Lenovo to Be First to Market With Screen-Based Google Assistant Device

Lenovo’s Smart Display units, which were slated to arrive in stores over the weekend, are the first devices in Google’s new display-based category built around Google Assistant. The Lenovo models will retail for $199 for the 8-inch HD version and $249 for the 10-inch Full HD model, blogged Chris Turkstra, Google Assistant product management director, Thursday. Similar to Amazon’s Echo Show, a screen-based smart device combines the visual experience Google users are familiar with on computing and mobile devices with a voice interface. Turkstra outlined use cases including listening to podcasts and music; watching YouTube; viewing maps, photos and streaming video programs; looking up recipes with step-by-step guidance; and making video calls. The Lenovo devices will be sold at Walmart, BestBuy.com, Amazon.com, Costco.com, SamsClub.com and Lenovo.com. Additional products are coming from partners including JBL and LG, said Turkstra.