Photograph: Google
Perhaps the biggest potential, and biggest disappointment, are video calls. These should be the perfect device to make a quick video call on in the age of Zoom, Google Meet, and FaceTime, right? They’re hands-free, you can use voice commands, and many have cameras that can zoom in and out and follow you as you move around a room. But smart displays never managed to make it easier or more convenient to use them for a call instead of your smartphone, tablet, or computer.
Making a call on your smartphone or tablet is already easy; adding a stand that will let you enjoy other benefits and make whatever call you’d like while staying hands-free feels like we’ve finally made it to the convenience smart displays have been promising for more than half a decade.
No more propping up your phone when there’s a stand that will hold it horizontally for you while you make a call hands-free. If you decide to move around, you can simply pick up your phone or tablet and walk away, rather than feeling locked into anywhere the device is sitting. (Or regretting you didn’t use a smart display when you sit down next to it, already on your iPhone or laptop. That definitely hasn’t happened to me.)
The Echo of Amazon
Photograph: Amazon
Between Google I/O and WWDC, Amazon also made an announcement in the world of smart displays: two new Echo Show 5 displays. One is a minor refresh on the current model, and the other is its first version for kids. The announcement left me scratching my head. It felt like Amazon was spinning its wheels while the other players moved in a more exciting direction. I’m currently testing the new third-gen Echo Show 5 and it’s just reminded me of all the limitations smart displays haven’t solved.
Amazon has a number of displays available, from the pint-size Show 5 to the large, 15-inch Echo Show 15 that needs to be mounted on a wall. Ultimately, they each feel like a different style of pasta being thrown at the wall, waiting for one to stick.
With Apple’s reluctance to enter the space with dedicated hardware, and Google’s tablet and docking station combo as its first new offering in two years, it feels like confirmation that smart displays have always been a half-baked idea. What we really needed was the perfect stand to give us these same features, while taking advantage of the screen that’s already in our hands. That kind of simplicity, my friends, is what a smart home should feel like.
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