Lenovo to ship the first-ever Google Assistant smart display

In terms of functionality, Lenovo's Smart Display device is quite similar to 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.