There are a plethora of devices that you can keep on your bedside table and use it as a voice-controlled alarm clock. Of course, you can just use your phone, but there is something special about the all-new Lenovo smart clock. It is mainly because the device is loaded with features, unlike the typical watches. The best part about these smartwatches like Google’s Nest Mini, or Apple’s new HomePod mini is that it features full-color touchscreen displays that can play video, used as a digital frame or show camera feeds.
In this space, Lenovo’s latest entrant, and it priced at $49.95. Additionally, the watch is a voice-controlled, black-and-white segmented LED display and has Google Assistant smart speaker. The watch tends to display weather conditions, day, your currently set alarms, and the current time. Based on the light levels of the room, the display will automatically adjust its brightness. It is essential so that it doesn’t blind you in the middle of the night.
Additionally, you need to know that it’s not a touchscreen, doesn’t display photos or video, and can’t be used for monitoring camera feeds. You can easily use it effectively if you combine a modern smart speaker with an old-school LED clock radio back in the 1980s. The fusion of ideas it carries makes it look like a smartwatch essential.
Some of the specifications of the Lenovo smart clock:
Display 4″ 7-segment LED clock and temperature display w/ icons.
Speaker 1.5″ 3W speaker
Connectivity 802.11ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0, USB 2.0 Type-A
Processor Amlogic A113X
RAM 4GB
Storage 512MB eMMC
Software Google Assistant
Dimensions 114 x 80 x 79mm / 328g
Price $50
Display that steals the show:
In the front, the white numbers on black background tend to make the watch look like a standard alarm clock. When you see it closely, you are most likely to see two small holes, which are for the microphones that allow you to pick up your voice commands. Above the wedge-shaped device, you can see four buttons for managing alarms, play/pause, and volume.
At the back, you can see a USB-A port that you can use to charge a phone or smartwatch. Additionally, you can also use it as a switch to stop the microphones from listening. The essential smart clock’s sides are seen to wrapped in gray fabric. It is mainly because the trend has been prevailing for the past few years. One of the unique features here LED ring light, which is placed at the back of the smart clock, and it can a nightlight of sorts.
The company claims that it shouldn’t disturb your sleep. If you find that the brightness is too much for you, then you can easily adjust the brightness using voice commands. Under Lenovo smart clock, you won’t find any such button, but instead, it will change automatically based on how much light is in the room. Furthermore, it can quickly come up as a wake-up light before the alarm set to go off.
Some things you must know about Lenovo smart clock:
When it comes to the alarm clock, the smart clock essential tends to perfectly equipped. You can set multiple alarms with the smart clock either through buttons on the top or through voice commands. Additionally, it can play a general alarm beep, or you can just say “STOP” if you plan to cancel the alarm. If you want to snooze it, you can also tap on top of the clock twice. Additionally, the tap gesture takes some effort, but it is not that challenging.
Above all, you need to know that this is the same for almost all smart clocks, and there is nothing surprising that the smart clock essential doesn’t have a battery backup either. So if your power fails overnight and it is not restored before the alarm is set to go off, then you won’t have the alarm for that particular day.
Being a smart speaker, the Smart Clock Essential is perfect. You should not expect that it is going to be your primary music listening device. Surprisingly, the 3-watt speaker does get any louder to meet your expectations as the bass is lacking, and the sound isn’t very pleasant either. It is perfectly adequate for listening to weather reports, news updates, or your preferred wake-up song.
Audio quality and features:
The setup to this essential smart clock is quite simple as all you need to do connect the clock with your WiFi network. Since that the point, the clock is most likely to sync up with server time and the latest local weather info. It is said that the “clock” part of the Smart Clock Essential is not as clock-y as you may want. One of the other anti-clock aspects of this clock is that the flashes with an alarm.
Additionally, you can also control the brightness of the LED display.
Lenovo smart clock essential do you agree:
Almost all smart clock devices now require you to agree on some terms and conditions before you can seriously use them. As it is not possible to read all the terms and conditions, all you need to know that it’s branded a Lenovo device, and it carries all of the required agreements of Google’s own smart speakers. It includes Google Terms of Service and Google Privacy Policy (contained in ToS).
Should you buy this smart clock essential?
You should surely buy the Smart Essential Clock if you enjoy having the time of day visible in a constant, reliable spot. Additionally, you should buy it if you want a stationary timepiece and a decent Google Assistant speaker. In simple terms, it can be summed in words like functional simplicity providing more utility and alarm clock features as compared to a screen-less Nest Mini or Echo Dot.
