Did Anyone Ever Really Need a Smart Display?

When modern smart displays first arrived in 2017 in the form of the first-generation Echo Show, we called them creepy with big potential. Over the past six years, smart displays still feel like a lumbering category with untapped potential—Amazon, Google, and even Meta haven’t been able to crack the code to turn a smart display into a must-have home device. This might indicate that Apple is experimenting with dedicated smart display hardware for later down the line, but between Apple and Google, it’s a clear case we never needed smart displays at all. Tablet or Phone Photograph: Google Apple and Google have each selected just one device that doubles as a smart display, and they’ve taken different paths. The slate will switch over to Hub Mode when you magnetically dock it, which accepts smart home commands via Google Assistant, and has an easy way to access smart home touch controls.