These smart displays are the best
Google Nest Hub
Cnet rating: 4.5 stars out of 5
The good: The touchscreen is responsive and works well in combination with Google Assistant, whether you ask for help on a recipe or to check what’s on your calendar. Pictures and videos look particularly crisp. A control panel makes it easy to work with your smart home devices. The bad: The sound quality is fine for background music, but nowhere near the level of other smart displays like the Amazon Echo Show or the JBL Link View. The cost: $80 to $129 The bottom line: The cameraless, petite Google Nest Hub will blend into any room in your home. It’s affordable, and quite useful as a digital assistant, a photo frame and a smarthome control panel.
Lenovo Smart Display 10
Cnet rating: 4.5 stars out of 5 The good: The Lenovo is a great kitchen assistant with an elegant design and a highresolution touchscreen. It multitasks well, responds quickly to touch and voice commands and offers a rich, personalized home screen.
The bad: It would be nice if the screen would do more when you play games or listen to music. You’re limited to Google Duo for making voice calls. Scrolling through content with your voice can be tedious. The cost: $198 to $250 The bottom line: If you’d like visual recipe help in the kitchen, the Lenovo performs that task exceedingly well and everything else well enough that it deserves your consideration.
JBL Link View
Cnet rating: 4 stars out of 5
The good: The JBL sounds great playing music, particularly with bassheavy tracks. Thanks to Google Assistant, the Link View works best as a kitchen assistant, with a great guided recipe system, an attractive touchscreen and a knack for multitasking. The bad: You can’t adjust the EQ settings of the music. It can be a pain to scroll through content with your voice. You can only make video calls with Google Duo. The cost: $246 The bottom line: The JBL is worth the price if you want a capable kitchen helper that can blast your music while you work.
Amazon Echo Show 5
Cnet rating: 4 stars out of 5 The good: The Show 5 packs a lot of features into a compact smart display that can easily fit on your nightstand. The sunrise alarms make getting out of bed easy.
The bad: The screen is a little too bright for a darkened room. You can’t customize your snooze times, see your commands or set a sunrise alarm outside of certain hours. The cost: $90 The bottom line: The Show isn’t quite as good as the Google Nest Hub, but it’s a solid smart display that’s particularly compelling as a smart alarm clock.