At a Look
Table of Contents
Knowledgeable’s Score
Our Verdict
The diminutive Lenovo Sensible Clock 2 makes for an attractive and Google Assistant-enabled bedside companion, however at $70, it’s on the expensive facet.
Greatest Costs Right this moment: Lenovo Sensible Clock 2
Lenovo makes an excellent factor higher with the revamped Sensible Clock 2, a Google Assistant-enabled alarm clock with a brand new design, a vibrant contact show, improved sound, and—should you’re prepared to pay for it—an non-compulsory wi-fi charging dock that doubles as an evening mild.
The Sensible Clock 2 makes for an attractive bedside companion, able to taking part in soothing (or not) tunes, setting alarms and timers, displaying household pictures, and controlling good units with Google Assistant voice instructions. However at $70, the Sensible Clock 2 is on the expensive facet, particularly when you think about that the extra succesful and sleep-tracking Google Nest Hub prices simply $30 extra.
You may as well purchase the clock bundled with a Qi- and Apple MagSafe-compatible wi-fi charging dock that boasts an built-in evening mild, however collectively, the mixed units take up significantly more room, and the package deal prices $90.
Design
Measuring 3.67 x 4.47 x 2.81 inches (HxWxD), the Lenovo Sensible Clock 2 is a little bit taller than its predecessor but additionally shallower, with a base that hides a pair of 1.5-inch front-firing drivers. Weighing in at 0.66 kilos, the Sensible Clock 2 feels stable and durable however not unreasonably heavy, and there’s little probability you’ll tip it over unintentionally.
Accessible in Abyss Blue, Shadow Black, and Heather Grey flavors, the Lenovo Sensible Clock 2 arrives with a comfortable cloth protecting, with quantity up/down buttons on prime.
Tactile quantity buttons sit on the highest of the Lenovo Sensible Clock 2’s fabric-covered shell.
Within the rear is a barrel-shaped energy port for the roughly five-foot energy twine, which terminates in a chunky wall wart. Additionally in again is a change that mutes the microphone.
Elective charging dock
The non-compulsory charging dock, in the meantime, is sort of twice as large because the clock itself, measuring 8.65 x 3.26 x 0.96 inches (WxDxH). A pair of rubberized toes on the underside assist hold the dock from sliding, whereas a cradle on prime connects to the clock’s base utilizing a collection of pogo pins. By itself, the Sensible Clock 2 is a compact gadget, however sitting in its charging dock, it has roughly the identical footprint because the Google Nest Hub.
The mixture of the Sensible Clock 2 and its non-compulsory charging dock has roughly the identical footprint because the Google Nest Hub.
To the best of the clock cradle is the Qi-compatible charging floor, which helps Apple’s MagSafe charging normal. Testing it with my iPhone 12 Professional, the handset snapped proper into place and the display displayed the MagSafe charging image, simply as anticipated. I used to be additionally capable of take away my iPhone from the MagSafe charger with out lifting the dock itself. If you wish to cost a second gadget on the similar time, you are able to do so utilizing the rear USB-A charging port.
The non-compulsory dock helps Qi wi-fi charging in addition to Apple’s MagSafe normal. The dock additionally boasts an built-in evening mild.
Moreover the Qi charging floor, the dock additionally comes with an evening mild that’s built-in into the clock cradle, encircling the clock when it’s docked.
The evening mild on the Sensible Clock 2’s non-compulsory dock turns off mechanically after an outlined time frame.
The 11-lumen mild briefly activates if you dock the clock or put a cellphone on the charger, and you may as well activate the sunshine by swiping down on the clock show and tapping the Evening Gentle button. If you activate the sunshine manually, it shuts off mechanically after wherever between one and 5 minutes, and you may regulate the night-light timer from the settings menu.
Moreover providing Qi wi-fi charging, the Lenovo Sensible Clock 2’s non-compulsory dock boasts a USB-A charging port.
Now, magnificence is within the eye of the beholder, and should you suppose the Lenovo Sensible Clock 2’s dock appears to be like good, extra energy to you. Personally, I believed the dock’s composite plastic floor, which is flecked with tiny specks of colour, seemed a tad ugly, significantly and not using a cellphone sitting on the charger. Moreover appears to be like, the charging dock takes up a substantial quantity of area, which could possibly be difficult on a crowded bedside desk. In any case, that’s simply me, and if the charging dock works for you (and functionally talking, it does work nicely), then don’t let me stand in your means.
Show
The Lenovo Sensible Clock 2’s 4-inch, 480 x 800-pixel IPS show seemed surprisingly sharp and vibrant to my eyes. When utilizing the clock as a photograph body, my household pictures seemed pleasingly detailed, and there have been no indicators of a screen-door impact.
Unsurprisingly, the Sensible Clock 2 lacks the Ambient IQ characteristic on Google’s pricier Nest shows, which does an excellent job of adjusting the colour of the show in response to the ambient mild within the room. Nonetheless, the Sensible Clock 2’s extra typical ambient mild sensor did a high-quality job of dimming the show when the lights went down, and when the room went fully darkish, the display switched to an evening mode with a dim clock face.
Options and performance
Whereas it comes with full-on Google Assistant, the Lenovo Sensible Clock 2’s show expertise is a pared-down model of what you’ll discover on Google Nest good shows. On the primary display, you may select from 11 configurable clock faces, or you should utilize the clock as a photograph body utilizing snapshots from Google Images. Slightly than making an attempt to pair portrait-oriented pictures collectively or merely blurring the edges of portrait photos to fill the display, the Sensible Clock 2 properly sticks with landscape-oriented pictures solely.
In the event you swipe the show from proper to left, you’ll leap to a display that permits you to management any media you’re casting to the clock (Chromecast audio is supported, however not video), whereas the next screens present energetic alarms, the climate, and different related exercise, resembling current Spotify playlists and upcoming calendar occasions. Not unhealthy, however the interface on the Google Nest Hub and Nest Hub Max are way more elaborate.
Swiping down on the show reveals one-touch buttons for alarms, a nap timer, music (tapping the button will choose up wherever you left off in your default music service in Google Residence), and the evening mild (which, as I detailed earlier, will keep on for as much as 5 minutes. There’s additionally an on/off toggle for all of the linked good lights within the room. Swiping up from the underside of the show permits you to regulate the display brightness, tweak the quantity, allow a “don't disturb” mode, and go to the settings display.
Sensible house management
Due to onboard Google Assistant, the Lenovo Sensible Clock 2 permits you to management your suitable good house units with voice instructions, simply as you could possibly with a Google Nest Audio or Nest Mini.
Google’s Residence platform lags behind Alexa in relation to good gadget assist, nevertheless it’s quickly catching up, and many of the key gamers within the good house enviornment (resembling Philips Hue, TP-Hyperlink/Kasa Residence, LG, Samsung, August, Arlo, and Wyze all play good with Google Assistant, to not point out Nest thermostats.
Nonetheless, it’s value noting (once more) that the Lenovo Sensible Clock 2 lacks the flowery good management screens on Google Nest Hub units, and should you personal any good safety cameras, you gained’t be capable of stream their dwell video feeds to the clock’s show.
Audio high quality
Lenovo boasts that the Sensible Clock 2’s audio has improved now that its 1.5-inch drivers are front- fairly than rear-firing. I wasn’t capable of evaluate the Sensible Clock 2’s audio efficiency to its predecessor, however taking part in tunes on the brand new clock sounded fairly first rate given how small it's, with Billie Eilish’s “Oxytocin” sounding comparatively crisp with a teeny, tiny little bit of bass, whereas “Reminiscing” by Little River Band sounded considerably hotter than I'd have guessed. Nonetheless, we’re speaking clock-radio-plus high quality audio right here, so hold your expectations in examine.
So far as music companies go, you may stream tunes from any streaming service accessible on the Google Residence app, together with Apple Music, Deezer, iHeartRadio, Pandora, Spotify, and YouTube Music, in addition to any music apps that assist Chromecast.
Backside line
Whereas I’m a fan of its compact, fabric-covered design, vibrant show, and good performance, the $70 Lenovo Sensible Clock 2 can be extra interesting if its price ticket was a little bit decrease.
As I’ve beforehand talked about, the sleep-tracking Google Nest Hub is just $100, and it options the total Nest Hub expertise in addition to video streaming, and it’s not that a lot larger than the Sensible Clock 2. And if you would like the cumbersome (and should you ask me, considerably ugly) wi-fi charging dock with the evening mild, you’re $90 for the bundle.
Nonetheless, the Lenovo Sensible Clock 2 is nice at what it does, and should you’re affected person, you’ll doubtless be capable of snag one for a reduction. Simply days earlier than this evaluation was revealed, Lenovo was providing the Sensible Clock 2 (not the clock-and-charger bundle) for simply $50, or about as a lot as a display-less Google Nest Mini. At that value, the Sensible Clock 2 begins to look rather more enticing.