All articles tagged with #smart displays
Amazon's new Echo Show smart displays are a significant upgrade with modern hardware, faster performance, and better screens, but their continued display of full-screen ads dampens enthusiasm. The Echo Show 8 and 11 differ mainly in size and display quality, with both supporting advanced smart home protocols and featuring improved audio and cameras.
Google's Home chief confirms ongoing investment in smart displays, hinting at a new Nest Hub with an 'incredible form factor' for Gemini for Home, though no specific details or release date have been announced yet.
Anker has introduced new Prime chargers equipped with smart displays that show real-time charging statistics, enhancing user experience with detailed device charging information.
The Amazon Echo Show offers a variety of features beyond the basics like weather updates and music playback, including customizable widgets for smart home control, live feed and home monitoring capabilities using the device's camera, and a digital photo frame mode. However, users may find sponsored content slides and clutter in the slideshow annoying, but these can be mitigated by using the photo frame mode and adjusting home content settings.
Google is rolling out Fuchsia version 16 to Nest Hub smart displays, addressing connectivity issues and introducing improvements to Matter and Thread support. The update, the first since November 2023, includes bug fixes for Bluetooth and volume control issues, as well as adding support for new air quality sensors and Matter accessories. Nest Hub devices will receive the update automatically, with no user action required.
Amazon introduces "Matter Casting," a new standard for casting content from apps on your phone to Amazon Fire TV and smart displays, similar to Google's Chromecast and Apple's AirPlay. Matter Casting works across Android and iOS, but only to devices running Amazon's platforms, and is currently only compatible with Amazon Prime Video. Amazon is also showcasing new AI advancements and partnerships at CES 2024, including generative AI with Siemens, LLM in BMW vehicles, and the expansion of Fire TV to Panasonic TV sets.
Amazon's Echo Show smart displays come with a lot of bloatware promoting Amazon's services, but there are ways to set it up to show only what you want. By toggling off various options in the settings, you can remove the spam and have the Show display only pretty pictures. Additionally, you can customize the photo display settings in the Alexa app for a more personalized experience.
Amazon has started offering early Prime Day deals on Echo Show devices, with prices slashed by up to 71%. The second-gen Echo Show 8 is currently marked down by 54% to $60, while the third-gen Echo Show 10 is available for $160 instead of $250. The third-gen Echo Show 5 is priced at $40, but a bundle deal including the Echo Show 5 and a Philips Hue smart color bulb is available for just $2 more, offering a total savings of $103. Other smart home devices like Echo smart speakers and Blink doorbells and cameras are also on sale.
Amazon is offering all-time low prices on its Echo Show smart displays, with the 2023 Echo Show 5 priced at just $39.99, a 56% discount. The compact device features a 5.5-inch display, enhanced speakers, a 2MP camera, and privacy features. The recently released Echo Show 10, with a 10.1-inch HD screen and a 13MP camera, is also available at a best-ever price of $159.99, a $90 price drop. The deals are part of the upcoming Prime Big Deals Day sale.
Amazon has the opportunity to position its Fire TV as the central hub for the smart home at its upcoming fall devices event. By integrating its Alexa and Fire TV divisions and focusing on the TV as a smart home controller, Amazon could simplify the smart home experience and drive adoption. The Fire TV Cube, with its hands-free voice control and connectivity options, is already a step in the right direction. However, software improvements are needed to turn the TV into a usable smart home interface. With the potential of generative AI and a new hardware focus, Amazon could create a compelling package that combines streaming, smart home control, and AI capabilities through the TV, appealing to a wider range of consumers.
Google is rolling out the Fuchsia version 12 update to its Nest Hub series, with patch notes revealing improvements such as improved boot reliability, reduced display brightness during power-up, and various fixes to improve accessibility ratings. The update also includes performance tweaks, such as enabling Flatland for improved performance and reduced maintenance costs, and better playback on shipped devices. Additionally, Google has fixed issues and crashes related to the Matter smart home standard on Nest Hub devices, including inaccurate colors being sent to Matter-enabled lighting. Users can enroll their Nest Hub in the Preview Program to receive early access to updates.
Amazon is offering discounts on its third-generation Echo Show 10 and first-ever Echo Show 15 smart displays, with reductions of 26% and 23% respectively. The Echo Show 10 boasts superior sound quality and a 13MP auto-framing camera, while the Echo Show 15 has a larger and sharper screen, making it a relatively affordable smart TV for the kitchen. Both devices are more affordable than Apple's second-gen HomePod without a screen.
Google has quietly announced that it will no longer provide software updates for third-party smart displays, including Lenovo Smart Display, JBL Link View, and LG Xboom AI ThinQ WK9 Smart Display. This means that the product line is dead, and Google's first-party smart displays, the Google Nest Hub and Nest Hub Max, will be the only options on the market. Google's plan with third-party smart displays always seemed a little odd, and the company came up with product guidance for its partners that it did not follow on its own products and then used that discrepancy to undercut those partners in the market.
Google has stopped providing software updates for some third-party smart displays, including the Lenovo Smart Display, JBL Link View, and the LG Xboom AI ThinQ WK9 Smart Display. This reflects a broader shift away from Assistant products, as Google focuses more on generative AI technology like Bard. Discontinuing updates on third-party products not only seems like a way for the company to cut off a line of products that have been largely replaced by the Nest Hub, but it’s also a sign of Google distancing itself from yesteryear’s Assistant.
Google has stopped providing software updates for some third-party Google Assistant smart displays, including the Lenovo Smart Display, JBL Link View, and LG Xboom AI ThinQ WK9. These smart displays were released between 2018 and 2019 and saw a lot of interest at their launch with the Android Things platform, but over time, interest has waned. Google still maintains its Nest Hub displays, but those smart displays run on Fuchsia and not Android Things. The fate of other Assistant-powered smart displays is unknown for now.