Lenovo Smart Display (10-inch)
LENOVO PROVES BIGGER IS BETTER AND BEATS GOOGLE AT THE SMART DISPLAY GAME.
FOLLOWING ON THE heels of Google’s own Home Hub smart display (see TechLife 84, page 20), Lenovo’s joined this quicklydeveloping area with its own much bigger take on the “smart speaker with a screen”. And despite that display, this still is very much a device that’s intended to be voice driven. That’s done by waking Google Assistant with a voice command (“OK Google” or “Hey Google”) and then issuing instructions or asking simple questions – things like “set a timer for 30 minutes” or “what’s the weather tomorrow” – with the screen then providing more information alongside the usual Assistant voice responses. The display will also show certain info just based on time of day – like the weather and your calendar in the morning; the addition of a screen is useful across most AI assistant and smarthome scenarios, and can also be used to view photos or watch videos.
Screen size is the most immediately obvious advantage that Lenovo has over the Home Hub. Despite there being only 3-inches between the Hub’s 7-inch display and this one’s 10-incher, the larger screen makes it far more flexible and attractive, and much more enjoyable for viewing content. Lenovo’s 1,920 x 1,200-pixel screen is also just generally brighter, clearer and more vibrant than the Hub – something that’s very evident when you compare the two devices side-by-side. That all adds up to a smart display that’s easier to use at a distance and, therefore, quicker to absorb information from at a glance. Its asymmetrical physical design is reasonably discrete too, with the comparatively plain front face rightly putting the focus on the display itself.
The Lenovo’s also one-upped the Home Hub by including a built-in webcam – it’s a 5MP unit that includes a physical privacy shutter which, if you’re feeling paranoid, you can slide closed via a small switch. That cam’s only really good for one purpose, and that’s to use Google’s answer to FaceTime, video-chat app Google Duo. The camera works well provided you’ve got decent lighting, with its 86º lens capturing enough of the room to get four people comfortably in frame. The downside is that Duo isn’t very broadly used, and everyone you want to call will need to have signed up for it on their phone. (It’s thankfully available on iOS and comes pre-loaded on most Android phones.)
When it comes to audio playback, the Smart Display’s 2-inch, 10W full-range driver also has the Home Hub beat. It delivers audio that’s roughly on par with what you get from the full-sized Google Home – that is to say, it’s passable for music- or radio-streaming in a medium-sized room, but does start to distort if you crank it up above 70% volume. It’s no party speaker, but if you’re not an audiophile it’ll likely provide good-enough music playback for your needs.
Under the hood, Lenovo’s using a Qualcomm Snapdragon 624 octa-core processor – a chip made specifically for smart home devices like these – and the Android Things operating system. The latter’s actually fully maintained and updated remotely by Google, and the search giant’s promised that Android Things devices will get three years of updates, which should help to drastically limit the security risks usually associated with smart home gear.
If the smart display idea appeals, but you’ve been dubious about how much more a screen really adds to the smart speaker equation, we can unabashedly say that Lenovo’s 10-inch screen does make for a more appealing and flexible device across the board. While it’s more expensive than the $230 Home Hub, the extra cost is worth it for that improved ‘visual’ usability, not to mention the bigger and better audio output too.