Amazon just showed off a sleeker Echo lineup led by former Microsoft design chief Ralf Groene. It’s Panos Panay’s first big swing since taking the Devices & Services job and, on paper, it’s the reset Alexa needed. With two refreshed Echo Shows, a cleaner UI, and “products customers love,” the pitch certainly feels complete. Then the screen goes black, your kid’s photo dissolves, and an herbal supplement ad explodes across the display. Love turns to loathing in one fateful swipe.
Amazon, inject unwanted ads? Never
Don’t call it a comeback
In recent weeks, Echo Show owners have started seeing full-screen sponsored placements intrude on Photo Frame mode slideshows and between content cards for music, recipes, and news, as noted by The Verge. Think Kindle Special Offers, except you didn’t get a discount, you didn’t opt in, and there’s no off switch. Amazon calls this discovery; most people call it a billboard.
The timing isn’t a mystery. Amazon Ads has been building Alexa Native formats since late 2023, and a new Home Screen Display program arrived this summer alongside Alexa Plus — the same service CEO Andy Jassy touted as a fresh revenue stream for the hardware group. The result is Echo Show smart displays that periodically pivot from family hub to ad unit. Reports from users are uneven, with some seeing them constantly, and others not at all, but complaints are loud enough that a few say Amazon support issued them refunds.
Amazon’s line is that ads are a small part of the experience, and you can swipe past or give a thumbs-down to what you don’t like. In practice, feedback might pause an ad before another pops up two photos later. Panay has argued that truly relevant suggestions aren’t ads at all, but conceded the current randomness isn’t great. He’s right about the second part.
This is the core problem. Smart displays live in communal spaces and run ambient content you don’t manage moment-to-moment. If the device can inject full-bleed promos whenever, trust erodes. Owners will hunt for workarounds — changing their language preference to Canadian English, flipping on Kids Mode — or just yank the plug.
While Amazon has pretty much nailed the hardware side, it’s letting business goals walk all over its potential success. If Alexa Plus is the path to the ambient home, the Echo Show can’t keep interrupting itself to sell snack chips and picture frames. The ideal should be to ship the value, not Amazon’s upsell-focused platform. Otherwise, the slickest smart display in the room is still just a rotating ad slot on your kitchen counter. Consumers notice, and they’ll remember which companies respect their screens — and which don’t, when it matters.
