The easy bedside alarm clock is a timeless idea, providing you a fast and handy option to see all the knowledge you want as quickly as you get up. It additionally lends itself fairly nicely to modernisation; including Internet-based smarts to a tool that already occupies a primary spot in your house. Strangely, not numerous producers make this type of product, and Lenovo is among the many few that do. The firm’s newest product on this section is the Lenovo Smart Clock Essential, priced at Rs. 4,499.

A toned-down and extra reasonably priced model of the Lenovo Smart Clock which I’ve already reviewed, the Lenovo Smart Clock Essential simplifies the show and brings the worth down. At its core, it is nonetheless a wise speaker, however with a fundamental monochrome show to inform you the time. Is this the perfect good gadget to your bedside or desk high? Find out on this evaluate.

The Lenovo Smart Clock Essential is smaller and extra reasonably priced than the Lenovo Smart Clock

Lenovo Smart Clock Essential design and specs

While the Lenovo Smart Clock has a color display, the Smart Clock Essential has a 4-inch monochrome LED non-touch show. It exhibits the time, day of the week, and a climate report (temperature and circumstances) for the placement that you simply outline utilizing the Google Home app. The display additionally shows symbols for energetic alarms, when set. At the highest of the display is a set of 4 lights that illuminate when the quantity is being adjusted, or to let you already know that the gadget is listening for voice instructions after the wake phrases have been spoken.

The display is tilted only a bit upwards for straightforward visibility, making this gadget equally appropriate to be used by your bedside or on a desk high. The remainder of the physique narrows in the direction of the again, and is fabric-wrapped on all sides. The backside of the Lenovo Smart Clock Essential has rubber grips to maintain it securely in place on a easy, onerous floor.

The again of the gadget has the ability socket for the included energy adapter, a bodily swap to mute the microphones for privateness, and a slightly helpful USB Type-A port; you’ll be able to join a charging cable and use the Smart Clock Essential to cost different units this fashion. Just above the display are two microphones, and the highest of the gadget has bodily buttons to manage the quantity and playback, and set alarms. Of course, all of those features will also be managed by way of voice instructions.

For voice instructions and controls, the Lenovo Smart Clock Essential makes use of Google Assistant, and it really works like another Google Assistant-powered good gadget. The speaker has a rated output of 3W, and is on the high of the Smart Clock Essential, firing upwards. There’s dual-band Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5 for connectivity, 4GB of RAM, and an Amlogic processor powering the gadget. Interestingly, there may be additionally an evening mild across the again of its physique, with a rated brightness of as much as 31 lumens.

There is a USB port on the again to cost different units. The ring across the rear panel acts as a wise nightlight.

Lenovo Smart Clock Essential options and efficiency

Although the primary good audio system with Google Assistant got here from Google itself, manufacturers corresponding to Lenovo, Xiaomi, and Sonos have since entered the section with their very own merchandise. They work with Google Assistant in the identical approach that Google’s personal good audio system work: always-on microphones are listening for the wake phrases, and the audio system can perform varied duties together with answering queries, working good home equipment, and enjoying audio content material.

The show of the Lenovo Smart Clock Essential is extra to the full-fledged good speaker performance. It is uncomplicated and does precisely what it is alleged to, displaying fundamental data such because the time, climate, and day of the week. You cannot customise this or management what the display exhibits in any respect, however I do not see this as an issue; it is meant for use as a clock, and serves that objective nicely. You can set the brightness of the show utilizing voice instructions, and the dimmest setting is not harsh on the eyes in a darkish room.

Since the gadget does not have a contact display, there are buttons to manage some features, together with adjusting the quantity, enjoying and pausing content material, and setting alarms. While the quantity and playback controls are easy sufficient, setting alarms utilizing the buttons is extremely sophisticated and liable to errors. I most well-liked setting alarms utilizing voice instructions, which had been so much faster to execute as nicely.

Interestingly, the Lenovo Smart Clock Essential additionally has an evening mild on the again, which might be turned on and off utilizing voice instructions. It’s helpful to have, and the comfortable lighting, working simply as a small evening mild would.

The show of the Lenovo Smart Clock Essential exhibits the time and climate circumstances prominently

I did have to make use of very particular voice instructions although, as they usually clashed with voice instructions I take advantage of to function different good lights in my house. For instance, the command “Hey Google, turn on the light” activated each the good mild in the identical room because the gadget, in addition to the evening mild on the Smart Clock Essential. A separate “Hey Google, turn off the night light” command was wanted to repair the state of affairs.

Sound high quality on the Lenovo Smart Clock Essential is not notably good; the odd angle of the speaker, its measurement and output score, and the sonic signature itself make for a shrill sound that I did not discover too nice. While I did not thoughts the sound high quality for voice responses from Google Assistant, and even for voice-based content material corresponding to podcasts, the Lenovo Smart Clock Essential did not sound excellent with music.

Listening to a canopy of Maroon 5’s Maps by Postmodern Jukebox, the highs and mid-range sounded piercing, with the cymbals, high-hats, and retro-inspired vocals all considerably unpleasantly sharp. This could possibly be minimised by decreasing the quantity, however that defeated the aim of utilizing it as a speaker for far more than occasional listening in very particular settings. You can, by way of voice instructions, customise the alarm tones and have particular tracks or playlists to wake you up, however you will want to have the ability to give the precise voice instructions to get this completed.

A small, however not inconsequential problem that I had with the Lenovo Smart Clock Essential entails its microphones. Although they labored nicely for me and precisely picked up wake phrases and voice instructions for Google Assistant from up shut, I often had my Google Nest Audio (positioned in a unique room) decide up and act on the command as a substitute, although I used to be nearer to the Lenovo Smart Clock Essential. This was overcome by talking softly, and shifting nearer to the Smart Clock Essential. Perhaps higher microphones would have prevented this odd drawback within the first place.

Verdict

The Lenovo Smart Clock Essential is similar to the Smart Clock, however with one apparent distinction – the display. The monochrome LED show makes the Smart Clock Essential a greater and more practical bedside or table-top gadget than the Smart Clock, and the cheaper price sweetens the general deal. Save for a couple of small quirks involving the microphones and evening mild, this gadget operates pretty nicely.

Poor sound high quality is its largest weak spot, and that is a fairly important level to think about on a tool that’s pitched as a wise speaker (of kinds). Although Google Assistant and all allied features work nicely, the Lenovo Smart Clock Essential has an oddly disagreeable sound that makes it considerably unsuitable for listening to music. It’s value contemplating this gadget for its type issue, options, and bedside alarm clock performance, however you’ll undoubtedly be higher off with the Rs. 3,499 Mi Smart Speaker if you’re invested within the Google Assistant ecosystem and sound high quality is a vital consideration.

Is HomePod mini the very best good speaker underneath Rs. 10,000? We mentioned this on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is offered on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you get your podcasts.