Lenovo is doubling down on the smart home market by launching a new line of “Smart Home Essentials” at this year’s IFA 2018, the Berlin-based consumer electronics show.
Lenovo Smart Home Essentials is a new family of interconnected devices that the company hopes will serve as a simple, one-stop shop for both casual smart home users and DIY home systems architects. The Lenovo Link app serves as a centralized control center to set up and manage all applicable devices, hopefully eliminating the need for an individual app for every smart home device that comes on the market.
Already, Lenovo Smart Home Essentials are compatible with smart assistants like Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa, although the company also offers its own control plug, the Lenovo Smart Display.
In addition to launching a whole bunch of laptops and tablets ranging from just $249 to $1,399, Lenovo’s new smart home products include:
- The Lenovo Smart Plus, which retails at $30 and is coming in November, is a Wi Fi-connected plug that fits easily into the growing Lenovo AO eco-system, and can be commanded by Google Home, Amazon Alexa or Lenovo’s smart display. This small, simple-to-use device can be plugged into any open outlet to allow any compatible device to be controlled remotely.
- The Lenovo Smart Bulb, also available in November at $30, features remote and voice control, color temperature adjustments, a timing delay, and an anticipated life expectancy of around 15,000 hours. Users can remotely schedule and customize lighting — adjusting color temperature and dim brightness, or turning it on and off from anywhere and at any time. Users can monitor footage anywhere inside the home and deliver instructions via its two-way built-in mic.
- The spanking-new Lenovo Smart Camera will arrive in the first quarter of 2018 for an anticipated retail price of $100 and features night vision via infrared up to 20 meters, as well as motion detection and two-way audio.
Lenovo has always had a robust presence at IFA, despite focusing on core products like personal computers, tablets, smart home devices, and smart televisions, generally shying away from the smartphone market, where its products are branded under the Motorola label. Last year, the company’s presence was heavy on laptops and its burgeoning virtual reality technology.
