The long awaited launch of the Google Assistant powered Lenovo Smart Displays has finally begun, with Google announcing they’re now widely available at stores and online in the US. There’s good news though, with Lenovo Australia confirming that both displays will be coming to Australia.
The Lenovo Smart Displays are the first to arrive, with other models from LG and JBL – which we checked out at Google I/O – also set to be launched in the future.
There are two models which have launched, one with an 8″ 1280×800 resolution display, and a second with a 10.1″ 1920×1200 resolution display. The Smart Displays are powered by a 1.8GHz Snapdragon processor, 2GB of RAM and come with 4GB of on-board storage. A 5MP front-facing camera (with a manual cover switch for privacy), dual microphones and a 10W speaker are included allowing for video playback or video conferencing with Google Duo.
The Smart Displays, which feature Google Assistant are powered by the Android Things platform which was launched from Beta just prior to Google I/O this year. Google has been updating Google Assistant with more visual aspects such as watching YouTube videos, seeing Cooking demos, see the weather forecast, see your Google Photos feed and lots more.
Lenovo has priced the 8″ model at USD$149.99 (around AUD$204) while the 10.1″ display is selling for USD$229.99 (around AUD$312).
Google has said the Smart Displays are currently only available in the US through Walmart, BestBuy.com, Amazon.com, Costco.com, SamsClub.com, Lenovo.com and other stores. The good news is that Lenovo Australia has confirmed to Ausdroid that they will be available in Australia, however they can’t supply details on availability or pricing just yet.
Are you interested in a Smart Display?
Might wait now depending on how long Lenovo Australia plans to wait. Glad they are finally shipping though.
Still don’t see the point of these. It’s a tablet, so why not make it obviously a tablet (with a stand, running Android, etc.) and more use for watching movies, playing games on, using apps on?
And the price makes no sense. The Fire HD 10 from Amazon is regularly on offer at $99 for a better spec than the $230 Lenovo attempt. Much more the price this would have to be; and it’s just got Echo Show functionality.
They’re not just Android, it’s running Android Things a lighter weight platform
U probably already all over this but back up for preorder at the B&H page
It’s not just about the specs–it’s built for this use case, so the Smart Display has full-range speakers, far-field mics that pick up your voice from 8 meters away, and is designed to be voice-first. Adding those features to a tablet would make it more expensive.
This device is not trying to be a tablet. It is first and foremost a Google Assistant speaker with a screen. Google Home speakers are mostly placed in open kitchens, so smart displays will enable the use of computer functionality for those with sticky hands. They should also be good for elderly people who don’t otherwise use a computer.
The point I keep making is it’s less than a tablet for more money.
The rumour is that Amazon will dump the “Show” for a Show mode on the their tablets – bowing to the inevitability of exactly this kind of device being an overpriced dud that people don’t buy. I’m just not seeing anything about this that is different or better than that objective lesson.
Any of those vendors ship direct to Oz? (Save me and everyone else checking them all) or is it freight forwarders only at this stage
Not that I can see.
BestBuy – won’t ship orders to known shipping forwarders.
Walmart – I’ve had limited luck with Walmart.
Costco – has no shipping option, it’s in-store only.
Amazon – is not shipping to Australia from their US site any more unfortunately. SamsClub – Won’t ship to international addresses.
Lenovo.com – possibly, never tried though.
BHPhotoVideo – no longer has them on their site.