Is the Lenovo Smart Clock 2 a wake-up call to the competition?
Lenovo has just announced the release of the Smart Clock 2, an alarm clock that boasts integrated Google Assistant that can play your music, or perform any of the smart home functions that you need with connected devices. Undeniably, the Lenovo Smart Clock 2 is an impressive bit of kit. For one thing its immensely handy to have a bedside unit through which you can control up to 50,000 devices via Google Assistant along with handling the usual functions of your early morning wake-up call. The unit measures 93.30mm x 113.48mm x 71.33mm including with a 4-inch LCD touchscreen, it weighs 298g, and is available in three colours: Abyss Blue, Heather Grey, Shadow Black. The tech is powered by a MediaTek MT8167S processor, and it offers 1GB of RAM and 8GB flash memory. On top of that, this version adds an improved audio design (consisting of 1.5-inch 3W front-firing speakers) so that your music will sound even better, and offers ambient light to set the mood in your bedroom. While these useful functions and solid specifications should see the Lenovo Smart Clock 2 as a worthy competitor to other smart home hubs, in one respect it has arguably taken a step backwards from its predecessor. While the original device had a USB-A cable through which you could charge your phone, this has been removed from the new version, which instead offers a wireless charging dock accessory. While this will no doubt be handy, its an extra expense that compromises on the functionality of the actual unit itself, which could be a disappointment to many people.