- Google is back at CES in a big way for 2018.
And its teamed up with Lenovo
to produce a product so interesting
that I'm crossing the line into home tech to cover it.
I'm Mr. Mobile,
and this is a first look at the Lenovo Smart Display
with Google Assistant.
(upbeat music)
My first thought when I saw the Smart Display was,
"Hey look, it's an Amazon Echo Show, except Google-ified."
In keeping with the rest of the home line,
the Smart Display is softer and more approachable.
It comes in two sizes, the eight inch model,
backed by a soft touch gray,
and the ten inch, available in a bamboo finish
that instantly won me over.
These are very early samples,
but you'll be able to use the final version
in landscape or portrait mode.
With the oversized kickstand keeping it stable either way.
The organic sweep of that stand isn't just for looks,
the internal volume is used a resonance chamber
for the 10 watt speaker.
Lenovo says the acoustic performance should be comparable
to the current Google Home,
and based on what I heard at the demo,
that sounds right.
As for the visual side, the displays are LCD
with the higher res panel going to the bigger device
and to my eyes each seems bright enough to overcome
any lighting condition your kitchen or living room
can throw at it.
So, what can you do with it?
Well, anything Google Assistant can do
on the existing Google Home,
plus all the extra stuff that a screen makes possible.
In its standby mode, it'll act as a digital frame,
shuffling pictures from Google Photos.
While this is a touch screen,
the idea is you still use your voice
for the majority of your interactions.
Ask it for the weather forecast,
or for traffic details for the ride to work,
and in addition to the voice report,
you'll get info on the screen as well.
In our demo session,
Google took the opportunity to showcase its house brands.
If you're using a Nest camera as a baby monitor,
you can call up that video feed.
You can ask it to play anything on YouTube,
and of course video calling is supported as well.
This call was completed to a Pixel 2 running Google Duo,
but the company says it doesn't intend
to confine it to that platform.
Skype or Facebook are the obvious possibilities
that jump to mind.
But because this is running Android Things,
it won't be something you can just install,
like on your Android phone.
You'll have to wait for Google to cut some deals.
Making those video calls possible
is a 720p camera built into the Smart Display's bezel
and it includes what might be my favorite feature,
flick a switch and a physical cover
moves into place over the camera lens.
Now I tend to believe the privacy concerns
raised by the Google Home Mini's release
were indeed caused by a malfunction,
but little measures like this privacy shutter
and the microphone mute button,
they might make all the difference
for those who might be wary
of inviting Google's eyes and ears into their home.
Still for a while now I've wondered about the practicality
of home assistants.
If I carry my phone everywhere anyway,
why do I need to buy another gadget
just to do all the things it can do?
But I kinda get the Smart Display,
it's easier to see from across the room
than your phone would be,
especially since phones
don't really come with kickstands anymore.
Its microphones are purpose built
for picking up your voice in a certain environment.
And if you're gonna have a hub for your Smart Home anyway,
it makes sense for it to have a screen.
Oh by the way it works as a cast target too,
so you can send media from your phone to the bigger screen.
The whole thing seems useful enough
that I asked Lenovo why it didn't build in a battery
so you could carry the Smart Display from room to room.
The company said it considered
but ultimately rejected the idea to keep costs down.
Those costs, $199 for the baby and $249 for the biggie.
That's a lot of dough compared to
the bargain basement price of the Google Home Mini,
but it's not much more than the
$129 tag on the full sized Google Home.
Also, those prices perfectly bracket the current
retail price of the Amazon Echo Show,
which I'm sure is just a coincidence.
The Lenovo Smart Display with Google Assistant
is expected in July.
Mr. Mobile's CES 2018 coverage
is brought to you by Thrifter,
a new way to save money on everything
from gadgets to home goods by shopping
based on value and not hype.
Check out the latest deals at thrifter.com
and tell them Mr. Mobile sent you.
Folks, I'm kicking off the new year
with new coverage like this.
Drop a thumbs up if you like me
dipping my toe into home tech,
and subscribe if you wanna see a full review.
Until next time, thanks for watching,
stay tuned for more from Vegas and stay mobile my friends.