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- Smart displays add a screen to the typical smart speaker experience, so you can ask the digital assistant questions and see answers on the screen.
- You can also view videos and photos on smart displays, as well as control compatible smart home devices.
- The Amazon Echo Show is the best smart display for Alexa fans because it works with most major smart home devices, has a good-sized screen, and supports Amazon Prime Video and Hulu playback.
- For Google Assistant fans, the Lenovo Smart Display is the best choice with its large display, wide smart home compatibility, Google Calendar and Google Maps support, as well as the ability to play YouTube videos.
Smart home hubs are going through a transition. Gone are the days when owning a smart home hub meant having a small plastic square that lived next to your internet router. These days, hubs often come in one of two form factors: a smart speaker or a smart display. Plenty of smart displays have been released over the past few years, and they're getting better and better, so there are now quite a few great options.
Smart displays can come in handy for a ton of different reasons. For starters, they can be used to control your smart home and offer visual, on-screen controls. On top of that, they can show you things like the weather and upcoming appointments that you might have on your calendar. You can also use a smart display to video chat with your friends and family, as well as play video from select services.
There are a number of things to consider when buying a smart display. Perhaps the most important thing to keep in mind is your smart home ecosystem. If you're set up with an Android phone and devices connected to the Google Home app, then you're going to want a smart display that uses Google and controls Google devices. If, instead, your home is set up with Alexa and Alexa-compatible devices, then you'll want a display that has Alexa built into it.
Currently, no smart displays are compatible with all the popular streaming services. Google smart displays can stream YouTube videos and stream some other video content from your phone with the Cast function, while Amazon smart displays can stream Prime Video and Hulu shows and movies. However, both ecosystems are working to increase the number of streaming partners available on their smart displays.
There are other things to keep in mind, too. For example, you'll want to think about how big of a display you want, whether you want a device with a camera for video chatting, and how much you want to spend.
Before you buy a smart display, you may want to read our smart speaker buying guide to learn about what they can do, the devices they support, and a note on privacy concerns - all of these things apply to smart displays, too.
Here are the best smart displays you can buy:
- Best Alexa smart display overall: Amazon Echo Show
- Best Google Assistant smart display overall: Lenovo Smart Display
- Best sounding Google Assistant smart display: JBL Link View
- Best $130 Alexa smart display: Amazon Echo Spot
- Best $150 Google Assistant smart display: Google Home Hub
Read on in the slides below to check out our top picks.
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