If there's anything my roommates learned from me in the Airbnb the Mobile Nations team stayed in during MWC, it's that I'm a heavy sleeper. I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm one of those people that sets alarms at 10-minute intervals for an hour leading up to the time I actually need to be awake, much to the dismay of those sharing a room with me.
MrMobile's latest video has me thinking Lenovo's new Smart Clock may be a good way for me to wake up a bit more reliably. It's a tiny 4-inch smart display with a built-in speaker and microphones that fits perfectly on a bedside table. The rear-mounted USB port lets you charge your phone at night without occupying an additional power outlet, and there's a mute switch on the back for the privacy-concerned.
The main premise is that when your alarm goes off in the mornings, you can dismiss it by tapping the top of the Smart Clock or simply talking to Google Assistant. You don't even have to say the "Hey Google" hot phrase; just groggily mumbling "stop" or "turn off" gets the job done. You can also say "five more minutes" a dozen times for the next hour, if you're so inclined — I won't judge.
It acts a bit like the Pixel Stand wireless charger, dimming at night and gradually brightening in the mornings to simulate sundown and sunrise. It's also similar to Lenovo's larger Smart Display, with the ability to stream video feeds from your Nest cameras (not that I'd necessarily want to all that often on such a small screen) and control the rest of your smart home. You can play music over Spotify and other streaming services, and of course, talk to Google Assistant.
I'm not sure the Smart Clock is priced to sell at $80, but I'd be interested in picking one up if it ever goes on sale. At $50 or $60, it would be a much more compelling product, and might let me leave me phone elsewhere at night so that it's not the first thing I see in the mornings.
