Amazon Echo Show 15: The Family Hub Worth Every Penny

Buzz Feed

a day ago

Hi! I'm Sally Elshorafa — Home and Garden Editor here at BuzzFeed.
I'm also someone who *loves* being organized, but would much rather adopt a great system than build one from scratch. I just like tools that fit into my life without me having to reinvent the wheel. Enter the Amazon Echo Show 15. It's a 15.6-inch full HD touchscreen display (try saying that three times fast), designed to be either wall-mounted like a piece of framed art or kept on a stand. Think Samsung's The Frame paired with Alexa's brains (oh no, is Alexa sentient?!?). It's slim, clean, and big enough to see from across the room, making it perfect for acting as a central hub in my busy home. And because it's voice-powered, I almost never have to touch it. I can control it entirely with my voice while I'm cooking, wrangling my children, or having a meltdown (often).
Mine lives in the corner of our kitchen counter, because the kitchen is the most high-traffic spot in our house.
In a multigenerational household like ours, placement is everything. Everyone sees it, everyone uses it, and that visibility is exactly what makes it work. It's not just another piece of tech bought under false pretenses; it's actually woven into the way we live. Cheesy, I know. SORRY.One of the best things about it is how customizable the display is. You can pin and arrange widgets so the things that matter most are always front and center. In our case, that's my family's shared Google Calendar (it works with Microsoft and Apple cals as well). We keep every appointment, meeting, school event, and trip on there, so there's no more, "Wait, you're in a meeting at the same time both kids have separate play dates scheduled?" surprises. The calendar on the Echo Show is in real time; if my husband updates it from his phone, it's instantly reflected on the screen in the kitchen.
We also keep a synced shopping list on display, which anyone in our family can update through the Alexa app, or just by shouting out what needs to be added (a more common occurrence).
If I notice we're out of eggs while making breakfast, I just say, "Alexa, add a dozen eggs to my shopping list." No pen, no paper, no unlocking my phone. Whoever ends up at the grocery store next sees the updated list immediately. And it's not just groceries. We add household items, kid stuff, and random things we think of mid-conversation. Right now, our list includes washing machine pods, extra pillowcases for the kids, and bulk cold brew. Once items are purchased, you can either check them off on the app or via the Echo Show, whatever works for you.
Other widgets we use daily include a month-at-a-glance calendar (critical for planning ahead), a weather panel that updates in real time, curated news headlines based on our preferences, and a rotating photo carousel from a shared family album.
The photo widget keeps it personal. You might be checking the calendar, but you're also catching glimpses of family vacations, silly toddler moments, and our favorite everyday snapshots.
The smart home control panel is where the Echo Show 15 really earns its keep as a hub.
Beyond organization and control, it's also an entertainment screen. It has built-in Fire TV, so I can stream Prime Video, Netflix, YouTube, and more directly on the display.
Most of the time, I keep it in "mission control" mode, but sometimes I'll put on the local news while I'm making dinner, or watch an F1 race highlight while I stir a sauce that requires constant attention.
Sorta random, but one thing I really like is that I can "drop in" via video to say hi to whoever is in the kitchen, which is great when one of us is out of town and wants to say hello to the kids.
Using FaceTime works fine, but it's dependent on someone holding their phone up to others while everyone talks, which sucks if they're in the middle of doing something. Plus, phone screens are small. When I video chat on the Echo, it's a big, clear display, no hands required. The sound and volume are also better.
This week alone, the Echo Show 15 has run three labeled timers while I was cooking an elaborate meal, played "Let It Go" from Frozen on command to end a toddler meltdown, warned me about an incoming afternoon rainstorm despite it being a heatwave so the kids could grab their raincoats on their way out, added oat milk to the shopping list mid-coffee pour, displayed a live baby monitor feed while I prepped lunch, let me know that my favorite baseball team got absolutely destroyed during an away game, and delivered a five-minute news update from NPR while I folded cloth napkins.
None of these are flashy tech miracles, but together they make the day run more smoothly.
The beauty of the Echo Show is that it doesn't require constant tinkering.
You can display it horizontally or vertically — whatever works for you.
Reviewers are split 50/50 on how they display it. Half mount it to the wall, the other put it on a stand. Some get really creative with how it's mounted, so it looks like it's part of a gallery wall. Some people mount it to their bathroom mirror. You can also display it vertically — it'll rotate the screen so everything still looks good.
It also helps that the device is aesthetically pleasing. The clean design and slim bezel means it blends into the kitchen instead of looking like a big piece of tech taking up counter space.
If I wanted to, I could mount it so it looks like framed art, but the stands works better for us since it's easier to move if we ever want to shift things around. The screen itself is bright and large enough to read from a distance, which is something smaller devices can't really match.
Living in a multigenerational household means there's a constant flow of information, needs, and schedules to keep track of. The Echo Show has become the quiet extra set of hands that remembers what's running low, keeps track of where everyone needs to be, entertains when needed, and makes sure the important stuff doesn't slip through the cracks.
I originally bought it on a whim, wondering if it would be one of those "will this make me the person I want to be?" purchases. Instead, it turned out to be something far from practical, a device that actually makes our daily life easier, keeps the whole family on the same page, and looks good doing it. It's not just another smart display. It's the nerve center of our home. And for a busy family like mine, that makes it worth every penny we spent on it.
Get the Amazon Echo Show 15 from Amazon for $299.99.