Amazon Echo Show 21 review: This super-sized smart display is the perfect kitchen TV

The Amazon Echo Show 21 is both the largest and the most expensive smart display yet at $399. However, it doubles as a Fire TV for watching movies and TV shows and Amazon now includes an Alexa Voice Remote in the box along with a wall mount. That extra screen real estate also lets you have more widgets on the home screen, though there aren’t any custom ones for the Echo Show 21.

Just like the original Echo Show 15, this new smart display can be hung on your wall or placed on a kitchen counter but you will need to purchase a stand separately.

The experience of using the Echo Show 21 is nearly identical to its smaller predecessor but Amazon has added some big upgrades to its internals that make everything feel faster. From a new processor to the inclusion of Wi-Fi 6E, the device feels snappier overall. Likewise, it now sports a 13MP camera with a wider field of view which is great for video calls or for getting everyone into a group shot. The Echo Show 21 has also gotten an audio boost with improved sound and stronger bass.

My Echo Show 21 review will help you decide if this is the best smart display for your home, whether it’s worth upgrading from the original Echo Show 15 and if having a larger screen is worth the higher price.

Amazon Echo Show 21: Cheat Sheet

• What is it? A large, wall-mountable smart display with a 21-inch screen that also works like a TV thanks to its built-in Fire TV functionality.
• Who is it for? Those looking for a smart display with a large screen that can be mounted to the wall as well as for people who want a kitchen TV with extra functionality.
• What does it cost? The Echo Show 21 costs $399 on its own or you can get it with an adjustable stand for $499.
• What do we like? Its larger size, Fire TV functionality, improved speakers, centered and wider front-facing camera, the addition of Wi-Fi 6E support, how it uses the same mount as the Echo Show 15 and that it now comes with an Alexa Voice Remote.
• What don’t we like? How it weighs over 10 pounds, that there aren’t any new widgets or big changes to its user interface and that it’s the most expensive smart display yet.

Amazon Echo Show 21: Specs

Amazon Echo Show 21: The ups

The Echo Show 21 builds upon the strong foundation of its predecessor while addressing its shortcomings with a larger screen, better audio quality, faster Wi-Fi and a centered camera for video calls. Using it as a Fire TV is also easier since a remote is now included in the box.

A larger display with better speakers

At 21.5 inches across, the Echo Show 21 is the biggest smart display yet and makes the Echo Show 8 look tiny in comparison. You still get the same 1920x1080 Full HD resolution as on the Echo Show 15, but even with lower pixel density due to its larger size, its screen still looks crisp, especially when looking at photos or watching content using its built-in Fire TV.

Amazon’s Premium Adjustable Stand is available as an optional accessory for $99 and when combined with the Echo Show 21, the smart display transforms into a kitchen TV you can use on your countertops. The way the stand swivels 360 degrees reminds me a bit of the Echo Show 10 but if you want to use the Echo Show 21 as a digital dashboard for your entire family, wall mounting it is probably the better (and cheaper) option.

I really enjoyed catching up on my favorite TV shows using the Echo Show 21 or watching a quick clip on YouTube over breakfast. However, it wasn’t until I started listening to Christmas music on it with Amazon Music Unlimited that I noticed how much better its audio quality is. With the volume turned up halfway, the Echo Show 21 filled my kitchen with sound thanks to its dual two-inch woofers and dual 0.6-inch tweeters. For the best audio experience with an Alexa-powered device, the Sonos Era 100 still claims the top spot but like I did, you might find yourself using the Echo Show 21 to listen to music more often.

Faster performance, faster Wi-Fi

Both the Echo Show 21 and the second-gen Echo Show 15 feature an Octa-core system on a chip with Amazon’s AZ2 neural network engine under the hood. This new processor made navigating through the device’s menus, opening up Fire TV and just about everything feel a lot faster and snappier. There weren’t delays or the occasional stutter like with the original Echo Show 15 and during my time testing this new smart display, it was a much smoother experience overall.

Another reason why the Echo Show 21 feels a lot faster is because it uses Wi-Fi 6E instead of Wi-Fi 6 like Amazon’s first wall-mountable smart display. For instance, when running a speed test using Amazon’s Silk browser on the device, it hit a max download speed of 304 Mbps which is almost three times as fast as the 128 Mbps speeds I saw when running the same test on my original Echo Show 15. With one of the best Wi-Fi 7 routers or even a Wi-Fi 6E router, you’ll see faster load times and better performance overall with the Echo Show 21.

Centered camera with a wider field of view

With the Echo Show 21 and the new Echo Show 15, Amazon has moved the front-facing camera from the left edge to the center. Not only does this feel more natural when using this smart display in landscape mode — which is required for Fire TV — it’s also better for video calls. Just like on the Echo Show 8 (3rd Gen), the Echo Show 21 has a 13MP camera with digital pan-and-zoom capabilities to follow you around the room. It also features a wider field of view which is great for group photos or when making a video call with multiple people in the room.

This upgraded camera with a wider field of view serves another purpose though. Just like with one of the best home security cameras, you can use the Echo Show 21’s camera to keep an eye on your home. With the device mounted on my kitchen wall, I’m able to see from one wall to the other and even out into our living room using the Alexa app from my phone. If you have an Echo Show 5, an Amazon Echo Hub or another Alexa-equipped smart display, you can view the camera feed from your Echo Show 21 that way too and even listen in using its microphone.

An easy upgrade from the Echo Show 15

I’ve been using the Echo Show 15 for the past two years and while it’s still one of my favorite gadgets, part of me always wished the screen was slightly larger. The Echo Show 21 is exactly what I was hoping for in that regard. However, I was also pleasantly surprised by just how easy it was to upgrade from one to the other.

The Echo Show 21 uses the same power adapter and wall mount as the Echo Show 15. I literally took the smaller smart display down and replaced it with the larger one in less than five minutes. I did have to pair the included remote and go through the setup process but it was one of the simplest smart home upgrades I’ve ever done. Even if you aren’t upgrading from the Echo Show 15 to the Echo Show 21, you can easily swap from one to the other if you find that the Echo Show 21’s larger screen is too big for your space.

Amazon Echo Show 21: The downs

The Echo Show 21 includes plenty of worthwhile upgrades over the original Echo Show 15 and its larger screen makes it a better Fire TV. However, not much has changed on the software side and it’s still significantly more expensive than Amazon’s other smart displays.

Still waiting on the widgets

One of my biggest gripes with the Echo Show 15 still hasn’t been fixed with the Echo Show 21. While you can customize the layout of its home screen and add new widgets, there still aren’t that many to choose from.

Don’t get me wrong, Amazon’s first-party widgets for weather, music, Fire TV, your calendar and your commute as well as controlling the best smart home devices around your house are all quite useful. I just wish there were more of them. There are third-party widgets too but they lack the same polish and even then, there aren’t that many of them. I would have loved to see some new Echo Show 21-specific widgets or even a push to get more third-party ones on it and the new Echo Show 15. I would even pay extra for additional widgets if that was an option.

With the Echo Show 21, you get an extra row for widgets in landscape mode but you’re still limited to having just one extra large widget at the top. In total, there are seven extra large widgets and with all that extra screen real estate, I would love to be able to have two enabled simultaneously. I have an extra large calendar at the top of the Echo Show 21 but the extra large version of Amazon’s Smart Home Favorites or even its Fire TV widget would be very useful at the bottom of the smart display.

Quite expensive for a smart display

At $399, the Echo Show 21 is the most expensive smart display in Amazon’s lineup. It’s $100 more than the new Echo Show 15 and $150 more than the Echo Show 10 which has a display that can literally turn and follow you around the room. At launch, the original Echo Show 15 was available for $249 but you did have to buy an Alexa remote separately to make full use of its Fire TV functionality, which was added a year later.

Now that it comes with a remote included and has a larger display, this does help justify the Echo Show 21’s higher price. Still, you could buy a TV and a smaller Echo Show or even an Echo Dot for a lot cheaper. The problem with that though is that 20-inch TVs are few and far between and a larger 24-inch TV might be too big for your kitchen. Alternatively, if you want a smart display that you can mount to your wall and don’t necessarily need Fire TV features, you could go with the Echo Hub, though it’s a lot smaller at 8 inches.

Amazon Echo Show 21: Verdict

The Echo Show 21 is an impressive smart home device that doubles as a TV that addresses many of the shortcomings of Amazon’s original wall-mountable smart display. Its bigger screen makes using its built-in Fire TV even better for watching TV shows and movies but it also lets you add even more widgets to its home screen. The upgraded camera and its tracking capabilities make for better video calls and the wider field of view is great for group pictures and for keeping an eye on your home. The jump to Wi-Fi 6E also makes for a faster experience overall and listening to music on the Echo Show 21 is more enjoyable too.

While its high price may be hard to justify for some, you are getting two devices in one and you don’t have to pay extra for a wall mount or a remote. The optional stand is sleek though also pricey and those with smaller, more cramped kitchens will likely be better off just mounting the Echo Show 21 to the wall. If you want a super-sized smart display and a smaller TV for your kitchen in one device though, the Echo Show 21 is worth the investment, even if it’s not as customizable as you might hope it would be.