Language assistants are found in more and more households. During the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in 2019, Lenovo presented Smart Clock, an interesting device that can be used as an alternative to the Amazon Echo Spot. Visually the device looks like a radio alarm clock, which has an additional display at the front.
The development was carried out in close cooperation with Google. At first glance, the Smart Clock and the Google Home loudspeakers therefore appear to have some visual similarities. The 4-inch display (800 x 480 pixels) is controlled via the smart display platform from Google, which unfortunately is not yet available in Germany. By default, the time is displayed there. Buttons for volume control are easily accessible on the top, the mute button is hidden on the back.
Lenovo has not yet published which functions can be controlled directly via the display and which functions can only be controlled via voice commands. Since the Smart Clock is almost always used in the bedroom, this is important because voice commands could wake other people up.
Google Assistant supports routines
Just like Google’s products, Lenovo Smart Clock allows you to create routines that help make repetitive tasks easier to perform. Plus, the Lenovo product can be shared with Google Assistant speakers in a multi-room setup.
Smartphones can also be charged via the built-in USB port. Amazon’s competitor Amazon Echo Show doesn’t have this port, but the Amazon product has a camera that Lenovo didn’t install.
Whether the Lenovo Smart Clock will also come to Germany is questionable due to the lack of smart display platform support. In the U.S. it will appear in spring 2019 for 80 dollars.
