Is This the Future of the Tablet?

When Amazon announced the Echo Show, it had a simple premise: The device would be an Amazon Echo with a screen. Now, the Show seems to be among the first in a new category of connected home devices called smart displays. The latest to debut is Lenovo's Smart Display, a Google Assistant–imbued countertop gadget with an 8- or 10-inch display and a proportionally large front-facing speaker grille. The device, like the Echo Show, is designed to give users news and information as quickly as they can speak a query out loud. Unlike a traditional smart speaker, which can only read back stats or information via audio, a smart display can also pull up text, imagery, and video to answer your questions.