Google is making another 'smart display' that nobody asked for

Thanks to devices like the Google Home and Amazon Echo, smart speakers have exploded in popularity over the last couple years. Analysts estimate that Amazon only managed to move about 315,000 Echo Show units int he first year.

There is, of course, an outlier in the Echo Look, but it's hard to imagine Google coming up with a competitor to that one.

At the Consumer Electronics Show in January, Google announced Echo Show-like "smart displays" from four companies-Lenovo, JBL, LG, and Sony.

Google has pretty lofty aspirations for this new smart speaker, with an industry source telling Nikkei that the company is targeting 3 million shipments for its initial release.

The Google Smart Display will have the same functionality as other Smart Displays now on the market - or about to enter - with the ability to "play YouTube videos, check their calendars and view maps".

As always, take what you hear coming from the rumor mill with a grain of salt, but this report certainly makes some degree of sense.

I'm just going to guess that's the kind of blandly generic name this device is going to get - is reportedly going to be a big part of Google's smart-home device plans. Time will tell, so stay tuned.