Despite Amazon have a two - year head start versus Google in the impertinent speaker unit state of war , to begin with this twelvemonth , gross sales of Google Home devices surpassed all of Amazon ’s Echoesfor the first clock time ever . And while Amazon still holds theoverall lead in grocery store share , it ’s not hard to see why Google is catching up fast . Compared to Alexa , the Google Assistant issimply smarter , well sounding , and an all - around more helpful AI . However , even with new additions to the Google Home family in 2017 by way of the HomeMiniandMax , there are some holes in the Google ’s fresh speaker lineup — like chic screens . But thanks to the new Lenovo Smart Display , Google now has an reply to the Echo Show , and it ’s a damn good retort at that .
Smart Display
What is it ?
Photo: Sam Rutherford (Gizmodo)
A Google - power smart loudspeaker system with a establish - in showing
Price
$ 200 for the 8 - in model , $ 250 for the 10 - in version
The Show appears incredibly clunky and dated next to the Smart Display, which caused my girlfriend to repeatedly ask “Why does the Echo look so bad?”Photo: Sam Rutherford (Gizmodo)
Like
enceinte sieve , slick design and UI , unspoiled streaming video support , and on / off toggle for mic and camera
Do n’t Like
Hey, no peeking!Gif: Sam Rutherford (Gizmodo)
Limited portrayal mode accompaniment , apps or inspection and repair do n’t always function like you ’d wait
Somewhat confusingly , the terminal figure Smart Display is both the name of the product and the name for a novel category of Google Assistant - powered saucy home equipment that enhances the traditional smart speaker experience through the addition of a establish - in screen . And while that might not voice like a big deal , it completely transforms the way you use the machine from a simple-minded question and answer machine into something that feel more like your home ’s central control .
At launch , Lenovo is leading the way with the first Smart Displays on the market . Its initial offer is useable in two sizing : an 8 - column inch good example with a 1280 x 800 resolution touchscreen for $ 200 , and a larger 10 - inch version with a 1920 x 1200 display . Later this year , more Smart Display devices will be usable from other companies admit JBL and LG . But even as the trailblazer in a brand newfangled category , there ’s a lot to like about Lenovo ’s first go .
The Smart Display consistently put up screens with a better UI and more easily digestible info when compared to the Echo Show.Photo: Sam Rutherford (Gizmodo)
esthetically , the Smart Display sports , slick , clean lines that clown around on the Echo Show and makes it seem like an worthless relic of the 90s , even though in world , it ’s only one year old . Lenovo ’s Smart Display is n’t pure style without practicality , because it also has some simple , but handy security precautions , which let in a forcible shutter that slew over the 5 - MP webcam and a on/off switch for twist the Smart Display ’s microphones on and off . But the real gem is that covert , which especially on our 10 - inch reappraisal unit makes the Show look and function like an inferior product .
The best exercise of this is simply comparing the way the two devices palm a petition . When asked to show the current MLB standings , the Echo Show comes back a textual matter heavy screen while Alexa radio-controlled aircraft on in the ground , say everything aloud for intimately a minute . The Smart Display prefer to simply say that the Red Sox are in first place while drop up a computer graphic testify the wins and losses for all the teams in the AL East . By combine graphics highlighted by abbreviated audio snippets , the Smart Display gives you more information with additional context faster than Alexa . It ’s workforce down the winner .
But what about the rest of the league you say ? While it ’s on-key Google did n’t show the top team in every sectionalization ( possibly because Google knows I ’m a Yankee lover ) , finding out is as simple as asking it for a piffling more specificity , or better yet , tapping on one of contextual info buttons at the bottom of the screen .
The Smart Display UI is very streamlined and easy to use, but don’t go looking for apps, because you won’t really find any.Gif: Sam Rutherford (Gizmodo)
And is n’t something that befall just with baseball either , because the Smart Display ’s superior introduction carries over to other requests as well . Even promiscuous hooey like say you the conditions Google does better , because instead of get to sit through multiple lantern slide to see the temporary , highs and Sir David Alexander Cecil Low , and the hourly prognosis on the Echo Show , the Smart Display pay you all that info on a individual silver screen . And when you ’re looking up recipes , not only does the Smart Display take back with more precise results , it give you extra info like what site the recipe come from , how many ingredients it has and sometimes even the calorie count alongside basic stuff and nonsense like champion ratings and prep time .
When you in reality do get to cookery , follow a recipe whole tone - by - step is a mickle well too , as the Smart Display breaks everything down into bite - sized tasks , that can be sped along either by pressing one of those contextual buttons or simply saying “ Hey Google , next step . ” And again , recipes are just one small thing the Smart Display does better .
With support from Google Maps way are more elaborated , while Google Podcasts integration and music streaming via Play Music , YouTube Music , Spotify , and Pandora intend you ’ll never run out of stuff and nonsense to listen too . Even controlling other smart twist like Hue Lights or a security Cam River is well-fixed , with the Smart Display even providing options for adjusting brightness or colour or your lights anytime you involve about them . Thanks to the Smart Display , I just recently discovered I can set my lights to colors like stinker chiffon or ultramarine .
Photo: Sam Rutherford (Gizmodo)
Interestingly , with the Smart Display ’s newfound potentiality , sometimes it seemed like sure requests really tested the Google Assistant ’s ability to understand more complex inquiry . For example , when I used more rude oral communication to postulate “ Hey Google , show me shrimp recipes by Serious Eats , ” the Assistant responded by saying it did n’t understand the postulation . But if I played things a scrap more like automaton and suppose “ Hey Google , Serious Eats peewee recipes , ” I got on the button what I was search for .
And there ’s the big yield regarding stream video . BecauseAmazon and Google have yet to steady down their feud , the Show still miss proper YouTube musical accompaniment . The Echo show get native Prime Video and Twitch alternatively . Yet the Smart Display has integrated Chromecast support , so you could essentially view anything you want on the Smart Display , just so long as you do n’t beware pulling out your earpiece first . That said , I still palpate like to get the full note value from the Smart Display , you kind of need asubscription for YouTube TV , so you may easy see live boob tube or register shows just by demand nicely . That ’s a $ 40 a month bursting charge .
My biggest bitch about the Smart Display though is how hidden its ten thousand of functions are . I get that this is n’t meant to be like a pad or smartphone , but for something based on Android — Android thing to be accurate — it seems weird that there are n’t really any apps to speak off . Yes , you’re able to ask the Google Assistant to open up YouTube , but when you do , what you get is a super streamlined UI that only picture a fistful of video recording at a time . And despite my safe efforts over the course of the week , I could n’t really get a right web web browser app to speak of , which mean you are largely reliant on what come up via lookup .
Another pocket-size worry for a machine that will probably find itself in or near the kitchen is the Smart Display ’s deficiency of an prescribed water - ohmic resistance valuation . However , when require , Lenovo told me that the machine is securely sealed , the display is coated with an anti - fingermark and water repellant program , and was specifically tested to secure that it would survive just fine in the neighbourhood of soapy dishes or a little humidity . I ’m not entirely sure the equipment was designed to handle this , but when I threw a cup of piss at the Smart Display , it shrug off the splash without a hitch . Forgive me for not dunking the thing in the sink though , that seems like a turn too much to ask .
At least more mundane tasks like bring events to a calendar or do an alarm are well handled via voice requests or ready to hand shortcuts on the Smart Display ’s menage screen door , which is also exceedingly easy to employ . you’re able to tap on the screen to waken the gadget up if it ’s been sitting idle for a while , swipe right on to discover more social occasion and ability , swipe left to go back , or hook up from the bottom to adjust the brightness or reach the mount computer menu . That ’s it .
One unusual quirk of the Smart Display is that even though its design to go in two orientations , the only affair it can really do in portraiture manner is make or take TV call using Google Duo . However , because you ’ll need to physically take the air over to the equipment and cant over it on its side anytime someone call , doing so is often more hassle than it ’s worth . You ’re better off just asking whoever is on the other end of the lineage to not record vertical video , which is probably a lesson they should lend oneself to the other filming duties anyways .
Photo: Sam Rutherford (Gizmodo)
In the end , the most scandalous thing about the Smart Display is how much just it is than the Echo Show overall . In fact , I do n’t think I ’ve visualise such a thorough trouncing in technical school anytime in late retentivity . And while neither equipment run around amazing sound quality , the Smart Display beats out the Show there too .
What ’s more , is that normally , prove to settle betweenan Echo , aGoogle Home , or even aHomePodis often decided by how deeply you ’re invested in a special ecosystem . But when it comes to the Smart Display versus the Echo Show , unless you are the most die - hard Amazon fanatic , the Show just does n’t make sense , and in a spate of ways it find uncomplete . Do n’t get me incorrect , take care back to when it was publish , I have a bang-up appreciation for how the Echo Show provided a good cause for why you ’d want to put a screen in a smart speaker . But with the Lenovo Smart Display , Google has take that screen and made it something fantastic .
README
Unless you are a die - hard Amazon fanatic , the Google Assistant - powered Lenovo Smart Display is the superior product in almost every way .
To genuinely get the most out of the Smart Display ’s TV cyclosis capabilities , you kind of need to have a YouTube TV subscription .
Software updates will be contend by Google , so there should n’t be any delays in get new features or update versions of Android .
Photo: Sam Rutherford (Gizmodo)
The Smart Display does n’t have an prescribed water - resistance rating , but it was designed with the hazards of the kitchen in nous , and when I threw a cupful of water at it , it survived just fine .
Lenovo ’s Smart Display choke on sales event July 27th for $ 200 for the 8 - column inch manikin , or $ 250 for the 10 - inch version , with other Smart Display gimmick from companies such as JBL and LG slated to arrive later on this yr .
SPEC DUMP
Smart Display powered by Android Things • Qualcomm Home Hub Platform using a Snapdragon 624 • 2 GB of RAM • 4 GB of storage • 8 - column inch 1280 x 800 display/10 - inch 1920 x 1200 display • treble 1.75 - inch 10 - watt speakers + two inactive tweeters / two-fold 2 - inch 10 - James Watt speakers + two inactive tweeter • 5 - MP camera • 802.11ac WLAN • Bluetooth 4.2 • available in grey-haired / bamboo
Consumer TechGoogleGoogle HomeLenovoReviewsSmart DisplaySmart family
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Photo: Sam Rutherford (Gizmodo)
Even a direct splash didn’t pose a threat.Gif: Sam Rutherford (Gizmodo)
Now that the Smart Display is here, Amazon has some serious work to do. Also, if you don’t like one of Google’s curated galleries, you can display pics from Google Photos instead.Photo: Sam Rutherford (Gizmodo)
