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  • SPECS
  • THE GOOD
  • THE NOT And so GOOD
  • Design, hardware, what's in the box
  • Software and performance
  • Should you buy it? Rating 6.5/10

Lenovo is one of a few companies to ever launch dedicated smart warning clocks with Google Assistant, so at that place'south never been loads of competition in the market place. Xiaomi is looking to change that with its new Mi Smart Clock, a cute little gadget that should fit well with about whatever sleeping accommodation blueprint.

Unfortunately, the device is held back past the same issues that made the Lenovo clocks hard to recommend. Smart clocks are much more express than smart displays, but they don't cost much less. They're not compatible with most video streaming apps, and they don't display some of the useful visual elements full-fledged smart displays offer. They're really laser-focused on a bedroom surround, though once you sympathise the shortcomings, you might terminate upward liking the form cistron precisely for its limitations.

SPECS

Display 4" 800x480 LCD
Software Google Assistant, supports devices with Android 4.4 or iOS 9.0 and higher
Connectivity micro-USB, Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n 2.4GHz, Bluetooth five.0, A2DP
Speaker 2W 1.5" total-range speaker
Microphone 2-mic array
Dimensions 113mm x 68mm 10 81.5mm, 272g
Colour white
Cost €50 (~$60)

THE Practiced

Design With its rounded screen and white matte plastic example, the Mi Smart Clock feels right at home among Google Nest devices.
Google Assistant plus a screen Recollect of the Smart Clock as a regular Nest Dwelling Mini with a display for limited visual feedback.
Audio The sound is comparable to the original Google Habitation Mini, which is okay given the size.
Performance The interface has shine animations and is gratis of lag.

THE Non Then GOOD

Express casting The Smart Clock's video casting capabilities are so express they might as well not be there.
LCD screen The LCD emits some glow at nighttime, which might disturb light sleepers.
No fill-in bombardment It would be not bad to have a battery backup in the unlikely event of a nightly power outage.
Unreliable alarms Hitting the mute mic push button while an alarm is ringing permanently reduces the alarm book until you lot fix information technology in settings.
Price At €50 (~$lx), the price is just likewise high. The much more versatile first-gen Nest Hub is often available at prices this low, and even the new ane is only double the price and offers a lot more.

Blueprint, hardware, what'southward in the box

Equipped with a 4-inch screen, the Xiaomi Mi Smart Clock is about half equally big as the Nest Hub, though information technology feels a tad chunkier due to its blocky, wedge-shaped design. I like the mode it looks, but it'due south non equally elegant equally the Nest Hub'due south floating advent. In that location'south a single, mostly invisible ambient low-cal sensor above the display that proved to be reliable.

Xiaomi chose LCD over OLED, and so the display emits some glow in the dark, fifty-fifty when you select the lowest brightness in settings. The Nest Hub's LCD display is a bit amend in this regard, proving that a proficient LCD can get pretty dim. Extremely lite-sensitive sleepers might have trouble with the brightness of the Mi Clock, but thankfully, it'due south possible to have the screen plow off completely when it's nighttime. The brandish has pretty poor bottom viewing angles, just on regular viewing angles, information technology's good enough that you lot tin read the time easily.

At the top of the Smart Clock, you'll observe a mute button for the microphone, flanked by two for decision-making the book. They make a nice tactile sound when you press them and feel firm, despite looking a little cheap and toy-like. Next to those, you lot'll see the ii microphones. They practise a pretty good job; the Assistant can sympathise me but besides equally it tin can on whatever other smart speaker. On the bottom, a rubber base ensures the clock won't slide around on your nightstand. The dorsum sports a Xiaomi logo and a micro-USB connector, which you can use with the brick and cable provided in the box (and that's all yous go with the clock other than a manual).

In the audio department, the Mi Smart Clock is pretty much on-par with the original Google Home Mini. It'due south a little unclear in the mids and highs — some might call information technology muffled, but it actually helps combat the tinny quality many speakers of this size exhibit. It also gets louder than the Dwelling house Mini if you lot need that extra volume to wake upward.

Software and performance

The smart device will display a clock by default, and in that location are a full of 12 unique designs to choose from via a long-press on the display. You can optionally have the current weather displayed on almost all of the clocks, too. Tapping the screen once or swiping to the left reveals alarm clock options, and when you swipe further, y'all'll get to see some weather info, suggestions from your music streaming service, and upcoming calendar events.

Swiping downwards from the peak reveals yet another button to access your alarms, forth with shortcuts to trigger your Google Assistant morning routine, play music, and to plow on the nighttime lite — great when you have to get upwardly in the middle of the dark and don't want to bump into things. A swipe up on the homescreen gives you access to brightness controls, book, do-not-disturb, and settings. In there, yous tin can conform your auto brightness preferences and customize the color, brightness, and elapsing of night lite.

When you lot opt to set an alarm without voice controls, you become admission to repeat options for daily wake-up routines. You can choose between vii alarm ringtones including an impromptu AI pianoforte piece created anew every mean solar day, and it'south possible to enable a sunrise alarm that slowly lights upwardly the clock display half an hour before it'south time to wake up. I can come across this being useful when you have to go upward in the dead of the night or in winter. The warning sounds are all pleasant, though I would prefer if the clock ramped up book less harshly. The ringtone goes from barely audible to obnoxiously loud within a second.

If you want custom songs or playlists for your warning, y'all'll need to tell the Assistant to "set a music alert" using your default Google Assistant sound provider — I would've preferred an on-screen selection in addition to this. Information technology'south also a bummer that yous tin't stop the alarm with a physical button. You're going to have to start your twenty-four hours yelling "stop" or fumbling to hit the screen. Hitting a physical snooze push button is much more satisfying and easier to procedure when you're not awake yet.

I've also noticed that hit the mute mic button to try to turn off the warning in sleep drunkenness is not a proficient idea. After the Assistant's "the mic is muted" announcement, the alarm continues ringing at a low book, and a quick look at the settings post-obit the incident reveals that the standard warning volume has been reduced globally, which isn't expected behavior. It could end upward beingness too silent to wake up heavy sleepers (or those who are difficult of hearing). We've informed Xiaomi about the result, and if information technology'south reproducible on its end, the company will push a firmware update to prepare it.

The software is all the same enjoyable overall and a joy to use. Animations are smooth, and at that place aren't any signs of lag.

Should you lot buy it? Rating half dozen.5/10

Xiaomi Mi Smart Clock

It depends. If you know what you're getting into, the Mi Smart Clock can be incredibly useful. It comes with a pleasant, unobtrusive design, sounds decent for its size, and has a responsive interface with polish animations. You lot have to recollect of it as a smart speaker with visual feedback more a smart display, though. It also would've been great to take a brandish that gets even darker at night and some form of backup battery. And lastly, Xiaomi needs to fix the mute button issues — as someone who's hard of hearing, I've already managed to sleep through an warning thanks to it.

Given the high price of €50 ($lx), you might exist better off with the more versatile 2nd gen Nest Hub that launches this month. It'southward a bit more expensive than the Mi Smart Clock, simply Google has added some intelligent slumber tracking features. Plus, information technology has all the goodies a proper smart display offers, like full support for video streaming services.

And even if you lot absolutely desire a simpler smart clock experience, the older options from Lenovo have a few more tricks up their sleeves, like a capacitive snooze push at the height and a USB port for charging your phone overnight.

Buy it if:

  • Y'all absolutely want a screen-equipped smart speaker.
  • You know what you're in for — think of the Mi Clock like more of a smart speaker with some visual feedback rather than a smart display.

Don't buy it if:

  • You want more features for the same price.
  • You need an alert clock that has a fill-in bombardment built-in.

Where to purchase:

  • Local Mi Stores in Europe, e.one thousand. Deutschland

UPDATE: 2021/04/21 1:52am PDT Past MANUEL VONAU

One calendar month afterwards

The Xiaomi Mi Smart Clock has been on my nightstand for a bit over a calendar month now, and information technology'southward really grown on me over fourth dimension. I remember it's a beautiful trivial device that's great at what information technology's created for: telling the time and serving as an alarm clock. Yet, exterior the pocket-size footprint, I'm yet non sure if it's worth getting the Mi Smart Clock over the new Google Nest Hub. The latter is great at all the things the Mi Smart Clock does and then some, including sleep tracking and proper video streaming support. With that comparison in mind, the Mi Smart Clock even so feels pretty expensive at €l.

It'due south likewise a bummer that Xiaomi notwithstanding hasn't fixed the mute mic push button problem where the alarm volume is permanently lowered when y'all try to use the push to silence an alarm. I'grand completely used to tapping the screen to stop an alarm past now, but I can encounter how people could stop up striking the button on top of the device in sleepy mindlessness instead, like I did in the beginning. This bug is going to suck for them, and information technology'south difficult to troubleshoot.

All that said, you really accept to be sure that this clock is all yous demand at your bedside. If yous're absolutely positive that you want nothing merely a glorified smart speaker that happens to tell the fourth dimension, the Mi Smart Clock might still be for you. Only for everyone else, I'd really recommend going with the new Nest Hub instead.