Gear

The Best Smart Displays

Ever wish you could smash a tablet and smart speaker together? These devices try to offer the best of both worlds.

A smart display might be for you if you want the convenience of a smart assistant with the added bonus that comes with having something to look at. When you put Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa into a smart speaker with a tablet-sized screen, you get a fun way to see the weather or album art, watch TV shows, make video calls, and other (mostly) useful stuff. We've tested most of the major displays on the market and have listed our favorites below.

Most of our picks use Google Assistant instead of Amazon's Alexa because it's often easier to set up devices and Google provides a simpler service in some ways.

Be sure to check out our many other buying guides, including our roundups of all our favorite smart speakers, and specific guides for Google Assistant and Alexa speakers.

Updated April 2021: We've added the 3rd-gen Amazon Echo Show 10 and the 2nd-gen Nest Hub. We also added a section on why you should get a smart display.

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  • google nest hub max
    Photograph: Best Buy

    Best Overall

    Google Nest Hub Max

    The Google Nest Hub Max is a great all-around smart display. It has an unobtrusive design, a 10-inch touchscreen display, some pretty good speakers, and a camera for video calls over Google Duo and even services like Zoom. The camera can also identify individual members of the house and shows personal information only pertaining to each person. Just know you'll need the right amount of space for it, and you may want to pick up a privacy cover to block the camera when it's not in use.

    ★ A Camera-Free Alternative: Google’s second-generation Nest Hub ($100) is another great option if you don't need the camera, and don’t mind a smaller, 7-inch screen. It has a sunrise alarm and sleep sensing tech to track your sleep quality (only the person closest to the Hub), plus gestures—like playing or pausing a video with just a hand movement—by using the same unique radar tech found in select Pixel phones.

    $229 at Target
    $229 at B&H
  • Photograph: Lenovo

    Best for the Bedroom

    Lenovo Smart Clock

    Lenovo's Smart Clock is one of the smallest smart displays you'll find, ideal for the bedroom. The 4-inch screen can do almost anything other Google Assistant devices can, gets dim enough not to disturb you during slumber, and suggests alarms based on your routines. The extra USB port means you can plug in your phone to charge as well, reducing the number of dangling wires near your bedside table. Its small size does mean it's less useful for looking at recipes or watching videos unless you're quite close.

    ★ Another Great Bedside Display: For an even more barebones experience, try Lenovo's Smart Clock Essential ($44). It looks like a classic digital clock with an LCD screen that shows the time and weather. But Google Assistant is still here, so you can ask it to set alarms, turn off the bedroom lights, and anything else you'd ask the other smart displays in this guide. There's a physical switch to turn off the microphone when you're not using it, and a nightlight on the back so you can find your way in the dark.

    $65 at Walmart
    $80 at Target
  • Photograph: Amazon

    If You Prefer Alexa Over Google

    Amazon Echo Show 10 (3rd Gen)

    The 3rd-generation Echo Show has the same 10.1-inch display as the 2nd-gen version (which you'll find below), but it's positioned on a large speaker for better audio quality. WIRED writer Parker Hall is testing it now and says it sounds great. More interestingly, the screen swivels and follows you as you walk around the room. That means you'll stay in the frame while video chatting or the screen will keep a recipe in view as you move about your kitchen. 

    You can video chat via Skype, or with others who have an Echo Show or the Alexa app (the site says the display will soon support Zoom and Amazon Chime). Like Google smart displays, there's no support for Facebook Messenger. This Echo Show is only around $20 more than the 10-inch 2nd-gen model, so we think it's the better option for most Alexa fans.

    $250 at Amazon
  • Photograph: Amazon

    More Echo Show Sizes

    Amazon Echo Show (2nd Gen)

    If you want to save a few bucks, prefer a smaller screen, or just don't like the swiveling capabilities of the 3rd-generation Echo Show 10, there are plenty of other options with Alexa.

    Amazon's 2nd-gen Echo Show has the same 10.1-inch screen as the latest, with nice rear-firing speakers. It looks slick, and Amazon's step-by-step recipes combat what Google cooked up for its displays. Frankly, it's still not as good as Google Assistant in this regard, but Amazon invented this category, and all the Echo Shows are a promising evolution of the smart-screen concept.

    For a smaller screen at a cheaper price, go for the Echo Show 5. At 5.5-inches, it's more at home on a bedside table than anywhere else. Amazon also has an Echo Show 8, the middle child you might say. We haven't laid hands on one yet, but it has the same pixel density as the 10.1-inch model in a smaller form factor, and 8 inches is often a pretty good size for a smart display.

    $233 at The Home Depot (10-inch)
    $90 at Amazon (5.5-inch)
    $130 at Amazon (8-inch)
  • Photograph: JBL

    Best for Music

    JBL Link View Smart Display

    Like the Nest Hub Max, JBL's Link View (8/10, WIRED Recommends) is an all-around winner. It has the best speakers of any display we've tried, and its 8-inch screen is ideal—small enough that it doesn't take up your whole countertop, but big enough for squint-free Google Duo video chats or displaying photos. Plus, it has a built-in privacy cover over its webcam to ensure no one is snooping on you. It's getting a little old now, so try to buy it when it goes on sale.

    $300 at JBL
  • Photograph: Lenovo

    Best for the Kitchen

    Lenovo Smart Display

    Lenovo's Smart Display (8/10, WIRED Recommends) can't pump out the jams as well as JBL's Link View, but it has a stylish design that's kitchen-friendly. Google Assistant's step-by-step recipe directions work perfectly on it. It comes in three sizes, 7-inch, 8-inch, and 10-inch. The former two sizes are perfect in a small kitchen; the 10-inch may be too large for some, but we love the bamboo wood grain design touches on the back.

    You can prop the 8- and 10-inch models up vertically for Google Duo video calls or keep it widescreen, but we didn't miss that feature on the 7-inch. And, like the Link View, this also has a privacy shutter so you can keep the camera covered.

    $99 at Walmart (7-inch)
    $169 at Walmart (8-inch)
    $179 at Walmart (10-inch)
  • Photograph: Facebook

    To Video Chat All Your Facebook Friends

    Facebook Portal (2019)

    Facebook is tired of being confined inside apps and websites. It wants in on the hardware market. The 8- and 10-inch Portals and 15.6-inch Portal Plus are its answer. WIRED senior writer Adrienne So likes using the Portal (6/10, WIRED Review) but found it "difficult to separate this family of devices from the social network that makes them." And therein lies the rub.

    The Portal rotates and the camera follows your movements, like the new Echo Show 10. Whether it's with Alexa or Facebook, this will either impress or creep you out. Facebook stresses that calls are encrypted and the camera can be disabled or blocked with the included camera cover. Outside of video chatting, Portal devices operate like the Echo Show and rely on Amazon's Alexa voice assistant.

    $129 at Target (8-inch)
    $179 at Target (10-inch)
    $280 at Amazon (15.6-inch)
  • Photograph: Sonos 

    Or Forget the Screen

    Sonos One (Gen 2)

    We don't believe you need to choose a smart display by any stretch. If you don't feel the need for a screen, a smart speaker offers the power of an assistant with often much better sound. We like the Sonos One ($199) (8/10, WIRED Recommends) because it will give you the best sound you can get from a smart speaker and works with both Alexa or Google. Sonos speakers connect really easily with each other.

    We also have full roundups of the best smart speakers overall, best Google Assistant speakers, and best Alexa speakers.

    $199 at Sonos
    $199 at B&H
  • Photograph: Olly Curtis 

    Why You Should Get a Smart Display

    The Pros of an Added Screen

    Anything a smart speaker can do, a smart display can (usually) do better. The screens and cameras (on some models) are a step above a speaker or tablet.

    Smart displays can act as hubs for your smart home devices, like security cameras and bulbs, so you can control everything with your voice and quickly call up video feeds. And because they're made to be displayed, you don't have to get an extra stand as you would if you wanted to use an iPad in this way, for example.

    The biggest pro for me (Medea) is the ability to see and hear recipes. Before trying a smart display, I was scrolling through my phone with greasy fingers, continuously unlocking and locking it. Seeing the words on the 10-inch Nest Hub Max in my kitchen is a step above what my smart speaker can do.

    Better yet, if you connect your Google Photos account to Google-powered displays, you can cycle through your pictures and memories, like a slightly less sophisticated digital picture frame. (You can do this on Amazon's smart displays, too.)

    The biggest con I found in almost all smart displays is the fact that they have to be plugged in. I'd love to move it around room to room when I need it. If you think the same, take a gander at our favorite tablets.

Jeffrey Van Camp is an editor for WIRED, specializing in personal technology reviews and coverage. Previously he was the deputy editor of Digital Trends, helping to oversee the site’s editorial operations, and before that, its mobile editor. He’s covered tech, video games, and entertainment for more than a decade, and... Read more
Reviews Editor
Medea Giordano turned her shopping problem into a career as a product writer for WIRED. She covers a little bit of everything but loves health, beauty, and pet tech. Prior to WIRED, she was an assistant editor at Wirecutter and an assistant in the newsroom of The New York Times.... Read more
Writer and Reviewer
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