Lenovo Smart Clock
HELP AROUND THE CLOCK.
THE LENOVO SMART Clock faces stiff competition from the Amazon Echo 5. Boasting the same bargain basement pricetag of $79, the Lenovo contender has a smaller, lower-res four-inch screen, doesn’t support video playback, and lacks a video camera and 3.5mm audio output.
With that many strikes against it, you’d think the Lenovo Smart Clock would be dead in the water, but that’s not necessarily the case.
The ace up its sleeve is that it runs the Google Assistant platform, which offers a better all-round experience – particularly at the smart clock level.
Lenovo has stripped back the Google Assistant experience, which means you can’t display photos, play YouTube videos, make video calls or send videos to it from your smartphone via Chromecast. But you can still access a healthy selection of functions, including all the voice commands, music playback, and controlling smart home devices via the touchscreen.
The only videos it can play are live video feeds from compatible smart cameras like Google’s own Nest and the Arlo Ultra. Calling up a Live Feed on the four-inch screen is as simple as saying, “Hey Google, show me the living room camera.”
As a Smart Clock, at least, the Lenovo is highly capable. You can customise the screensaver with 10 different clock faces, activate the snooze function (the duration of which can be customised - unlike the Echo Show 5), and set an alarm using one of the preloaded sounds, your selection of music, or an online radio station. You can also access unlimited music streaming for free courtesy of the ad-supported YouTube Music.