Lenovo Smart Display

Lenovo Smart Display

Beating Google and Amazon at their own game

With Google Home Hub and the Amazon Echo Show already available in Australia, this Lenovo has competition when it comes to smart displays. Yet, this model arguably beats both Google and Amazon at their own game thanks to its sharp display and bangin’ audio. It’s also the only smart display on the market to come in two different sizes – there’s an 8-inch (1280 x 800 pixel) version and a crisper 10-inch (1,920 x 1,200 pixel) version, both of which are larger and clearer than the Home Hub or Echo Show displays. This all helps bring pictures in your Google Photos library to life and make videos look brighter and more vibrant. That larger screen also comes in handy in the kitchen when you’re trying to read recipes.

It’s not just video that the Lenovo Smart Display excels at either — the sound quality is excellent as well, thanks to a dedicated driver house in that rather strangely-shaped rear panel. Both variants of the Smart Display have 10-watt speakers, although the larger 10-inch model boasts a 2-inch driver, while the smaller model’s driver is 1.75 inches. There are also two passive tweeters built into each size. All in all, you’ll get full-bodied sound with acceptable bass for the size.

With Google Assistant available at your beck and call, you not only get to see the weather, the news and watch videos, you also can control your home automation setup with a simple voice command or via on-screen controls. Setup is simple and navigation via the interface is largely self-explanatory. It’s a smart speaker that could soon make the likes of Google Home and Amazon Echo run-of-the-mill options.

Score: 4.5/5

Verdict: It looks good, sounds great and performs as well as Google’s ecosystem will let it. Grab it if you prefer a visual version of an ordinary smart speaker.