Its arch-competitors get in on the action too, and Walmart has jumped into the fray with its Walmart Plus Week sales event. We found plenty of great Walmart deals on many of our favorite televisions, soundbars, wireless speakers, and more. Note: Deals have now been opened to all shoppers and not just Walmart Plus members, as they were until 11:59 am ET today. Walmart Plus isn't free to join. It typically costs $98 per year, but Walmart has a promotion right now that drops the price to $49 for your first year. It includes benefits like a bundled Paramount subscription, free delivery on orders over $35 (some products don't have an order minimum), and more.

In fact, the category didn't really come into its own until Google joined the fray with its own line of hardware about a year later. Now, both of these companies are essentially dominating the smart display landscape, with each offering their own take on a smart assistant with a screen. It's that screen that makes smart displays so much more useful than smart speakers. Rather than just having a voice recite the current weather report, for example, you can see a five-day forecast as well. The same goes for when you ask about your shopping list or calendar; it's simply easier to see the whole list or your day's appointments at a glance.

Amazon has kicked off another sale on its Echo Show smart devices ahead of Black Friday. Among the discounts are the Echo Show 5 down to $35, the Echo Show 8 down to $70, and both the Echo Show 10 and Echo Show 15 each down to $170. The Kids edition of the Echo Show 5 is also on sale for $40. We've seen all of these deals at various points in the past, but each match the lowest prices we've tracked to date, including the discounts we saw during the company's Prime Early Access Sale in October. There's a chance things drop lower on Black Friday proper, but since Amazon is advertising these offers as "early Black Friday deals," we'd expect them to carry over.

Google is being sued by the state of Texas for using the biometric data, like facial and voice recognition, of millions of residents without consent since 2015 'for its own commercial interests.' The lawsuit, filed by Ken Paxton, Attorney General of Texas, claims the tech giant used these markers to train deep neural networks that power some of its highest revenue generator products, like its Google Photos app, Nest Hub Max and Google Assistant. The reason for Texas suing Google is that the state has the Capture or Use of Biometric Identifier Act, which mandates any use of biometric data requires consent and those who break the law are subject to a $25,000 per violation. Texas alleges no such consent was gained from Google users in the Lone Star State. A Google spokesperson told DailyMail.com

If you've been looking for a solid deal on a smart display, it's worth considering the Google Nest Hub Max. It's on sale for $169, which is $60 less than the regular price, at both Adorama and B&H. We saw it dip to the same price in a one-day sale on Adorama in January. The Nest Hub Max has a 10-inch HD display on which you can stream shows and movies from the likes of YouTube and Netflix, control your smart home gear and take video calls. Google Assistant is baked in, of course, and the device has stereo speakers.

Those looking to add to their Google home setup can get the biggest Nest smart display for less today. Adorama has a one-day-only sale that knocks $60 off the Nest Hub Max, bringing it down to $169. That's even cheaper than we saw it a couple of weeks ago when a bunch of Nest gadgets were discounted across the web, and it's $11 less than the device's Black Friday price last year. The Nest Hub Max earned a score of 86 from us when it first came out in 2019 and it remains a good option for those that rely on the Google Assistant and want a larger home hub with advanced smart features. It has a spacious 10-inch HD touchscreen on which you can do things like take a Zoom call, watch YouTube or Netflix and control all of the smart lights, thermostats and other gadgets in your home.

Most of Google's Nest devices went on sale for the holiday shopping season and, while those deep discounts have come and gone, we're already seeing new sales pop up across the web. Both Best Buy and Adorama have the second-generation Google Nest Hub for $60, which is $40 off its normal price and only $10 more than it was on Black Friday. The Nest Hub Max is also on sale for $190, while the Nest Audio and Nest Mini are down to $75 and $25, respectively. Our favorites of the bunch for most people are the Nest Hub and the Nest Audio. The former is Google's most recent smart display and it earned a score of 89 from us.

Black Friday typically presents lots of opportunities to smarten up your abode, with everything from connected bulbs to robot vacuums undergoing deep discounts for the holidays. We've already seen a few of these items go on sale as part of early Black Friday efforts, and we'll definitely see more today and over the weekend. These devices include not just the aforementioned bulbs and robot vacuums but also sous vide machines, Instant Pots, Nest Hubs and more. To prevent you from sifting through all these sales yourself, we've done the hard work for you. Here are some of the best ones we've seen so far. One of our favorite robot vacuums, the iRobot Roomba 694, is now $95 off, which brings its price down to $180. It does a great job cleaning both hard and carpeted surfaces, plus the app is easy to use.

Google makes some of the best smart displays you can buy and, right now, its biggest device is on sale for a significant discount. Adorama, a camera and video equipment retailer that dabbles in tech, is offering the 10-inch Nest Hub Max for $180 with the code "EXTRA50OFF." We gave the Nest Hub Max a stellar 86 review score thanks to that large, crisp display and a wealth of additional features that make it a solid all-round smart screen. Chiefly, it's a great device for making video calls (including on Zoom) and watching YouTube or Netflix. Aside from the big display, there's another reason the Nest Hub Max normally retails for more than double the price of the newer Nest Hub.

Google makes some of the best smart displays you can buy and, right now, its biggest device is on sale for a significant discount. Adorama, a camera and video equipment retailer that dabbles in tech, is offering the 10-inch Nest Hub Max for $180 with the code "EXTRA50OFF." We gave the Nest Hub Max a stellar 86 review score thanks to that large, crisp display and a wealth of additional features that make it a solid all-round smart screen. Chiefly, it's a great device for making video calls (including on Zoom) and watching YouTube or Netflix. Aside from the big display, there's another reason the Nest Hub Max normally retails for more than double the price of the newer Nest Hub.