![]() ![]() ![]() For just $30 more, you can get all of the alarm clock smarts of the Essential, plus a whole lot more features. Of course, it runs Alexa instead of Google Assistant, so that’s an important consideration if you live in a more Alexa-powered home.īut in my opinion, the biggest competition for the Lenovo Smart Clock Essential is its older sibling, the Lenovo Smart Clock. It also costs $60 retail, which is $10 more than the Lenovo Smart Clock Essential. It, too, is only a smart speaker with alarm features, but it comes in a sphere-like design. Since it lacks a display, a direct rival of the Lenovo Smart Clock Essential is the Amazon Echo Dot with Clock. What I especially miss is the ability to check out my Nest Hello live feed to see if the delivery person is at the front door. The original Smart Clock would even surface occasional reminders to suggest alarms for upcoming appointments so that I don’t miss them. It also lacks the “sunrise” alarm feature on its predecessor, which would brighten the screen gradually to mimic daylight’s arrival. It also works well with Google smart routines, such as a “Good Morning” routine or a “Good Night” one, which you can customize for a set of actions such as turning off the lights or lowering the temperature.Īs I said earlier, this is not a smart display like the previous Lenovo Smart Clock, so it won’t show you the five-day forecast at a glance, the currently playing audio track or your Google Photos. You can also use it to control smart home devices such as Philips Hue lights or a Chromecast. Of course, like most other Google-powered smart speakers, I can ask it for information like the weather, my upcoming calendar appointments, my to-do list and more. I can pause the music by pressing the aforementioned Play button or simply through voice command. Sure, it’s not as bass-heavy or rich as audio from the Nest Hub or the Sonos One, but for its size, I thought it was good enough. The audio quality is about on par from the original Smart Clock. But it was surprisingly loud, and I enjoyed blasting Lizzo songs from Spotify in the morning as I made the bed. The Lenovo Smart Clock Essential only has a 1.5-inch three-watt speaker so I didn’t really expect much in terms of audio quality. Or, you can also choose to tap the top of the Smart Clock Essential to buy yourself some snooze time. Much like the previous Smart Clock, shouting “Stop” will dismiss the alarm. To cancel an alarm, you’d press the alarm button and then the volume down button, or simply tell Google Assistant to do so. ![]() You can navigate through the different categories with the volume buttons. Not only can you set the hour and minute, but you can also set the alarm for weekdays, just weekends or individual days. The easiest way to set up an alarm on the Smart Clock Essential is via Google Assistant, but you can do it manually, too, by pressing and holding on the alarm button. So the first alarm will display “01” and the second alarm will display “02” and so forth). If you have more than one set, pressing again reveals the next one (Each alarm is denoted by a number on the bottom right. Much like the LED screen, you can adjust the brightness of the nightlight by instructing Google to do so.Ī short press on the aforementioned alarm setup button will reveal your existing alarm. By default, the nightlight emits a soft white glow but is still bright enough so I don’t have to stumble as I head to the bathroom. ![]() Also on the rear is a built-in nightlight, which you activate by holding down the volume down button or using your voice (“Hey Google, turn on the nightlight”). On the back are the microphone mute switch as well as a USB-A port for charging your phone at night. The top of the Smart Clock Essential is home to the volume controls as well as a “Play” button plus an alarm setup button. That said, I do think it’s a hassle that the only way to adjust the brightness is via voice command. This is certainly not as handy as an ambient light sensor, but I didn’t think the LED digits were too distracting they’re not any brighter than other digital alarm clocks I’ve used in the past. So for example, I could say “Hey Google, set the screen brightness to 50” and it’ll dim to 50 percent of its max brightness. Instead, I have to adjust the brightness myself by instructing it via voice command. Unlike the Smart Clock, however, there’s no ambient light sensor so it won’t dim or brighten automatically based on the surroundings. ![]()
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