People often ask me , “ What ’s the point of a smart speaker ? ” Because as skillful as it is to check the weather or set timers using your vocalization , those tasks can be perform just as easily on a smartphone .

However , if you have matter like sassy lights , habitation security photographic camera , or a multi - way sound system , smart loudspeaker begin to become an essential hub for controlling those gadget . And when Lenovo teamed up with Google tomake its first impertinent displayby slap a silver screen onto what would otherwise be a traditional impertinent talker , the two companies took the concept of a smart home hub and turned it into a smart home command center .

That ’s why it ’s exciting to heara report from Nikkeiclaiming that Google is plan to free its own homegrown smart display later this twelvemonth . Not only would this lucubrate the Google Home family , which currently consists of thestandard Home , theaffordable Home Mini , and the morepremium Home Max , it would also provide a dead on target first - company rival toAmazon ’s Echo Show .

According to the Nikkei, Google will announce its own first-party smart speaker with a screen later this year to compete with Amazon’s Echo Show and the Lenovo Smart Display, which is already powered by a Google OS.

According to the Nikkei, Google will announce its own first-party smart speaker with a screen later this year to compete with Amazon’s Echo Show and the Lenovo Smart Display, which is already powered by a Google OS.Photo: Sam Rutherford (Gizmodo)

Nikkei enounce Google is planning to embark as many as three million of its forthcoming smart video display , which Nikkei ’s germ called “ an belligerent plan . ”

However , after go over theLenovo Smart Display , I have one bragging question : How will Google specialize its first - company Google Home with a screen from Lenovo ’s Smart Display , or other upcoming saucy displays from JBL and LG which are supposed to arrive sometime this fall .

Because Lenovo ’s devce already race a stock reading of Google ’s Android Things - powered Smart Display UI , you ’d expect anything that Google makes to have the same features and interface . Sure , Google ’s equipment will almost certainly lark about a cute and well-disposed design , perhaps with the mesh fabric and pastel colors seen on theGoogle Home Mini . But is that really enough ?

Argentina’s President Javier Milei (left) and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., holding a chainsaw in a photo posted to Kennedy’s X account on May 27. 2025.

Well if you ’ll allow me to speculate a little , some thing I ’d care to see include well support for both landscape and portrait orientation . On Lenovo ’s display , the only thing that really supports portrait mode is making call option using Google Duo , while everything else is restricted to landscape painting . I also would n’t mind seeing a excogitation that sport a good integrated loudspeaker setup , since the speaker on the left side of Lenovo ’s video display does make its footprint a bit bigger than it really postulate to be .

Another way for Google ’s contraption to stand up out would be to take up some expertise from Nest , and let Google ’s equipment serve well as a thermostat ( without need to have a dedicated wall unit ) , or lend in a more robust camera so the equipment could reduplicate as a home surety camera .

No matter what Google eventually releases , with almostthirty percent of U.S. households already owning some sort of smart speaker system , it ’s percipient the proliferation of supporter - power sassy devices is gaining swiftness tight . In the meanwhile , I just want all these wise speaker things to be as utile as potential , and the increase of screen is a big step in getting there .

William Duplessie

[ Nikkei ]

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