Smart speakers have transformed the basic home into a smart home. The next addition to a smart home are smart screens. Lenovo introduced Smart Display at CES 2018. Smart Display has a Snapdragon 624 SoC, up to 2GB RAM, running Android Things with Google Assistant in a sleek form factor.
Lenovo Smart Display will be available in two versions, 8” and 10”. The 10” version will have a 1920×1200 IPS screen with an 86 degree viewing angle. Each version has 2×2 dual mic arrays, two 10W full range speakers with dual passive radiators, up to 4GB storage, and front 5MP wide angle 720p camera. Lenovo also integrated a couple hardware switches for privacy, one to mute all microphones, and the other is a shutter that will cover the camera.
On the connectivity side, there is Bluetooth BLE & 4.2, along with 2×2 802.11ac MIMO. Good news is if you have an older router or need longer range, Smart Display will support 2.4GHz.
Lenovo gave us a demo of Smart Display and showed how it can easily make our mornings easier. Saying “OK Google, good morning”, would run a series of commands. First it turned on the lights in Lenovo’s demo room, then it started to tell us the weather, followed by news headlines and told us how long it’d take to get to work. Users can configure what they want to hear upon saying “good morning”.
Smart Display is going to have features that make it more smart than other devices. One is if you ask Smart Display how to prepare rosemary because you need it for a recipe, Smart Display will load a YouTube video showing you how instead of providing a list of instructions. Lenovo plans to make experiences more streamlined before and after launch.
Lenovo Smart Display will launch July 2018 with 8” Smart Display in white at $199.99, and 10” Smart Display in bamboo for $249.99.
