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One of the latest trends in the smart home industry is smart displays. They are, in essence, what we would say the evolution of smart speakers, adding a visual element with a screen. There are now various types to choose from in various shapes, prices, and sizes.
For all the intents and purposes, a smart display is a tablet that runs on mains power and sits on a stand. Typically the display isn’t adjustable, and the base has speakers that provide audio. The other features include microphones to enable you to use voice control while there is some device that may have a camera also.
I am going to share with you some of the best smart displays with google assistant. Amazon paved the way in this field with the Echo Show, as it also did with the smart speaker. There are many others that have followed since, though, with the main alternative now being those that have Google Assistant. Other third-party models came through at first, but now Google has the Nest Hub range as its own brand.
Apart from the individual specs of each of these smart displays, I can’t just outright tell you which one you should go for as this comes down to if you have some other devices in your house in the same ecosystem and if the other devices you are planning to add to your smart home are compatible with it.
Third-Party Smart Displays
Google assistant has a more universal implementation of third party devices than Alexa. This is because it works about well on the JBL and Lenovo smart displays just as it does on the Google Home Hub. Though, as you may end up realizing, the LG, Lenovo, and JBL smart displays are all a bit expensive, but these models I’ve tested here sound much better than the Nest Hub. So if you are planning to listen to music with your Google Assistant smart display, you will probably want to get one of these third party models.
Best Smart Display With Google Assistant
- Google Nest Hub Max
- Google Nest Hub
- Lenovo Smart Clock
- JBL Link View
- Lenovo Smart Display
- Lenovo Smart Tab P10
Google Nest Hub Max
The Google Nest Hub Max is the best smart display that I’ve tested to date; this is because it has a larger and a more useful display and a camera that is far more useful than just making video calls. It has the ability to recognize different users and can also be used as a security camera and supports gestures for playback.
The smart display has excellent performance that is worth the upgrade if you would like to listen to music. I prefer it as an all-round device though the JBL Link view has better audio.
You can buy the Google Nest Hub Max here and also check their prices.
Google Nest Hub
It may not be flawless as you may expect but, but I feel Google Nest Hub, formerly Home Hub, with Home Assistant in it is an excellent option if you are looking for a smart display. The price is affordable, and their design is compact, stylish, and will ensure that it fits almost anywhere in your home.
It may not have a camera, and their audio quality may not be the best, but they reflect their price. What Google Nest Hub has is an excellent screen o which google assistant can show and tell.
You may find it a little too small for some of the rooms you have, but it will generally work well for all manner of tasks, including music streaming, watching videos, and also providing useful information.
You can get it over here if you would like to look at its reviews and price.
Lenovo Smart Clock
The Lenovo smart clock is a simple concept of a Home Mini with a screen, but its design is slick and with a simple interface. It has clever features that manipulate screen brightness to keep it dim at night times and brighten it slowly as the light alarm makes the device make it a compelling device.
What I would say is the downside of the Lenovo Smart Clock is that it does not have Bluetooth support, the home mini-feature is missing, but all in all, it has everything else as exactly what you want from it.
Most importantly also, their price is reasonable and not more than the regular Home Mini and making it easy to justify the price.
JBL Link View
The JBL Link View is the most expensive smart display, but it is the way to go if you want to get the best audio experience. Though it may not look like an overly powerful speaker, you will rarely pump the volume higher than the half.
If you would like to have some more colors, the JBL Link View may, at times, experience some lag, but its link view is compact despite the huge sound. You will also get a camera that comes with it handily.
Like the other displays that are using Google assistant, we would like their software to be even better with less reliance on the Home app.
Lenovo Smart Display
The Lenovo Smart Display is an expressive third-party Google smart display, which is a better option compared to Google Home Hub for most of the users that have used it. This is because of the choice of two large displays and with also the inclusion of a camera for making video calls, though it comes at a cost more than Google’s own offering. This does not hold it back still.
The large screen it has is seriously welcome when looking up travel, reading recipes, or if there are youtube videos you want to watch. It also has a very solid speaker that is fitted in the Lenovo Smart Display with plenty of basses and has enough volume that can fill a room. These are features that I did not expect to get in a device that is led by its screen.
You may only get some irritations on the Google software side, but we hope over time they are going to improve. There is a lack of support for vertical orientation, and stripped touchscreen controls may be frustrating as they may be failings of the voice.
Lenovo Smart Tab P10
The Lenovo Smart Tab P10 is ultimately a budget tablet with lightweight specs, old firmware, and a simple feature set. It is masked in part by a slick but a simple design that leaves it looking and also feeling premium.
The key selling point of this Lenovo Smart Tab P10 is the included speaker dock that automatically activates a dedicated mode from Amazon Lexa and turning the tablet into a makeshift Echo Show while docked. The Lenovo Smart Tab P10 without the dock is fairly unremarkable, so it is really worth buying If the idea of tablet doubles as an Echo Show speaks to you.
Unfortunately, Lenovo Smart Tab P10 did not get here first. Amazobb=n already did with its fire tablets and with the added bonus that you can buy extra Show Mode Docks for different rooms and also saving money by opting for an 8inch model.
It is still worth going for the P10 if you want to get full access to Android and youtube rather than the amazon stripped back FireOS.
Best Smart Display With Alexa
Amazon Echo Show 5
The cost of having the Amazon Echo Show 5 may be the same as that of having a Lenovo Smart Clock, but there are a couple of key features that you may want to have like a camera and Bluetooth.
It has a camera that is rather small for watching videos, but it is a good size for a bedside table.
They are found on the cheap here on Amazon.
Amazon Echo Spot
The Amazon Echo Spot is another great piece of hardware from Amazon, with its screen adding genuinely useful information for most things that you are going to ask Alexa. It may cost far less than the latest echo show, and this makes it the cheapest way to get an Echo with a screen.
If you don’t want to have a screen, you may choose to go with the Echo Dot third generation as they have the same functionality without the display only.
Amazon Echo Show (2nd-gen)
The Amazon Echo Show (2nd-gen) may be expensive, but the 2nd generation is a good upgrade on their original one. If you are looking to have Alexa with a screen, this is a good option for you now. It will let you call other people with Alexa devices, look up stuff online, and watch Amazon prime video. You have to remember to plug it in as it is not a tablet.
The audio it produces is decent, and it has a good size screen.
Amazon Echo Show
The Amazon Echo Show is the original Echo Show and is still available for less than their newer model. It is inferior and has a less good sound, bulkier design, and smaller screen.
If you would like to have the calling feature, and with a decent size of the display and also want yo save on money, then this is the option.
Smart Displays vs. Smart Speakers
The smart speakers have become popular for a good reason, apart from just playing music, you can also ask them questions, and they answer back. But they are limited to just telling you what you want rather than showing you.
The concept of the show, don’t tell, is a fundamental rule for writes and is also a guideline for technology. If you want a voice assistant to show you things instead of just telling them to you, then you need to take a step pst the smart speakers to smart displays.
Smart displays are smart speakers that have a touch screen attached to them and offer the same hands-free voice assistant features just like smart speakers like Google Home and Amazon Echo. They enable you to check the weather, listen to music, control your smart home devices by just talking.
But the screen they have adds more information and control on top of just having a voice assistant. When you want to play music with them, you can see album art or watch the songs music video. When you want to check the weather, you are able to see upcoming temperatures and conditions for the week at a glance.
Just as Amazon was the first to start the smart speaker concept by making the first Echo, it also makes sense that they also did the same with smart displays in the form of the Echo Show. Now there are many smart displays in the market.
