo Show 10, Show 8 or Show 5.
The new Alexa widgets, for things like smart home controls, shared calendars, sticky notes and the like, make the Show 15 a lot more of a central hub than the previous Show models ever were / are (although some of these features may well land on the current Show line-up.)
It’s all a bit reminiscent of the big screen you get on Samsung’s Family Hub smart fridge range.
That 15.6-inch display is Full HD 1080p and there’s a new picture-in-picture mode so you can see who is ringing your video doorbell, or stream a security camera to the Show, without interruption to your viewing.
The portrait mode makes the Echo Show 15 a pretty decent Meural smart frame rival as well; there’s a mode to show your photos and/or artwork on the smart display too.
The Sling launch starts with Echo Show 15 but we’re told it will roll out to more Echo Show devices in the future.
