BIG SCREEN, BIG PRICE! Amazon’s rebuilt Echo Show 16 went up for preorder Oct. 28 at $499.99, or $569.99 with an anti-glare “Nanomatte” screen, with a $100 preorder discount and shipping “later this year,” per Amazon and The Verge.
Amazon says the 16-inch screen is nearly 40% thinner than the old model. It comes with a wall mount in the box and works with VESA mounts, and you can add a $69.99 stand or a $124.99 swivel/tilt stand. It has full Fire TV built in and a 13-megapixel wide-angle camera with night vision, a first for an Echo Show, so it doubles as an indoor security camera.
The headline feature is Screen Styles: always-on home screens you can set as a family organizer (calendar, chores, meal plans), a smart home dashboard with the new 3D Alexa Home Map, an Alexa widgets screen, or a photo frame. The Verge says the new interface will come to older Shows eventually, but Amazon confirmed the customizable home screens will need a subscription on those older devices. Pricing wasn’t given.
THE ADS AREN’T GONE: Amazon confirmed to The Verge that the optional “Alexa Recommendations” screen still shows full-screen display ads. The good news is you can turn that screen off. The Verge also notes the Show 16 costs double the $250 Echo Show 11 and $200 more than Apple’s new HomeView.
For the nightstand, the new Echo Time ($199.99, available now) is a camera-free smart alarm clock with a 3.2-inch round touchscreen and hundreds of clock faces, The Verge reports. Its optional smart alarm uses Amazon’s Omnisense sensing to wake you during lighter sleep within 10 to 60 minutes of your alarm time, no wearable needed, and the screen brightens like a sunrise. A Kids version starts at $209.99. Some features need Alexa+, included with Prime.
Featured image: AI-generated editorial illustration by Bugle Blast.
Sources: Amazon, The Verge (hands-on), The Verge (roundup)
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