want to stay with Google for your smart
screen needs.
The list goes on, to music services and
photos and so on. Whichever ecosystem
you’re already most involved in is the one
you probably should pick for your smart
screen. Of course there’s nothing wrong
with setting up two different ones for two
different rooms – they just won’t work
very well together.
Google Assistant is certainly the most
ubiquitous of the two apps, because it
appears on every Android phone and has
an iOS app available too (it also features on
most Chromebooks). Alexa does have apps
for Android and iOS, but you can’t use them
to ask questions and give commands, just to
manage your devices. Admittedly, Alexa is
spreading fast across a whole host of other
gadgets besides phones though, from
clocks to microwaves (with more devices
appearing all the time).
Your other main decision is about what
screen size you want – a bigger screen means
a better picture for your images and videos,
as well as better sound (because there’s no
doubt a bigger speaker attached). Larger
displays take up more room though, and are
going to cost you more money, so it’s not
always the case that biggest is best.
Options on the market at the moment
range from a compact, sub-phone-size five
inches all the way up to a tablet-esque 10
inches, so have a think about how you’re
going to be using your smart screen (and
how far away you’re going to be standing
when you do). That should tell you the size
you should be thinking about.
The good news for us users is that these
smart screens and their digital assistants are
getting better all the time, with Google and
Amazon regularly adding useful new
features and capabilities to them that giveyou even more options – some of which we’ll
get into below.SHOW AND TELL
If you’re wondering what exactly a smart
screen can bring to your life, it’s simply
everything that a smart speaker can, and
then some. The weather forecast for today,
tomorrow or next week is a good place to
start – a smart speaker can tell you whether
it’s going to rain, a smart screen can break
that down by time. Or take your calendar
schedule, which can be displayed as well as
read out to you if there’s a screen available.
Or perhaps you want an early morning
news bulletin, which on a smart speaker is
limited to audio, and on a smart screen can
include video too. It’s a bit like choosing
between a radio and a television set: if you
think you’re going to make use of the
visuals, it’s worth the investment, but if not,
you can save yourself some money.
You could always have a smart screen in
one room, and smart speakers in the others- as long as they’re using the same digital
assistant, they should be able to work
happily together (eg broadcasting a house-
wide message that dinner is on the table).
Video is, of course, a big feature of any
smart display, but double-check what you’re
actually getting before you buy – Google-
powered speakers play YouTube, of course,
A smart screen is
everything that a
smart speaker is,
and then some
The top three...
SMART
SCREEN
COMPANIONS
Once you’ve bought your
smart screen, these are the
other gadgets you’ll want
to go along with itPHILIPS HUE SMART BULBS
Smart screens excel as smart home hubs,
and the Hue bulbs work with both the
Amazon and Google platforms. Turn
your smart lights on or off – or change
the brightness or colour – with a voice
FRPPDQGbRUWDS
From £14, meethue.comNEST CAM IQ INDOOR
If your smart screen is one that runs
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a feed of any Nest cams connected to your
home Wi-Fi – check out the view from
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DbYRLFHFRPPDQG
£299, store.google.comAMAZON ECHO DOT
Smart screens work well with smart
speakers, if you stick to the same brand. You
could, say, use an Echo Show in the kitchen
to play music on an Echo Dot in the kids’
bedroom, or just call them for dinner.
£49, amazon.co.ukThe Lenovo Smart Display
ticks the boxes for top-
quality sound and vision01
02
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68 T3 DECEMBER 2019The complete guide to...