The Lenovo Smart Display with Google Assistant

When Google Smart Home Hub was heavily promoted at Christmas time with it’s 5″ screen advantage over Google Home, I was tempted. 

I have two Google Home‘s in my house already – one upstairs and down.  I use my Kitchen Google Home along with Google Chromecast Ultra to play videos and Netflix on my family room TV.

I’ve loved the integration of using these products together, but having a screen in my kitchen would certainly be more convenient.

The ability to see “how to” videos, view the weather forecast, watch step-by-step directions for recipes, see my schedule for the day, and watch a family slideshow right from a Google Assistant device would be great!

I’m glad I didn’t jump on the Google Smart Home Hub, as later I became more familiar with the Lenovo Smart Display with Google Assistant, and I knew it is a better fit for me.

Using the Lenovo Smart Display with Google Assistant

So, what do you do with a Lenovo Smart Display and Google Assistant?  You can do all the things you can do with Google Home but now you can see as well as hear. 

Seeing the 5-day forecast versus hearing it, helps you retain it better.  You also get a quick visual to see if there are showers or clouds.

Watching a how-to video is so much easier in learning how to do something over a podcast.

Watching snippets of the news versus hearing about it allows you to read visual cues from newscasters.

The ability to see your Google photos displayed on the Lenovo Smart Display when not in use is a lot of fun.

The screen amps up the information and fun you can have using Google Assistant. 

I’ve broken it down into three main areas the Lenovo Smart Display with Google Assistant that makes life easier…namely Entertainment, Home Life, and Going Out.

Entertainment

Forget the TV or PC, stream from the Lenovo Smart Display!

• Watch YouTube videos and news.  You can even watch live sports, news, and TV shows through YouTube TV1 and movies and shows through HBO Now2

• Listen to music from YouTube, Spotify, and more

• Listen to your favorite podcasts simply by asking

• Stream your favorite radio stations 

• Watch the latest news

Home Life

The more you use the Lenovo Smart Display, the more ways you find to use it!

• When not in use, it becomes a picture frame, showing your Google Photos.  It’s fun to see pictures from the past. 

And unlike any other photo frame we’ve reviewed, the Lenovo Smart Display will take two vertical photos and display them together.  With other frames,  a vertical photo gets either blown up too big or they make the picture so small where you can recognize what the picture is of.

• I can ask Google Assistant to play a video like, “How to get gum out of carpet” and it will show a video from YouTube on how to do it. 

You can ask how to make flavored whipped creme, how to clean baked-on pans, or rock out and watch your favorite artist on YouTube.

• Ask to call your family member, child, or friend.  The Smart Display will dial them for you.

• Find photo memories from Google Photos by asking, “show my photos from last Christmas” or “show pictures of Ellison.”

• Say “Good morning” to get the latest on weather, news, your daily schedule, and more.  By adding devices to the Google Home app, you can even have lights turned on and the thermostat lowered.

• Find out spur of the moment info.  I can ask any question and most likely get an answer.  I can ask, “when does Lent start?” “How many cups in 1 liter?”  “Who was Leonardo Da Vinci?”  What were Leonardo Da Vinci’s most famous works? What is the 5-day forecast? 

• Create your grocery list by saying asking to “add to spaghetti noodles and spinach to my Shopping List.”

• Make video calls to family and friends using Google Duo (if they have the app on their phones).

• Add an appointment to your calendar.

• Ask for a reminder so you remember to…”pick up your child after a special practice,” “send an email to a friend after a doctor’s appointment,” or “take some time to read your book.”

• Set a timer when baking something in the oven or to remind you to tuck your child in bed after you are done working on something.

• Search for recipes online, flip through them using the touchscreen.

• Purchase products through Google Express to be sent to your home.

• Using devices you attach via the Google Home app, you can remotely monitor the family room, dim the lights, or unlock the door. 

Ensure your devices feature the “works with Google Assistant” badge to ensure it works with Google Assistant gadgets.

Going Out

Don’t forget to use your Lenovo Smart Display before going out!

• Ask Google to find a Chinese restaurants near you

• Ask what are the hours of the local museum or shopping center?

• Ask the phone number and hours of your local Firestone or Goodyear locations

• Ask for directions to a restaurant, friend’s house, store, or anywhere.  You’ll see the map and time it takes to get there on your Smart Display and Google automatically sends the directions to your phone

• Ask for the weather before you head out.  You can even ask if you need an umbrella today

• When you are at the grocery store, you can ask Google Assistant on your phone to show you the shopping list you compiled on your Smart Display at home.  This is SO helpful

Since the Lenovo Smart Display is powered by Google Assistant, it can connect to Google services you already use, namely, YouTube, Google Play Music, Google Calendar, Google Maps, Google Duo, Google Photos, Google Express, Google Chromecast, Google Translate, and Google Search.

Lenovo Smart Bulb and Smart Plug

After CES, I was given a Lenovo Smart Bulb and Smart Plug to try out.  I was anxious to try it out with the Lenovo Smart Display to see how it works. 

I set them up using the Lenovo Link app and followed the instructions.

After I set up the Google Home app to recognize the Lenovo Smart Bulb and Smart Plug, they were ready to be controlled remotely.

On the Lenovo Smart Display, you can drag down the smart home menu from the top.  From here I could see my two smart devices and control them. 

I could turn on and turn them off by touch or ask my Lenovo Smart Display to turn them off verbally (so handy!)

I love that the Smart Bulb can change the hue to bright white light all the way to a very warm, rich yellow color.  Perfect for reading or creating a mood.

Features:

• Beautiful modern design
• Plays photos from Google Photos as a screensaver when not being used
• Works in landscape mode for every day and portrait mode for Duo video calls
• Ask Google Assistant anything, she’ll be able to answer questions for you
• Multiple people (up to 6) can use it receiving customized answers based on their calendar, subscriptions, preferences, and settings
• With dual-array microphones, you can ask questions up to 26 feet away 
• Uses TrueBock Privacy to block the video camera and mute the microphone button when you want them off
• Utilizes a 2 inch 10-watt full-range speaker with a dual passive radiator to expand the low end of the bass range
• HD quality display on the 8″ screen (1280 x 800) and FHD quality on the 10″ screen (1920 x 1200)
• Allows for video calls (using Google Duo)
• Utilizes Bluetooth 4.0 BLE for lower power consumption, utilizing a sleep mode until interacted with

Pros:

• There’s a camera privacy shutter on the right side and a mute switch on the top side of the Lenovo Smart Display
• The Lenovo Smart Display should be able to hear you from across the room, which can be up to 26 feet
• The easy set-up connection with Google Photos and displaying your digital pics like a digital picture frame makes it very endearing
• The FHD screen on the 10″ Smart Display makes pictures and videos so crisp and clear
• Has a nice bright screen during the day, but dims way down at night (helpful if used in a bedroom)
• Can link up with other Google Home products to synchronize music
• Touchscreen makes flipping  through pictures easy or accessing information
• There is so much you can do with Google Assistant and every day it gains new capabilities
• Setting reminders and calendar events are so helpful
• Ask Google to play music or a song and it will
• Makes it easy to find something in particular on YouTube – like “play Lili Joy The Voice on YouTube” and the video is played of her audition.

Lili Joy – this season of The Voice.

Cons:

• There is no rechargeable battery so you need to have it plugged in at all times.  You can’t easily move it to another room without waiting for it to start up again
• The 10″ touchscreen is a little pricey but considering it’s a photo frame and a Digital Assistant, the price is more palatable

The Lenovo Smart Display with Google Assistant is available directly from the Lenovo website.  The 8″ screen sells for $149 and the 10″ screen sells for $199.

The Lenovo Smart Bulb and Smart Plug are currently on sale on the Lenovo website for $16.99 each, plus shipping.  This is a $13 savings for each product.

A Mom’s Perspective

As much as I have loved the Google Home speakers I have, the Lenovo Smart Display gives Google Assistant wings!  OK, not literally, but I love seeing the visual display affirmation when I say, “hey Google” on the screen.

If I ask for a song, it serves up and I see the album cover from my Spotify.  I ask “play I Believe by Lauren Daigle,” and Spotify plays the correct title, “You Say.”  Google Assistant knew what I meant.

I love asking for directions to someplace and the Lenovo Digital Assistant shows me and then sends the directions automatically to my phone.

In the morning, I say “good morning” and I get the weather forecast, a rundown of my schedule, my reminders, and the latest news.

At night, the display dims and a large digital clock shows instead of the pictures.

If I want, I can say “good night” and I get a weather forecast and am asked if I want to set an alarm for the next day.

When I ask to “add almond milk to my shopping list,” I get a verbal confirmation and I am shown my list.  I can then flick away the items I already have my finger.

I love watching “how to” videos and following along step-by-step videos.

Oh, and just for kicks, I told Google Assistant to “play Lucile and the chocolate factory,” just to see if it would pull up the clip on YouTube.  It did!!!  A fun clip to show the kids, and so easy to find it.

The ease of using Google Duo is nice too.

But the added feature of seeing my photos as a photo screen is a HUGE added bonus.  I can even flick through them with my finger to see previous or upcoming pictures.  Well done, Lenovo!

*I was given a Lenovo Smart Display with Google Assistant, Lenovo Smart Bulb, and Lenovo Smart Plug in exchange for my honest review.  All opinions are my own.