Lenovo Smart Clock Essential With Alexa Brings Docking Features, Smart Frame Goes Interactive
While Lenovo may not be physically in attendance at CES 2022, that hasn’t stopped the company from making some cool product announcements. To help upgrade your smart home game, Lenovo announced the new 'Smart Clock Essential with Alexa Built-in'. The company isn’t new to smart clocks, having a Google Assistant-enabled model already on the market. Lenovo is also refreshing its Smart Frame product, making the photo accessory easier to use and more functional.
The Understated, but Highly Functional, Smart Clock
The Lenovo Smart Clock Essential with Alexa Built-in brings the classic look of a bedside digital alarm clock together with smart home technology. Its big, bold LED display allows you to see the time and weather forecast from across the room. If you prefer a different clock face, Lenovo has you covered with a number of customizable choices. Of course, if you’d rather ask Alexa the time or weather conditions, the voice assistant is ready for action.
Lenovo says it’s designed this product as the “ideal nightstand companion,” since you can tap to dismiss an alarm or snooze, and the screen automatically dims in darkness. For the privacy-aware, the Smart Clock Essential with Alexa Built-in is built without a camera, and the included mute switch allows you to easily stop Alexa from being able to listen in.
The clock is made with an “organic exterior aesthetic,” with seamless tubing. Available in Misty Blue or Clay Red, it’s wrapped in a soft touch fabric to help blend in with your decor. The Lenovo Smart Clock Essential with Alexa Built-in has a USB port for charging your phone and a forward-facing 3-watt speaker. You can stream music from Amazon Music and other apps, as well as audiobooks and podcasts.
To integrate with the rest of your smart home devices, the Lenovo Smart Clock Essential with Alexa Built-in is able to act as the control center for it all. Whether it’s a plug, light, or thermostat, if the box has the “Works with Alexa” badge, your smart clock can control it.
The new Lenovo Ambient Light Dock is the first in a line of docking accessories for the Smart Clock Essential with Alexa Built-in. The accessory allows you to have a nightlight at the base of your clock, with eight different lighting modes.
The Lenovo Smart Clock Essential with Alexa Built-in will be available in the US beginning in January 2022, starting at $59.99. The Ambient Light Dock is expected to launch sometime during the first quarter of 2022, priced at $29.99.
Updating the Lenovo Smart Frame
The newly refreshed Lenovo Smart Frame brings you the means to easily show off your favorite photographs and other images in your living room, bedroom, or any other part of the house. The accessory includes its own built-in memory, so you no longer need a Google Photos account to load pictures to it.
Lenovo hasn’t done away with Google Photos support, though. You can still choose to load your pictures that way, or just go straight from your phone’s camera roll. To add more functionality to the Smart Frame, owners can leave virtual sticky notes for loved ones or roommates. You can schedule and time the messages, so they only appear when you want them to.
In future updates to the Smart Frame software, Lenovo will be adding support for video channels as well as an Instagram challenge to showcase your best pictures.
