Author: Jeffrey Van Camp / Source: WIRED
In August, I wrote that it was “hard to imagine a better screen/speaker combination than the Lenovo Smart Display.” That line certainly hasn’t aged well. It’s only September, and I’ve already found a speaker I like more.
The Link View is JBL’s first smart … screen with Google Assistant.
I really don’t know what goofy name to call these Echo Show-esque smart speakers with screens, but I do know that JBL has its priorities straight. First and foremost, the Link View is a speaker with some impressive audio powers.Two 51mm full-range drivers pump out the sound. They can get fairly loud, with more bass than most compact home speakers. The Link View lacks the fidelity and depth of a Sonos One, HomePod, or Google Home Max, but it performs respectably enough that you might buy it as a speaker even if it didn’t have a screen.
I don’t think I’d recommend either the Amazon Echo Show or Lenovo Smart Display just for music, but this JBL sounds awesome in comparison.
The design also centers around its audio. The two speakers are covered in gray fabric and surround the Link View’s 8-inch LCD screen, forming a wide oval. The front is flat and angled upward a bit. But peer around back and you’ll see the View has a round posterior, making the whole thing look like a small watermelon sliced in half. Granted, it’s a matte-black plastic watermelon, but you get the idea. A mute button and volume toggle adorn the top. Since the View has no battery, it’s always plugged in and always on—there is no power button.
Lenovo’s larger 10-inch Smart Display was certainly more spacious, but JBL’s 8-inch screen is still plenty large enough for YouTubing, and it suits the Google interface well. I preferred…
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