Lenovo to ship the first-ever Google Assistant smart display
What's the story
It seems that Google has found an answer to Amazon's Echo Show smart display, albeit not using its own hardware, but through Lenovo's Smart Display device. The Lenovo Smart display, which starts shipping this weekend, gives users an opportunity to interact with Google Assistant in a visual way for the first time ever. Here's more on it.
Information
Variants and pricing of the Lenovo Smart Display
The Lenovo Smart Display was first unveiled at CES 2018, and will be available in two variants - an 8-inch device with a 1200x800 pixel resolution, priced at $200, and a 10-inch device with a 1920x1200 pixel resolution, priced at $249.
Functionality
Imagine a Google Assistant that shows you things
In terms of functionality, Lenovo's Smart Display device is quite similar to Google-home'>Google Home, and even offers smart home functionalities. You can ask the device questions about weather, your schedule, directions etc., and Google Assistant will answer them the way it does, accompanied with visual feedback wherever required. For instance, a recipe instruction will have visual step-by-step information, rather than just voice-based information.
Input methods
Lenovo Smart Display looks like a tablet, but isn't one
While the Lenovo Smart Display allows touch inputs, Lenovo has clarified that the device is not meant to function as a tablet. There are no on-screen navigation buttons, and navigation requires voice instructions. For example, "Hey Google, go home" sends you back to the home screen. Further, the device doesn't come with any full-blown apps, and doesn't support on-screen keyboard input.
Design & hardware
The tablet with an identity crisis
In terms of design, the Smart Display looks like a tablet with an identity crisis - it's like a tablet with speakers, or conversely, a speaker with a display. However, departing from Lenovo's usual practice of providing good (but not great) hardware, reviewers seem to think that Lenovo has done a pretty good job in terms of the hardware powering the product.
Chromecast
Smart Display plays well with Chromecast-enabled devices
It's worth noting that the Lenovo Smart Display is closely integrated with Google Chromecast, thereby allowing users to seamlessly use the feature. For instance, a user can ask Google Assistant on Smart Display to play videos on a Chromecast-enabled TV. Conversely, Smart Display also has a Chromecast receiver, allowing you to project audio and video content on it from your phone.
Do you know?
Lenovo Smart Display integrates with several on-demand services
Notably, the Lenovo Smart Display also directly integrates with on-demand services like Spotify, HBO, Google Play Music, and YouTube, thereby giving it a direct edge over Amazon's Echo Show. Currently, YouTube isn't available on the Echo Show device.
Limitations
The Smart Display does come with its set of limitations
While the Lenovo Smart Display is a good first step towards a visually capable Google Assistant, it does lack in some departments. For instance, many reported that scrolling using voice commands is a chore, and finding specific YouTube videos is frustrating. Additionally, the device only supports Google Duo for video calls, and the web browser only seems to operate while looking up food recipes.