Should you pick the Echo Hub or the new Echo Show 15 for your home?
Estimated reading time: 8 minutes
Amazon announced a couple of new additions to its Echo Show line up in the middle of November in the form of the Echo Show 15 and the Echo Show 21. We’ve compared them in a separate feature, and compared the Echo Show 15 to the Echo Show 10 elsewhere, but here we are looking at how the Echo Show 15 compares to the Echo Hub.
There’s a bit of a price difference, and the Echo Show 15 and the Echo Hub have different designs too, but what else is different and if you’re looking for an Alexa wall-mounted device, which of these should you choose? Here’s how the Echo Show 15 compares to the Echo Hub.
Echo Show 15 vs Echo Hub: Price
The Amazon Echo Show 15 launched on 20 November, 2024. It went on sale immediately and it costs $299.99 / £299.99. There is only one color option available but you can choose to buy a frame separately – of which there are two options – and you can also choose to buy a stand for it if you don’t want to wall-mount it.
The Amazon Echo Hub meanwhile, went on sale in February 2024 so it’s a few months older than the Echo Show 15. It costs $169.99 / £169.99 making it a little cheaper too. It only comes in white and it too is designed to be wall-mounted, though there is also frames available, and a stand sold separately if you would rather have it sitting on top of furniture or the worktop.
Echo Show 15 vs Echo Hub: Design and screen
The Amazon Echo Show 15 and the Echo Hub are quite different in terms of design so there is a chance you will already know which you prefer based on the design alone. Both are inoffensive and will have no problems blending into a home with modern decor.
The Echo Show 15 has a 15.6-inch touchscreen display with a white bezel surrounding it and a camera positioned in the center at the top. On the top of the frame, when positioned horizontally, there is a camera privacy slider, along with volume controls and a microphone and camera button for turning the microphone on or off. As mentioned, there are a couple of different frames available if you want to jazz up your Echo Show 15 and make it stand out on your wall.
The screen has a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels and it is designed to be viewed from across the room. It allows for watching entertainment and videos, making or receiving video calls and you can use it as a digital photo frame, as well as a smart home hub.
The Echo Hub is a more compact smart display, focusing on smart home control and monitoring. Controls are positioned on the side of the Echo Hub when in a horizontal orientation and these include volume controls and a microphone mute button. There is no camera on the Echo Hub so there’s no need for a privacy shutter.
The Echo Hub has an 8-inch touchscreen display with a resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels. Its screen is primarily used for displaying smart home device status, controlling scenes, and viewing security camera feeds and its lack of camera means this isn’t really a device you would use for video calls, though you can receive calls – they will just be voice only.
Both the Echo Show 15 and the Echo Hub are designed to be wall-mounted but with the option to use a separate stand should you wish to. In terms of speaker positioning, the Echo Show 15 has its speakers on the back, while the Echo Hub has them on the top towards the rear. Measurements for the Echo Show 15 are 410 x 260 x 40mm, while the Echo Hub is 202 x 137 x 15mm.
Echo Show 15 vs Echo Hub: Features
The Amazon Echo Show 15 and Echo Hub cater to slightly different needs, but they do offer a number of the same features. Both devices work with a wide range of smart home ecosystems, including Alexa, Zigbee, and Matter, and both can be used as a smart home hub control panel (though in slightly different layouts).
They also both offer access to Alexa, as you you’d expect, allowing you to ask Alexa to set timers, answer questions, check the weather, add to your shopping list or control smart home devices with your voice.
You can also use both the Echo Show 15 and the Echo Hub as a digital photo frame and both can show widgets like calendars and reminder lists. They can also both be used for streaming music, podcasts and audiobooks.
The Echo Show 15 is a little more versatile than the Echo Hub however, not just because it has a camera and therefore allows for video calling rather than only voice, but it also has Fire TV built-in, making it a good entertainment device for catching up on your favorite TV show whilst cooking, for example.
The Echo Hub meanwhile, is designed to be a more focused smart home device for controlling and monitoring your smart home devices.
Echo Show 15 vs Echo Hub: Performance
We still need to test the new Amazon Echo Show 15 so we can’t pass judgement on its performance just yet. The audio quality is claimed to be better than the old Echo Show 15 however, with double the bass, and the camera is said to be better too, with an improved wide angle and 65% better zoom.
There are two 2-inch woofers and two 0.6-inch tweeters on board the Echo Show 15, and it runs on an Octa-core SoC with Amazon AZ2 neural network engine. It also supports Wi-Fi 6E. The Echo Hub meanwhile, has a pair of top-ported full range speakers with stereo playback. It runs on the MediaTek MT 8169 chip and it has supports dual-band Wi-Fi but not Wi-Fi 6E.
Elsewhere, the Echo Hub has a proximity sensor on board that will detect you as you come closer and present your favorite smart home controls, automations and feeds on one screen.
The idea is that you can control all of your devices easily and for that, it does a great job. It’s a smart home control panel with the added advantages of Alexa voice control, rather than a full-blown entertainment device like the Echo Shows offer.
In our review of the Echo Hub, we said we couldn’t quite understand why the Echo Show models don’t offer the ability to switch into the Echo Hub’s smart home control mode as an option and that still stands. You can still control your smart home devices from the Echo Show 15 of course, but it’s not as streamlined as the Echo Hub. The Echo Show 15 offers more versatility though – and hopefully the audio has improved, which will be testing when we review it.
Echo Show 15 vs Echo Hub: Which one is right for you?
It depends on what you want from your wall-mounted Alexa device as to whether the Amazon Echo Show 15 or the Echo Hub is the better option for you. The Echo Show 15 is the more versatile of the two options – it has a bigger screen and it allows for extra features like video calling and watching content through Fire TV. It also comes with a remote, making watching entertainment easier.
The Echo Hub is predominantly about controlling your smart home devices, from locks and lights, to fans and lawnmowers. You can take calls, but they will be voice only and you can use Alexa, and view digital photos, but the main purpose remains smart home control, which it does a great job at.
If smart home control isn’t the main reason to buy one of these devices, pick the Echo Show 15. If it is, then the Echo Hub is a solid option.
FAQs
The primary difference lies in their screen size and intended use. The Echo Show 15, with its larger 15.6-inch display, is designed to be a versatile home hub, offering features like video calls, streaming, and digital photo frames. The Echo Hub, on the other hand, has an 8-inch display and is more focused on smart home control and monitoring, allowing you to view device status, control scenes, and see security camera feeds.
Both devices offer smart home control capabilities, but the Echo Hub is specifically designed for this purpose. Its smaller screen and simplified interface make it the better option for quickly viewing device status and controlling them. While the Echo Show 15 can also control smart home devices, its larger screen and more diverse feature set might be overkill for users who primarily need a smart home controller.
