More Google Assistant shutdowns: Third-party smart displays are dead
The Lenovo Smart Display 7: The newest (2019) third-party smart display out there. [credit: Lenovo ]
The Google Assistant continues to suffer at the hands of Google's product shutdowns. The latest products to die are third-party Google Assistant smart displays. 9to5Google was the first to spot this quietly posted notice on a Google Duo support page:
Important: Google no longer provides software updates for these third-party Smart Displays: Lenovo Smart Display (7'', 8'' & 10''), JBL Link View and LG Xboom AI ThinQ WK9 Smart Display. This could impact the quality of video calls and meetings.
We're pretty sure that announcement applies to every third-party Google Smart Display that has ever launched, so the product line is dead. Google's first-party smart displays, the Google Nest Hub and Nest Hub Max, aren't going anywhere and will now be the only options on the market.
Google Smart Displays put the Google Assistant on a screen and support all the same commands that a Google Assistant speaker like the Google Home or Nest Audio would; just shout "Hey Google," and it will attempt to recognize your command. The screen adds the ability to see a visual accompaniment to your search results, usually either some text, a photo slideshow, a timer, or media or smart home controls. The system is a touchscreen and has a really basic user interface that you can swipe around in without needing to talk to it.