Technology CES showed us smart displays will be the new normal

© Provided by Engadget

Before the start of CES 2018, the only real smart speakers with a display were the Amazon Echo Show and the Echo Spot. But now that Google has partnered with several manufacturers to make a whole line of Echo Show rivals, a bona fide new device category has been born: the smart display. And based on the devices revealed this week, I believe the smart display will slowly start to outnumber smart speakers and will likely be the norm going forward.

Load Error

The simple reason for this argument is that the display makes such devices much more useful. Sure, you could have Alexa or Google Assistant tell you there's a Starbucks 1.5 miles away from you. But wouldn't it be nice to actually see where it is on a map? Or if you wanted to know the time, you could just, you know, look at the screen. Or if you wanted to know who the artist of the song is but couldn't be bothered to interrupt the track, you could do the same. That extra visual layer is really useful, especially for quick, glanceable information.

Check your tickets! These are the winning Mega Millions numbers

Six numbers were chosen from a drum just after 11 p.m. ET; up for grabs was a cool $450 million jackpot .Winning Mega Millions numbers28, 30, 39, 59, 70 and Gold Mega Ball 10Friday night's Megaplier was 3x.If you take the jackpot cash option, you'll bring home $281 million.How to playAccording to the Mega Millions website, players may pick six numbers from two separate pools of numbers: five different numbers from 1 to 70 and one number from 1 to 25.Lottery officials also increased the jackpot of Powerball, the other national lottery game, to $570 million. That drawing will be Saturday night.

Schwarzkopf’s smart salon personalizes your hair care regimen. Visa will make signatures optional for chipped credit cards. Uber will pay New York drivers He said there's already a plan to ensure that the show is just the start of something big, not just for the 20 lucky companies who were selected to be a

Google Assistant-enabled touchscreens unveiled Monday at CES are made for your kitchen countertop and will compete against Amazon's Echo Show .

Of course, you could've made this same argument months ago when the Echo Show debuted. But these new Google Assistant displays are so much better in almost every way. For example, when you make a search query, it won't just spit out a short generic answer with the transcript showing up on-screen; it'll actually appear in a way that makes sense. So if you search for "cornbread recipe," the display will offer an array of recipes to choose from. Tap on one and you'll be presented with a lovely step-by-step recipe guide, all without having to install any additional skill or action.

Or if you ask a Google Assistant smart display to play relaxing music, it won't pick out a random playlist and start playing a song you don't want (something that happens quite frequently with the Echo). Instead, it'll offer a visual selection of playlists, which you can then scroll through and pick the one you want. Perhaps my favorite feature is when you ask for directions. It will not only show you the map on the screen but also send those same directions straight to your phone without you having to ask.

The Little Fish VS1 is a smart speaker powered by China's Alexa

It might not have the star power of Alexa or Google Assistant, but DuerOS, Chinese web giant Baidu's AI platform, continues to pick up steam in its native country. We're being glib, but the Little Fish VS1 is actually quite a pleasure to play with. Naturally, DuerOS resisted all my attempts to talk to in English, but my colleague was able to check out the (depressing) weather in New York by asking in Mandarin. More importantly, a camera wedged into the bezel above the top of the screen is able to recognize individual users and tailor the way it responds to people.

13 New Seasons of Existing Anime to Watch in 2018. Japanese Sherlock Holmes Reboot Casts Women As Leads. CES 2018: Lenovo’s Smart Display Brings The Fight To Amazon’s Echo Show .

Lenovo has unveiled its new Smart Displays at CES 2018, which come integrated with the Google Assistant. The new devices are expected to compete with Amazon’s Echo Show , which also sports a display and comes with Alexa built-in.

Plus, Google has now opened the door for so many more companies to start making smart displays. At CES, we saw Lenovo, JBL and LG show off their versions, each with very different designs. Eventually, even more companies will join the fray, adding their own spin on what a smart display looks like. With so many options on the market, there'll soon be a smart display for every kind of home. Amazon might've introduced the smart-display concept, but Google will be the one to democratize it.

And this is just the beginning. Smart displays can be incorporated in more than just a little 10-inch prop on the table. Personal assistants are already in smart fridges from LG and Samsung, so it doesn't take much imagination to think that Alexa and Google Assistant displays could take over the rest of your home. Imagine a smart display not only on the front of your fridge but also in the kitchen TV or maybe the bathroom mirror. Soon smart displays will be everywhere. CES 2018 was just the beginning.

Click here to catch up on the latest news from CES 2018.