Google I/O 2018: Smart displays to start selling from July
What's the story
Google's first smart displays, which are essentially screen-enriched smart speakers, will hit the stores in July, the company has announced at its ongoing annual developer conference Google I/O 2018 in California. Google had first debuted this at CES 2018 earlier in January, where it highlighted a quartet of smart displays on devices from Lenovo, JBL, LG, and Sony.
Details
Smart displays are devices with screens, powered by Google AI
Google's smart displays will directly rival Amazon's Echo Show screen-enabled smart speaker which was launched last summer. But unlike the Echo Show, the Google offering isn't a hardware product per se. Google has basically partnered with OEMs like Lenovo, LG, Sony, and JBL to embed its Google Assistant on their devices with screens. None of the displays may feature the Google brand.
Features
Smart displays will come with live-streaming service YouTube TV
Smart displays will come bundled with YouTube TV, which will live-stream channels like ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC for $40 a month. They will have customizable ambient screens that could be defaulted to show a clock, the weather, or your own photos when in rest mode. Third-party immersive support will enable developers to create games for smart displays using both touch and voice capabilities.
Google Assistant
Smart displays to assist users with visual tasks
With Google Assistant integration, users will be able to pull up videos from YouTube, see maps for driving directions, make video calls, and check out additional information on any query for further context, all with a voice command. Google Assistant can also show users footage from their smart home security cameras and control other smart home appliances.