Dieter Bohn Like an Echo Show, but with YouTube

Google's Smart Displays have arrived. We just reviewed the Lenovo Smart Display, and it's actually very good.

Here's the big question for me: will I use my phone less if I have this? Could this be the long-promised gadget that leads to reduced gadget use? Or is it foolish to even dream of such a thing?

Smartwatches didn't do it. They just make you think about your text messages and appointments more often. Tablets just give you more locations where it's comfortable to watch Netflix. Smartphones were the ultimate trap: instead of triaging my email on the go, I've found five thousand new things to do.

I like my Echo Dot because I can ask for a weather report before leaving the house, saving me the roughly 0.7 seconds required to pull my phone out of my pocket. Each and every day. Now that's progress.

I'm glad Google's Smart Display software seems beautiful and intuitive. But sometimes I wish software should just disappear.