Lenovo - Smart Clock (2nd Gen) 4" Smart Display with Google Assistant and Wireless Charging Dock - Abyss Blue

Great value and easy setup Displays the time in color, very cool also charges your phone quick

Great products from best buy. I buy all my electronic from best buy and tell all my friends.

I loved this alarm clock, able to set multiple wake up times if I decide to sleep in on the weekend. It also tells you the temperature and weather starting out the morning. After that it also summarized news of the morning. I can also use my Google app on my iPhone to play music and make other adjustments.

I love it! I love being able to get weather and news so easily. I also love seeing the weather graphics for what the weather is. It is quite user friendly with lots of options.

============================== >>>>> Bottom Line Up front: <<<<< ============================== The Leno Smart Clock 2 (w/charging dock) is literally capable of doing everything your old “non-smart” alarm clock does; but in my opinion, does all those things way better. Having built in Google Assistant functionality along with extra useful design features, such as a built-in night light and wireless charging base help make the Smart Clock 2 a top choice if you’re considering a smart clock…..so long as you don’t have to have to be tied into the Amazon/Alexa Eco-System. I appreciated the Smart Clock 2 being a “clock” more so than many of the media steaming/consuming, video camera chat enabled “smart displays” that are out there. As a desktop companion, there wasn't much I couldn't do to stay on top my schedule and get things done with addition of Google Assistant functionality. ========================= - Overall Design/Aesthetics: - ========================= I am a fan of simple, clean, design aesthetics. That being said, the Smart Clock 2 ticks that box off quite well. The heather grey exterior covering on the main “display unit” has a nice clean, modern look that blends in with almost any desk, counter, or night table. The fabric like material feels durable, well formed; yet somehow soft at the same time, which I really liked. The charging base and integrated night light seamlessly blend in with the main display unit, and allows both pieces to appear as one physical unit. Thanks to the high strength magnets in the docking section, they also feel extra sturdy even when just picked up by the base alone. The plastic material used on the wireless charging base feels semi-slick and a little less “luxe” feeling in texture when compared to the main unit itself. I appreciate the little “flecks” of grey coloring emplaced into the exterior shell of the docking station, as it helped to hide dust and dirt; but something about those flecks made the base seem slightly off when contrasted to the grey used in the main speaker in my opinion. The "night light" ring also seamlessly blends into the grey base and is pretty hard to notice when not actively in use. I am always fan of multiple color options, and I think the Smart Clock 2 looks even more stylish in some of the other colors they make this model in (Abyss Blue or Shadow Black). The added USB Type A port on the back also allowed me to plug my Smart watch charger for even more functionality. . ===================== - Smart Clock 2 usage: - ===================== I’ve been using the Lenovo Smart Clock 2 (and its wonderful wireless charging dock) on my main desktop for a good week now, and I have been really happy how it has been working out for me. I currently own and have used a fair share of “smart” clocks and displays over the years, which is why I when I say I think the Lenovo Smart Clock 2 is worthy of serious consideration, its not for lack of comparison/time with other devices on the market. For starters, having the integrated wireless charging pad within reach has really been useful in keeping my phones topped up on power and always within arms reach while I am working at my desk. The charging pad area itself is reasonably sized, and functioned flawlessly with my Samsung Note 20 and Galaxy S21 (they even displayed the “fast wireless” charging indicator). Unfortunately, I could not get my Samsung Galaxy Watch 2 or Watch 4 to charge. I’m not sure if it has to do with the large raised “+” sign on the middle that may prevent flush contact with enough source, or some other technical reason however as I previously mentioned in the design portion; I got around this by plugging my watch charter into the USB-A port on the back of the with no issues. Surprisingly, I have found the built-in night light to be SUPER useful. Initially, I wasn’t sure if I was going to use it all but I have found it a nice source of ambient lighting for my general desktop area. It has helped me helped me see things and documents, while allowing to keep background lighting to a minimum and helping to reduce additional eyestrain from being on the computer for hours on end. Fun fact, the light can go as bright as 11 lumens – but I don't recommend keeping it at that level if your actually using to try and sleep. To add to that, you can even control the night light by simply using Google Assistant Voice Commands as well. Lenovo’s decision to include Google Assistant is what makes the Smart Clock 2 - "smart" to begin with. I’ve watched Google’s Assistant grow tremendously over the years, and thanks to this added functionality; there are so many possibilities that open up that only this type of digital assistance integration can bring. With just my voice, the Smart Clock 2 allowed me to control my smart bulbs around my house, set the temperature my Nest thermostat, check local traffic conditions before I headed out, and even just got verbal confirmation of what was on my Google calendar for the day (keep in mind you have to have given Google Assistant permissions/settings in order to get this added functionality. Keep in mind, this also means that some Amazon/Alexa specific devices (to include commands) and applications might not possibly be compatible/controllable on/through the Smart Clock 2, but I don't count that as deal breaker as that normally doesn't tend to be the case for most devices these days. I personally may not consider this a disadvantage, but your usage patterns may vary from mine. I generally didn’t use the Smart Clock 2 to stream music (nor do I on my other smart devices) – but the 3W front firing speaks sounded just fine from what I heard. So long as you keep your expectation of what a 1.5” speakers can do, I would say it is on par with everything else out there. The last thing I want to share are my thoughts on the display and UI of the Smart Clock 2 itself. This area is where I think the Smart Clock 2 may be lacking when compared to other devices out there. When I personally compared the Smart Clock 2 to my other “smart” display devices in my house, I found the Smart Clock 2 a little shorthanded when it comes to physical screen size and added lack of additional “tech” features. Don’t get me wrong the 4-inch IPS screen is sharp and responsive, but it is smaller than I would have liked/used to. I have 5,8,10 inch devices that are notably larger, and therefore easier to see at distance - when placed side by side. Unfortunately, the Smart Clock 2's user selectable clock faces don’t help much to "enlarge" the numbers in that regard either. Unlike some of my other devices, you can’t watch any streaming video, nor is there embedded camera functionality of any type. Again, I don’t need those things in my at my personal desktop area, but I know for some folks not having those types of features could be a deal breaker, especially if other similar devices have them – yet the Smart Clock 2 does not. I loved the Smart Clock 2 for just being a super easy to use Clock, that helped me stay organized and charge my phone - plain and simple. ========================== >>>>> Closing thoughts: <<<<< ========================== Thanks to the Lenovo Smart Clock 2’s Google Assistant integration and extra useful design features (night light and wireless charging base) – I think it offers something that the other smart displays and clocks out there don’t. Unfortunately, that also go against the Smart Clock 2 as well, when directly comparing against similar units. I really appreciated the simple, yet functional User Interface (UI) and streamlined 2-piece design. My main grip, honestly is with the screen size – make it BIGGER - especially if it is being focused as a more “dedicated” clock type unit (as compared to other smart “display” that don’t necessarily call themselves “clocks”). I really think the screen size should be at least an inch or two bigger and offer more choices/customization on the clock faces or Lenovo should offer more variety of sizes in the product line. Regardless, the Smart Clock 2 is excellent "dumb" alarm clock, a great "smart: alarm clock, but perhaps not the best smart alarm clock if your committed to the Alexa/Amazon ecosystem - or want a GIANT screen. I really don't think you'll disappointed regardless though.

I love this clock. The size is great, the sound is good, charging my phone + USB port is a fantastic bonus. A feature not mentioned is that the dock can be removed and not used if desired. Also, there is a light that comes on under the clock that shines briefly letting you know that phone charging has started.

The wireless charging area has magnets so it aligns on the right place for proper charging your devices, so far I’ve tried my iPhone 13 pro max, my wife’s iPhone 11 Pro Max, AirPods Pro 1st gen and AirPods 3rd gen all of them worked. The speakers on the screen sound better than I thought it would, it has a nice punchy bass and it can connect with your music apps to play songs from voice commands. Easy to set up took less than 5 minutes with updates. Totally worth it!!

## Design The Lenovo Smart Alarm Clock 2 features a fabric exterior with a 4-inch display on front. This particular model includes a wireless charging base that you can set the clock on top of to provide power to the wireless Qi charging pad on the base. This way, you can wirelessly charge your smartphone beside the Smart Alarm Clock. There is no camera on the device, providing a bit of piece of mind when placing it in the bedroom. There is a mute switch for the microphone located on the back of the unit. The Qi charging base also has a simple LED night light that glows around the base of the alarm clock. This can be enabled by saying, “hey Google, turn on the night light.” ## Setup The setup process is done through the Google Home app, so thankfully there is not yet another app to install specifically for this clock. In the Google Home app, you simply hit the + symbol to add a device, and your phone should automatically detect the Lenovo Smart Alarm Clock and walk you through the steps of joining it to your WiFi and customizing your music services. Oddly, although I’m a YouTube TV subscriber, it did not show up as one of the Live TV choices and the clock doesn’t allow me to play anything on its built-in screen. Sure, I wouldn’t sit down to watch a 2 hour movie on the tiny screen, but it would be nice to have the news on while getting ready in the morning. At the end of the setup process, the Smart Alarm Clock installed a firmware update and was then ready to use. ## Performance While the screen is small, I’m able to clearly see the time from across the room. There are different clock faces available that you can swipe through on the device. I like the weather clock face as it shows a subtle image in the background of the current conditions along with the temperature. I also like the option to use a Google Photos album that cycles throughout the day. Oddly, the display settings cannot be accessed in the Google Home app and must be done through the small touch screen interface. Hopefully, this is corrected in the future. The Smart Alarm Clock 2 also seems to do a good job of picking up my voice from across the room and it responds to queries very quickly, similar to a regular Google Nest Hub. The Smart Alarm Clock 2 doesn’t seem to support streaming video as it does not even show as an option to Chromecast video content from my phone. It works fine with my Pandora and my free Spotify account, but my requests to play content from Apple Music come back with a, “sorry, I can’t do that right now,” which is odd because Apple Music works fine on my Google Nest Hub. Hopefully Lenovo can address this in a future update as well. Sound quality is surprisingly good on this little device! Music comes through clear and doesn’t sound “tinny” as you would expect on a small speaker. At night, the unit can be set to show a simple black and white clock face. The screen gets very dim making it ideal for a dark bedroom. ## Summary Overall, the Lenovo Smart Alarm Clock 2 is a nice nightstand companion. The add-on base adds a subtle night light and Qi charging pad for your phone. It seems like there are a few kinks to work out with Apple Music, but Pandora, iHeart Radio and Spotify seem to work fine. However, if being able to stream video is important to you, you may want to consider a regular Google Nest Hub with a larger screen at a similar price point (minus the Qi charging pad and night light).