While Lenovo’s recent launches have been dominated by waves of new laptops and tablets, the company also had time to put together a successor to its diminutive Smart Clock, which now comes with wireless charging and a new design.
Lenovo’s original Smart Clock debuted at the Consumer Electronics Show in 2019 and made its way to market later that Summer. It led with a compact and stylish fabric-covered design that integrated Google Assistant smarts – complete with a speaker, hardware microphone mute functionality, a 4in touchscreen and USB power, to juice up your phone at the same time.
More than a year later, the monochromatic Smart Clock Essential was introduced, which also integrated a nightlight feature and now – as part of its Mobile World Congress 2021 showcase – the Lenovo Clock 2 combines functionality from both precursors into a single product, plus a few extras.
The ‘cute’ triangular wedge shape of the original Smart Clock has been extended into more of a cuboid, with a skewed face that plays host to its 4in touch-capable IPS LCD, while the additional space within this new frame allows for stereo sound output from an improved speaker setup.
The UI now sports darker interface design elements too and the addition of a ‘screen off’ option means it’s less likely to disrupt your sleep or blind you in the darkness.
The outer cladding is, again, a soft-touch fabric, this time made available in three colours at launch: Shadow Black, Heather Grey and Abyss Blue, with Lenovo claiming that the Smart Clock 2 is made from 85% recycled materials.
The biggest differentiator – compared to the original – is that the USB port on the back is (unfortunately) gone, with this generation instead featuring a detachable dock, extending out to the side of the Smart Clock 2 with an integrated wireless charging pad. This means you can now recharge your phone, headphones or smartwatch wirelessly at up to 10W and better yet, it’s Apple MagSafe compatible. The seam at which the Smart Clock 2 slots into the dock also houses a small nightlight too.
Lenovo has slated the Smart Clock 2 for an August arrival, priced at €89.99 – the same as the original Smart Clock (meaning UK pricing will likely also be the same, at £79.99). The wireless charging dock can be bought in a bundle with the Clock 2 or separately; standalone pricing has not yet been announced.