The Lenovo Smart Clock is the smartest alarm clock for your bedside table

The Lenovo smart clock has begun shipping to customers this week. Developed alongside Google, it is a bedside alarm that responds to voice commands via Google Assistant. It has a simple touch screen allowing you to check your calendar and weather when you wake up for the first time.

Since it was developed with Google, it was obviously intended to coexist with the Google Nest Hub (formerly Google Home Hub) in Google's smart home product line. The Nest Hub is a smart screen with a more robust touch screen, able to play videos, show you images and perform many other tasks that the Lenovo Smart Clock can not perform.

The Nest Hub costs 130 USD, the Lenovo Smart Clock 80 USD, but the Nest Hub is often on sale for even less than the retail price of the Lenovo Smart Clock. In this case, it can be difficult to justify spending about the same amount on a device with a less efficient touch screen.

In my review, I talked about it as one of the disadvantages of the Lenovo Smart Clock. You should not buy it while waiting for all the same features as a full-size smart screen. You will be disappointed. That said, the Lenovo Smart Clock is unique enough to stand alone and is usually a better gadget if you specifically want a smart gadget for your bedside table. Here's why.

Tech detox

The Lenovo smart clock is a better choice if you want to escape from your phone before you go to bed. The Nest Hub can not do everything you can on a phone, but you can still use it to watch YouTube videos and scroll through images.

The features of the Lenovo Smart Clock are closer to those of a smart speaker, because the touch screen offers only a few recommended functions while allowing you to issue recognized voice commands Google Assistant. For some families, this more limited feature will be a good thing.

If you want to limit the screen time for you and your family, Lenovo Smart Clock is a viable alternative. You can always see the most urgent information – you can check your security camera, consult your calendar and see the forecasts and your trip.

Lenovo was intentional with the features left out of the smart clock. What remains makes sense for your bed and for the things you need to know when you go to bed or when you wake up. It offers enough information so you can turn off your phone without the temptation of continuing to consume the vast content of the Internet.

Alarms at sunrise

You can set an alarm with a voice command on the Google Nest Hub so you can use it to wake up, but Lenovo Smart Clock is designed for that task. It will suggest alarms based on your first appointment the next day. You can define several alarms and customize them. You can change the alarm tones, the duration of the repetition and the alarm volume (regardless of speaker volume).

Your alarm can trigger your morning routine, which will explain your schedule and will play the default news. You can also customize the routine to control your smart devices and more in the Google Home app. This routine will not be triggered when you sleep, but you will stop your alarm for good.

My favorite feature of the group is the sunrise function. Enable this option and the screen of the Lenovo Smart Clock will gradually become brighter 30 minutes before your scheduled alarm. This wake-up light helps you get away from sleep before waking up and works perfectly. The Nest Hub could eventually add this feature in a future update, but for now, Lenovo Clock has it and not the Nest Hub.

Smack to snooze

When your alarm rings, you can slam the top of Lenovo 's smart clock so that it stops. You can customize it so that it is pushed back or stopped completely, which is fine. If you use the Nest Hub as an alarm, you can stop it simply by saying "Stop" or you can press a repeat button on the touch screen. This is not an arduous task either, and you also have these options with Lenovo Clock. When I'm groggy in the morning, I'm very happy to stop my awakening with a little brute force.

I almost always have a nap a few times and finding a button on the Nest Hub screen honestly represents more work than I want when I still do not happen to wake up. Just hit the top of the Lenovo smart clock to recall a big reminder button above a traditional alarm clock. The fact that you can personalize what happens when you hit it makes it even better.

Sound quality

Believe it or not, the little Lenovo Smart Clock sounds better than the Nest Hub when it reads music. The Nest Hub is not really a giant device and neither of them can do more than fill a room with background music, but Lenovo uses its built-in 3W loudspeaker and two pbadive radiators a lot.

This sounds pretty good, especially for its size, and shows no noticeable distortion of sound quality, even at maximum volume. Again, do not expect a dazzling stereo sound – Lenovo's alarm clock is tiny – but it's enough to outclbad the chilly, disappointing sound of the Nest Hub.

S better integrates

I love the cute and colorful design of the Nest Hub. It could blend into a wide variety of pieces and Google offers a few color choices for the fabric exterior. The Lenovo Smart Clock has only the gray fabric finish, but it is perfect for your bedside table.

Neither has a built – in camera and both have a silence switch to help peace of mind. Plus, they both have an ambient light sensor to minimize the glow of the display. But Lenovo's alarm clock is small enough to fit any open area of ​​your bedroom. It has a USB port to charge your phone and its rectangular facade pleasantly recalls the alarms of the old school with a modern twist.

Nevertheless, wait for a sale

The Google Nest hub is an excellent smart screen. The Lenovo smart clock is an excellent intelligent alarm clock. Both are useful gadgets for the smart home. Yes, Google Assistant is built into the voice control and the screen of the Nest Hub does more, but the Lenovo Smart Clock is perfectly suited to what it is. If you specifically want to upgrade your alarm clock with smarts, this cute little gadget from Lenovo is your best option at the moment.

That said, frequent sales on the Nest Hub make Lenovo Smart Clock time too expensive. Its more limited functionality makes a lot more sense when it's $ 50 less than the Nest Hub. Lenovo's big smart screen has also been on sale a few times since its release last year, and it would be best to wait for a similar sale on the Lenovo Smart Clock. Once you get a discount, if you do not need all the features of the Nest Hub, you can save money by choosing the simpler bedside gadget.