What's better than the best smart speakers? The best smart displays. That's because they can do everything a smart speaker does and more. Adding a display makes them even easier to use, and it also means they can do more things: not just showing you what's playing or what the weather forecast says, but in some cases playing video and enabling you to make video calls too. Most are touchscreens, and if sound quality matters too the larger models deliver plenty of music power.
The best smart displays are first and foremost smart home controllers, and that means they connect to and control the best smart lights, best smart locks, and the best smart switches. But many of them can do even more: you can watch YouTube recipes or TV shows while you're cooking, or monitor your home security cameras, or just check in with the family.
We've taken all of the best smart displays home to see how well they perform in the real world, where things are often a lot less predictable and more complicated than any lab tests. And that means we know which ones are best for every kind of home and every kind of person, from simple smart displays to all-singing, all-dancing, all-video home entertainment hubs.
No matter what smart home platform you prefer or what you want your device to do, these are the best smart displays you can buy right now.
The best smart display 2024
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The best smart display overall
The Amazon Echo Hub is the best home hub you can buy – provided, that is, that you want to use Alexa. It can be wall-mounted or stuck on a table, it has an excellent user interface and for now, at least, Amazon isn't stuffing its screen with ads or product recommendations.
The Echo Hub is much more focused than Amazon's smart displays. It doesn't want to be a video calling system – it doesn't have a camera – but it does have all the connectivity you'd want from a smart home hub: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Threads, Matter, and Zigbee, which covers almost all of the smart home bases.
It has a better interface than other Echo devices for smart home control, and while it isn't a rival to Amazon's biggest smart speakers in terms of audio quality, it sounds decent for such a relatively small device - but it's not an entertainment screen like the Echo Show devices. Four microphone arrays do a great job of hearing your commands even when it's not quiet, and there's an ambient light sensor and infrared sensor that automatically adjusts the display to make it easier to read depending on how close you are. It doesn’t currently operate as a motion sensor, though, so you can't use it to trigger things like smart lights when it spots you.
Most of the downsides here are familiar from previous Amazon smart displays. If you're not all-in on the Amazon ecosystem and Ring security products in particular, this might not be the best hub for you. As with other Amazon smart displays the touchscreen can feel quite laggy, and not all the configuration options are available in the device: you still need to use the Alexa phone app for some configuration, which is a bit of a pain.
Read our full Amazon Echo Hub review
The best budget smart display
The Lenovo Smart Clock is a great addition to the bedroom, as a bedside smart display that aims for small and effective functionality over the larger screens of the Echo Show 10 or Google Nest Hub Max.
It has a compact four-inch screen, with various clock face designs to choose from, and a sufficient 480 x 480 resolution – as well as a USB port for easily charging your phone at night. Your own phone charger is probably a bit faster, but it's an appreciated addition nonetheless.
Like Google's smart displays, Lenovo makes use of the Google Assistant here, meaning you can issue voice commands and ask the voice assistant for the news, traffic and weather information, certain apps and services, as well as whatever trivia you wish to know. We found it simple to use, and were impressed shouting 'stop' would end the alarm in the morning, preventing any fumbling with the touchscreen before your eyes are open.
Unlike the Nest Hub Max, there's no built-in camera, which may be an issue for some, and there's no ability to watch movie streaming services on the device, which other Google smart displays offer.
Read our full Lenovo Smart Clock review
The best smart display if money is no object
The highlight of the latest Echo Show 10 is its rotating screen that can follow you around the room so it’s always within your gaze, whether you’re following a recipe, making a video call, or watching Prime Video. There’s a 13MP camera too, which has since also been added to the Echo Show 8 (2nd generation), that uses the rotating screen to pan and zoom during video calls, so you’re always in the center of the frame.
During testing, Alexa was responsive when it came to recognizing voices thanks to the array of built-in microphones. It was also quick to respond even when we were on the other side of the room.
The support for third-party streaming apps is still limited, even though you can now watch Netflix on the smart display, and we found the speaker was too bassy. It’s also the most expensive smart display on the market, but if you're keen on watching cooking tutorials or making video calls to other Amazon smart displays, it deserves a spot in your home.
Read our full Amazon Echo Show 10 (3rd gen) review
The best smart display for Google Home
The Google Nest Hub Max is the best smart display you can buy right now. The 10-inch screen is clear and sharp, and offers a notable upgrade to the Google Home Hub's 7-inch display.
The 1280 x 800 resolution may not sound like much, in a world of 4K TVs and 1920 x 1080 PCs, but it's plenty of pixels for the relative size of the Nest Hub Max's screen. The audio is much better than you'd get with the average tablet or iPad, too. There's a 6.5MP front-facing camera primarily for video calling, but it also doubles as a makeshift security camera, allowing it to record clips of movement in the room around it - although you will need a Nest Aware subscription for this.
The Nest Hub Max isn't perfect. We found we were limited of the smart home routines we could set up from the display, but the design and audio capability of the Nest Hub Max make it the deserving recipient of the number one slot on this list.
Read our full Google Nest Hub Max review
The best budget smart display for Google Home
In a first for a smart display, the Google Nest Hub (2nd generation) can actually track your sleep using built-in Soli radar technology to monitor the smallest of movements, such as the rise and fall of your chest as you breathe when getting some shut-eye.
There are plenty of handy features to help you wind down at night, and wake up the next morning, meaning the Google Nest Hub (2nd generation) will most likely be at home in your bedroom. Although, we found the sleep tracking isn't as accurate as a wearable.
Aside from the sleep tracking, the Google Nest Hub (2nd generation) is similar to its predecessor, the Google Home Hub. It's compact and has a 7-inch ‘floating display’, as well as Google Assistant built-in, and a distinct lack of camera - so it's not suitable for video calls. The audio is also underwhelming topo, but as long as you don't plan to use it as your main speaker, you'll find it a great addition to your bedroom.
Read our full Google Nest Hub (2nd generation)
Best tabletop smart display
As far as smart speakers go, this new offering from Amazon definitely beats them all in terms of performance to price ratio. The Amazon Echo Show 8 (3rd gen) is not as expensive as the Echo 10 or the Google Nest Hub Max, which means it's more accessible to us mere mortals. However, it comes loaded with features and functionalities that make it an extremely versatile smart home device.
This new model, released in 2023, boasts a few upgrade - better audio, faster performance, and added support for Matter, Thread and Zigbee, to start. It also has a sleeker look, for better or worse based on your personal taste. And while its display has the same resolution, it now comes with edge-to-edge glass, although we do wish the bezels are smaller.
With an improved octa-core SoC with Amazon’s AZ2 Neural Network Engine, it's a lot faster than its predecessor. And that's apparent during testing. This smart display is incredibly responsive when it comes to executing requests. It even pulled up and started a movie on Amazon Prime Video very quickly, within a couple of seconds.
Meanwhile, all the new features like Adaptive Content and Visual ID personalization are pretty well-executed. That means interfacing with the Echo Show 8 line is better than ever.
Read our full Amazon Echo Show 8 (3rd gen) review
The best smart display for bedrooms
The third generation Echo Show 5 device is a nice upgrade from its predecessor. It still suffers from screen lag, unfortunately, but its newer processor with Amazon AZ2 Neural Edge makes it just a little more responsive. It also has an additional mic so Alexa can hear you better and respond accordingly.
It comes with the same speaker as the second-generation, but Amazon has improved its audio performance so you're getting better high end and bass representation. Basically, you're getting better audio, one that can get pretty loud - as in room-filling loud.
Amazon also improved its screen so it's more enjoyable to view, and it gave it a more compact design without compromising its screen size. That's a big deal considering how small this device already is.
We would not recommend this as your main smart display, however, unless you're living in a small studio apartment or a college dorm room. This is better in your bedroom right next to your bed.
How to choose the best smart display for you
There’s a number of considerations to make when it comes to choosing the right smart display for you.
Start by working out which voice assistant you want baked into your smart display. If you’ve already got Amazon Echo or Google Nest speakers in your home, then it makes sense to opt for a smart display that features the same voice assistant built-in. However, if you’ve yet to settle on the voice assistant for you, Alexa vs Google Assistant can help you decide.
Where you plan to use the smart display is also important, as screen sizes, and subsequently overall footprint, vary wildly between models. Those with small screens and smaller dimensions are best suited to bedrooms, while larger screens with higher resolutions will come in handy in rooms such as the kitchen so you can glean information from recipes for example with a quick glance from the other side of the room.
If you intend to use the smart display as a way to listen to music, then consider the number of speakers, and the sound output and quality they offer. Those with smaller speakers are best suited to background music, while larger smart displays will offering a louder, more room-filling sound.
Some smart displays also feature a built-in camera for video calls, although if you’re using it in a bedroom, you may feel more comfortable with a smart display that doesn’t include a camera.
Frequently asked questions about smart displays
What can smart displays do?
Just like the best smart speakers, smart displays offer access to a voice assistant. So whether you prefer Alexa or Google Assistant - there are no smart displays with Siri built-in yet, although Apple is expected to launch display-packing HomePods later this year - a smart display can take commands from you and control your smart home kit. But they can do more thanks to their displays. which enable you to see as well as hear information.
For example, if you ask for the weather report, while the voice assistant might provide the current temperature as an audible response, on-screen you’ll also be able to see an hour-by-hour breakdown as well as additional information such as real-feel temperature and wind speed.
As you’d expect, the speakers in a smart display mean it can be used to listen to your favorite album, playlist, or track through music services including Spotify, Apple Music, and Deezer. Smart displays also have a Bluetooth connection so you can play music stored on your smartphone through its speaker, too. Smaller models are best suited to speech rather than music, but the bigger ones are very capable music players too.
Some smart displays can also be used to watch movie streaming services, such as Netflix or Prime Video, on the screen. However, it’s worth noting that the smaller display and lower resolution means this won’t be the same experience as watching the service on your TV – but it's great if you want some background viewing or YouTube recipes while you’re cooking. Not all smart displays are compatible with all streaming services, however, so make sure you check that before deciding on which one to buy.
Some smart displays also have cameras built-in so you can make video calls from smart displays, helping you stay in touch with friends and family, while the screen can even be used in place of a digital photo frame to show your favorite photos.
What’s the difference between a tablet and a smart display?
With screen sizes that ape those of the best tablets, you may be wondering just what is the difference between the two devices?
First off is the portability. Tablets have a built-in battery that means you can take them with you and use them on-the-go. However, apart from the Meta Portal Go, which has now been discontinued, there are no battery-powered smart displays on the market right now. Instead they are mains-powered and can’t be moved around when in use.
Smart displays are typically more focused than tablets. Most smart displays give you a voice assistant, and provide access to some streaming services, and let you send messages, while others with a built-in camera let you make calls. But they're limited to the pre-installed apps, whereas tablets enable you to add pretty much any app: email, chat, streaming, games... you get the idea. Pretty much any tablet can be used as a smart display, but few smart displays can be used for the same apps as tablets.
Last but not least, smart displays tend to have lower resolution displays than tablets.
Which is better, Alexa or Google Assistant?
If you're new to the world of smart displays and smart speakers, deciding which voice assistant you should plump for may leave you feeling perplexed. Both Alexa and Google Assistant are simple to use and effective at answering your burning questions, providing useful information such as weather reports and sports scores, and even controlling your smart home devices. But is Alexa or Google Assistant better?
Alexa can control a wider array of smart home devices and offers a wide range of communication options for staying in touch with friends and family. However Google Assistant is better if you want responses in different languages or help translating phrases.
It’s also worth considering the devices you already own and the music and video services you subscribe to, as Google Assistant may be a better fit - especially if you’re regularly using an Android smartphone. Read our article Alexa vs Google Assistant: which voice assistant is best for you, for an in-depth look at the subject.
What's better: a smart display or a smart speaker?
Finding it hard to choose a smart device for your home? There's now a huge number of gadgets making use of smart and voice functionality, and it can hard figuring out what you actually need or will be useful to you.
Smart speakers hit the market first, with the Amazon Echo rolling out to invited Amazon Prime members in 2014, and slowly building up momentum. By the time the Google Home launched in 2017, there was plenty of appetite for the devices.
If you're largely going to be using a device for music and audio functionality – including chatting to / ordering around a voice assistant – you'll likely be fine with a smart speaker. It's only if the screen functionality is going to be useful that you need to bother with the smart display option.
The display is useful in a number of ways: for cooking tutorials and how-to videos, accessing security camera feeds, watching video lyrics onscreen (as with the Echo Show and Amazon Music) or for easily spotting the time on a clock face. Controlling and connecting to other smart home devices through a centralized portal is also far easier with a screen, and you get far more connectivity features in these kinds of devices.
But if you think you don't want the screen attached, you can check out out best smart speakers guide instead.
How we tested these smart displays
To evaluate the best smart displays we assess the picture quality of the screen when watching streaming services, viewing recipes and even getting the weather and news reports. We also assess the sound quality of the speaker and how effective the smart displays are when making video calls, including the camera’s ability to keep you in the center of the shot if you move.
We also evaluate each model on its ability to pick up your voice when issuing commands to the voice assistant, privacy features that help ensure the smart display is constantly watching and listening, as well as how compact and durable the design is.
