This week, I want to tell you about a device I've been using for quite some time; it's the Lenovo Smart Clock Essential. Put simply, this is a Google Home with a clock face. The clock face is a digital display that can show you the time, and the weather, but that's it. There are also four LED lights across the top that activates when you speak to Google.
Everything is controlled through your voice and you can do everything through the clock that you can through a Google Home. You can ask about the weather, set reminders, control your smart home, play music, etc. The main difference here is in the clock face which looks like any other normal bedroom clock. The Clock Essential is a diamond shape in the back which goes to a point. There are four buttons across the top of the display which adjust volume, playback, and let you see your alarms. You can set your alarm just by telling Google.
In the morning when you want to snooze, you can say, "OK Google, snooze." By default, it snoozes for ten minutes. You can also tell it to snooze for longer such as for 45 minutes or snooze until 9 o'clock. You can also push one of the four buttons at the top to turn the alarm off. I don't like that feature because any of the three buttons snoozes the alarm while the fourth button turns it off. When you're that tired, there's no guarantee you'll hit the right one and suddenly you're late for the meeting
The face of the clock is black and the numbers are white. The side and back of the clock are covered in grey fabric. Overall it's a nice aesthetic, but the device itself is not radically different than a normal Google Nest Mini, or whatever they're calling them now. The only difference is the clock face, which is nice, and there's a night light halo ring around the back of it that lights up when the alarm goes off. Also on the back is a USB port that you can use to charge a device and a microphone mute switch which is a nice little bonus.
The pricing for the clock isn't bad either at around $25 which is about what a Google Nest Mini alone would run you. It's definitely a device that's nice to have if you happen to want a Google Nest Mini in your bedroom and I can think of plenty of reasons why you wouldn't, believe me. But again this is Lenovo playing in the fringe space of devices that maybe nobody specifically asked for but it turns out they're nice anyway.
Yes, I would love it if it had a normal screen and could play Netflix or something; of course, I would, but for what it is, it's a great little device and if you should feel the desire to pick one up, I've linked it below.
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