November 16, 2024

Lenovo Smart Clock Essential adds built-in Alexa voice assistant control

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Lenovo has used CES 2022 to reveal an additional product in its connected smart clock range: the Lenovo Smart Clock Essential With Alexa Built-In.

It was in mid-to-late 2020 when Lenovo revealed the previous Smart Clock Essential, which uses Google Assistant as its voice control assistant. The 2022 release is instead all about Amazon Alexa, adding more choice to the market to suit various preferences.

Otherwise, just as we’ve always said of this series, the Smart Clock Essential is very much one of those ‘does what it says on the tin’ products. It’s a digital clock that uses Alexa to turn it into a time-telling smart speaker.

The original Lenovo Smart Clock, released in 2019, was a touchscreen-based device. The Essential removes that touchscreen ability, stripping things back to the essentials, which is why the voice control makes all the more sense in this particular product.

It is, in a sense, a ‘speakerclock’, marrying together the functionality you would expect from a bedside or kitchen surface clock – time, date, alarm – with voice smart functions, such as being able to command listening to the radio or have the weather announced audibly. There is an integrated 3W speaker with two passive radiators to boost the sound output.

Keeping with its ‘Essential’ name is an essential price: the Alexa version of this smart clock will retail for $59 when it goes on sale this January. It’s available in Clay Red (pictured) or Misty Blue fabric finishes. Very nice indeed.

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