There are 2 mics onboard to hear you chew out Google Assistant from throughout the space, and the 1.5-inch 3 watt speaker must suffice for your alarms, podcasts or news updates (however dont expect wonderful audio quality). The Essential looks mainly the same as its more-expensive stablemate, however its somewhat bigger at 121 x 64 x 83mm compared to the Smart Clocks 113 x 80 x 79mm.
The general idea here is very comparable to Amazons Echo Dot with LED, except theres a genuine display on Lenovos device. That indicates you get touch controls on the Essential, and can even stream from your security electronic cameras on it. While the Echo Dot with LED comes in at $60, the Smart Clock Essential will cost $50 when it goes on sale this vacation season.