Amazon’s Echo Show now has serious competition from Google which intends to flood the market with similar devices termed Smart Displays. However, that won’t be another variant of Google Home with a display attached to the speakers, much like what we have come to see with the Echo Show.
While the form factor will largely be the same, the devices will actually be built by Google’s manufacturing partners like Lenovo, LG, Sony and all. The first such smart display from Lenovo is also there to be sampled at the CES and does hold an appeal of its own, it must be said.
Available in two size options of 8- and 10-inches, the two Lenovo smart displays share the same basic specification. That includes a Snapdragon 624 chip forming the core with a 2 GB RAM and 4 gigs of storage lending support. Also, while the larger 10-inch variant offers an FHD screen, its smaller cousin makes do with an HD display.
However, the real stuff powering the device would be Google Assistant with the new smart displays just acting as another hardware extension of Google’s AI backed digital assistant program. As such, the new crop of smart displays can be expected to do all those stuff that the Google Assistant is already capable of irrespective of the devices it is working in.
That includes the ability to show current news, weather details and such. It can also show appointment settings or other reminders though with the screen attached, the obvious advantage here is to see videos that the user asks for. That again can be a boon for cooks as they can be guided with a recipe with step-by-step instructions. Similar is the case with DIY guys who can get to see how to proceed with the task at hand even with both their hands engaged in the stuff.
Also, with Lenovo being the first to showcase its take on Google-backed smart displays, others too have promised to come up with their version by summer itself. Lenovo, however, is ahead of the curve, having announced the pricing as well with the smaller version priced $199 while the 10-inch model priced $249.
Firefox for Fire TV negates Google’s move to block YouTube access
Interestingly, the advent of the new Google Assistant based smart displays come at a time when the Mountain View company is engaged in a stiff battle with Amazon. While Google has so far used access to YouTube for Echo Show (or other Amazon devices like Fire TV) as its main ammo to fight off the Amazon challenge, it seems rivalry between the two tech giants will only intensify in the coming months.
