- [Narrator] Right now you could go to a Target or Wal-Mart
and buy an alarm clock for less money
than it takes to go to the movies.
So why would anybody drop $80 on this one from Lenovo?
Well for one thing, because snoozing a smart clock
is as easy as talking to it.
- Hey Google, five more minutes.
- [Smart Clock] Okay, be back in five minutes.
(upbeat music)
- [Narrator] Okay, there's a lot more
to the Lenovo smart clock than that.
It's basically a Google Home mini
stuffed into a fabric coated casing
with a display on the front.
It's not as big as it looks on video.
It's nowhere near the size of the
Lenovo Smart Display I reviewed last year.
And at only four inches across,
the screen is smaller than most smartphones.
But that means it doesn't take up to much space
on the bedside table I totally didn't buy
just for the purposes of making this video.
And despite that small size,
that three watt speaker packs a wallop.
- [Michael] Set volume to maximum.
("Mr. Tillman" by John Misty)
Jesus.
("Mr. Tillman" by John Misty)
- [Narrator] This music is coming through Spotify,
which works just like it does on any Google Home product.
And you can use these two front facing microphones
to ask anything you'd ask another Google Home.
- What's the forecast?
- [Smart Clock] In Somerville today, it'll be partly cloudy,
with a forecasted high of 72 and a low of 53.
- [Narrator] If it creeps you out
to have a microphone right next to your pillow,
well first of all, you might wanna stop falling asleep
right next to your smartphone, like 60% of us do.
If you can't part with your pre-sleep phone scroll, though,
a USB port on the back of the smart clock
ensures you can still charge your phone,
even though the clock uses up a power outlet of its own.
And next to that USB port
is the solution to your other privacy problem,
a mute switch to turn off the mic.
- [Smart Clock] The mic is muted.
- [Narrator] Now keep I mind that muting the mic
means you won't be able to use
what I think is the coolest feature,
silencing or snoozing the alarm just by talking to it.
- Stop.
- [Narrator] If you don't trust
your sleepy morning self with that much power,
you can also leave it muted
and tap the top of the casing if you need a snooze.
And that duality sort of pervades the interface.
You can do most anything on the smart clock
through taps or voice input,
from brightening the screen to adjusting the volume
to checking your calendar.
And those microphones work really well, by the way.
I only had one or two failed commands
over a whole week with the device.
It even listens well while it's playing music.
- [Michael] Set volume to five.
(upbeat music)
- [Narrator] I should mention here
that I'm not the best to showcase
everything a Google Home can do,
because I just don't have a lot of smart home stuff.
So if you wanna see how the smart clock
can control the nest video doorbell for example,
check out Modern Dad's video linked below.
Oh, and speaking of video, there's no camera on this device,
but you can, indeed, make good old fashioned phone calls.
- [Michael] Interesting, I did not know that I could
call you from my alarm clock, but here we are.
(laughing)
I know.
- [Woman] It's a little, it's fuzzy and such
but I can understand you.
- [Michael] Well, that's better than the
$12 Target alarm clock can do, I guess.
- [Narrator] Voice calls through your alarm clock.
2019 is pretty weird.
Okay, let's talk shortcomings.
While the speaker is loud, it doesn't have a ton of bass.
Visually, you're confined to only as many
clock faces as Lenovo provides.
And while you can ask it to
show you pictures from your Google Photos gallery,
you can't currently use those photos as a clock face.
Also you can't use the clock to play videos.
And you really wouldn't want to
because from its high reflectivity
to it's low resolution, this LCD just isn't that great.
On the bright side, or the bright and then dim side,
it does automatically dim when you turn the lights out.
And it can be set to brighten gradually in the morning
to simulate a sunrise.
Although for the record, I was never able to figure out
how to make my review unit do that.
(upbeat music)
So, should you buy one?
Well, first of all, I'll say that
this is probably a lot better as a gift.
I mean I'd be much happier to receive one
that to spend money on it.
So set a reminder for stocking stuffers around the holidays.
But there is one target customer
who makes a lot of sense for this,
and that's the person who's already got one Google Home
in one room of their house and is considering another.
If you don't have a smart speaker in your bedroom yet,
and you don't need a big display for video,
this costs the same amount of money
as the recently discounted Google Home.
It sounds almost as good and it pulls double duty
as the world's smartest alarm clock.
- [Smart Alarm] Your alarm is set for tomorrow at 8:00 a.m.
Goodnight, Michael.
- [Narrator] Bizarre and superfluous?
Totally.
But pretty cool all the same.
Oh yes, yes indeed.
If you're more of the Alexa persuasion,
be on the look out for the Amazon Echo Show 5
coming this summer.
It'll retail for $90 and it'll pack video calling, too.
If you'd like to see a Mr. Mobile review of that one,
let me know in the comments.
(upbeat music)
Disclosure, this review was produced using
a smart clock review sample provided by Lenovo.
No compensation changed hands,
and I gave Lenovo no copy approval.
That means you're seeing it at the same time they are.
If you like reviews like this,
please subscribe to the Mr. Mobile on YouTube
and don't forget to check out Modern Dad's video as well.
Until next time, thanks for watching
and stay mobile, my friends.