Theslap fightbetween Google and Amazon , in which the two corporations fought over whether the Amazon Show could expose YouTube videos , just bug out to make a whole great deal more mother wit . Google is pushing a whole chain of Show - like devices out through Lenovo , Sony , LG , and JBL . They ’ll all have YouTube baked right in .
I ’ve only been able to interact with the Lenovo version of this new line of intersection , but I have to hold , the YouTube feature is a nice one ! YouTube is already the primary supplier of on - need music , and it ’s loaded with the cooking videos these display digital assistant always seem to show off . While SafeSearch was enabled on the unit I checked out , and will be on by nonremittal in all unit sold , I ’m certain you could still find a mode to get at some of the more titillating videos available .
Yelling at a blind to display videos is more convenient than calling up the videos on your phone ( which you ’d first have to take out of your pocket ! ) or searching for them on your computer ( which you ’d have to type on ! Like a plebe ! ) .
The 10-inch Lenovo Smart Display. Image: Alex Cranz/Gizmodo
But YouTube , presumably , is n’t the only reason these smart display be . They ’re utile for checking on the weather or grabbing reminders from you calendar at a glimpse , and there are few things as cool as setting up a morning modus operandi on a smart gadget . you could tell Google “ Good Morning ” and suddenly the lights are on , the weather is being declare , and then there ’s cartridge holder of the latest news show from CNN . That ’s the sort of time to come Arnold promised us in Total Recall .
Lenovo ’s smart display do in two versions , a $ 250 10 - inch rendering and a $ 200 8 - in version . That ’s right in line with Amazon ’s 7 - inch Echo Show , which retails for $ 230 presently . But the Lenovo Smart Display has a unquestionably funkier face . It ’s supremely asymmetrical , with the speaker placed to the left of the display ( or at the bottom if you choose to put it in portraiture mode ) . The back , which is run along in real bamboo , swoops out to one side , forming a weird optical illusion that makes it seem as though someone very unassailable has physically warped the gimmick .
There ’s a webcam directly above the showing that you could use to make picture calls to other smart showing or to any smartphone via Google Duo . And there ’s a strong-arm dumb switch if you want the Smart Display to stop listening to the chatter of everyone in your home plate .
Image: Alex Cranz/Gizmodo
Unfortunately , you wo n’t be able to customize the twist ’s super simple home covert . A Google rep tell Gizmodo that was because they prefer simpleness in this maiden contemporaries .
The smart displays all operate on Google ’s IoT var. of Android , Android Things . Because the Qualcomm SDA624 CPU that powers the Lenovo Smart Display is design specifically for IoT , there ’s no elbow room for a cellular radio . Instead the chip is focalise on phonation and camera processing . The “ carrying into action command is higher than in smartphone , ” Seshu Madavapeddy , Vice President of Product Management , Internet of Things , at Qualcomm , told Gizmodo .
He specifically place to the challenges of capture quality video in domicile , where light are often a lot dimmer than than a smartphone camera can handle adequately and consistently .
Image: Alex Cranz/Gizmodo
Besides the chic displays coming from Lenovo , Sony , LG , and JBL , Google is also expanding the number of televisions and speakers that feature Google Assistant .
LG ’s new pedigree of premium OLED will have Google Assistant at bottom , with queries sent through the outback automatically popping up on the TV . Google said other TV brands are also baking Google helper in . Those make let in TCL and Haier , two Chinese brands noted for their great budget TV band .
As for speakers , Google point to product from Bang & Olufsen , Braven , JBL , and LG , among others . Even iHome , which is known for its iPod - focused alarm clocks , has a Google Assistant consternation clock now . The iGV1 attend like a Google Home in one of those funhouse mirror , but it has a presentation that can show the fourth dimension , alarms , and weather , and there ’s a USB port for charging devices .
A nice physical mute. Image: Alex Cranz/Gizmodo
Google has been predict to plunge further into the smart home space ever since it herald Android Things back at Google I / O in 2015 . Until now , the incursions have palpate sporadic . A Google Home here , a Google Assistant in a Sony TV there . Apart from the Google Home loudspeaker blitz at the Pixel 2 consequence last twelvemonth , the news has been a drip . But now Google ’s turned on the spigot .
Its a shame for Amazon , the unquestioned smart display / utterer business leader , that it ’s been captivate in the aftermath . With Google pushing its smart displays this fiercely , I would n’t hold your breathing spell for YouTube returning to Amazon gadget any prison term soon .
We ’re live in Las Vegas at CES 2018 ! Clickhereto translate our gross coverage .
Yes there’s a smart display version of Google Trivia…if that is your thing. Image: Alex Cranz/Gizmodo
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Google Assistant on the new LG OLED. Image: Alex Cranz/Gizmodo
