After months of speculations on Cody's part, the Assistant devices known under the "Quartz" codename were announced yesterday as smart displays and Lenovo unveiled the first one of the range. Google said that other companies were on board too, like LG and Sony, but another one is now also known: it's the JBL Link View.

JBL already has a few Google Assistant speakers in the Link portfolio, and the View is joining them with not only 2 x 10 W speakers and a passive radiator, but also an 8" touchscreen display that can show all the Assistant interactions like weather, calendar, cooking and recipes, as well as stream YouTube videos and make Duo video calls (there's a 5MP cam on the front). JBL also mentions that the material can be easily wiped clean, which I suppose will be a requirement for this product category, since many will likely place it in the kitchen.

The Link View obviously has Chromecast built-in so you can stream to it from your phone or Home and group it with other speakers in your house, and it also has Bluetooth, which feels like a legacy support option at this point, but it's nice to have it nonetheless. It seems to only come in black, unlike the Lenovo unit which was white and had a neat bamboo option on the back. The shape is much more oval too: it kind of reminds me of a JBL Playlist with a display stuck on the front.

No pricing was announced, but availability is expected in the summer of 2018 (such a long wait!) in the US with other countries to follow.

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