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Best Smart Alarm Clock

Best Smart Alarm Clock

A smart alarm clock is a device that improves your daily ritual of waking up by using a variety of smart features. Some smart alarm clocks help you receive better sleep at night by providing soothing lights. Other smart clocks wake you up gently instead of suddenly. With a smart alarm clock, you can now customize the way you wake up to best suit your personal needs.

Having a smart alarm clock can improve your sleep and let you wake up rested and ready for the day. However, it can be difficult to find the best smart alarm clock features that work for you.

This guide will walk you through the best options available so you can find the best smart alarm clock for you.

Prices pulled from the Amazon Product Advertising API on:

Best Smart Alarm Clocks Today

Here is the a list of the best smart alarms clocks for your bedroom.

1. Echo Show 5

The Amazon Echo Show 5 is an Alexa smart speaker with a 5.5” screen. The size of the device combined with the ever increasing smart features makes this a great bedside smart alarm clock.

The Echo Show 5 allows you to set alarms with your voice and snooze by smacking the top of the alarm. It even has an ambient sunrise feature that will slowing increase the brightness of the screen to simulate a sunrise 15 minutes before your alarm.

This device is the most capable alarm clock in the list with additional features that extend its use well beyond a typical alarm clock.

More specifically, this device can:

  • Control your smart home
  • Show local weather
  • Display up-to-date traffic conditions 
  • Play national news updates, movie trailers and other videos 
  • Play audiobooks and music
  • Make video calls
  • And much more

The Amazon Echo Show 5 is the best Alexa device for your bedroom due to its privacy settings. The Echo Show 5 has a simple button to disable the microphone and a built in physical camera shutter to cover up the video.

Its smaller, more compact size makes it a great nightstand companion as compared to it sister product, the Amazon Echo show. Its video screen can also connect with other platforms such as Ring, which allows you to see visitors at your front door or drop in on the baby’s room from your bedroom clock.

Don’t want the video screen? The Echo Dot provides all the same benefits without the display and ambient sunrise feature.

Amazon Price
Echo Show 5 – Amazon Price

Pros

  • Video display
  • Multiple clock faces
  • Smack to snooze
  • Ambient sunrise feature
  • Voice control with Alexa
  • Compact size

Cons

  • Dim setting is brighter than other clocks
  • No battery backup for alarms

2. Philips Somneo Sleep and Wake-up Light

Philips created this smart alarm clock device as a therapy lamp to allow you to wake up gradually with the gentle environment of a sunrise. The alarm includes four sunrise light themes including a multi colored sunrise or sunset.

The Philips Somneo is a premium smart alarm that has built-in sensors to measure temperature, noise, light and humidity. The Somneo app uses this information to help you create the ideal sleeping conditions for your best sleep.

The sleep-mapper app, allows you to control and customize light, color, sleep and wake settings from your smartphone. This includes setting advanced alarms for weekends only or weekdays only. Additionally, this device comes with a guided breathing program that helps you fall asleep faster.

Other features of the Philips Somneo include FM radio so you can wake to music and power back-up to ensure you don’t miss an alarm during a power outage.

Philips Somneo – Amazon Price

Pros

  • Colored sunrise light alarm (Clinically-validated)
  • Multiple natural wake up sound alarms
  • Sensors track temperature, noise, light and humidity
  • Smartphone connectivity to create advanced alarms
  • Fully dimmable light display
  • Battery backup (8 hours)

Cons

  • More expensive than other smart alarm clocks
  • Unique look that some might not like

3. Philips Wake-Up Light Alarm Clock

The Philips Wake-Up Light is a great value choice if you want a Philips sunrise light. Like the Somneo, this smart alarm and light is also clinically proven to help your sleep and wake up feeling more refreshed.

The Philips Wake-up Light enables you to wake up naturally by simulating the gradual light of a sunrise. It provides you with a natural light that becomes brighter over a 30 minute period until it gently wakes you up. The light goes through 1 million light stages, which provides a very smooth transition just like a real sunrise. Other lights just change the brightness in big stages each minute, which isn’t as natural.

The Philips Wake-up Alarm also comes with a beep function and a speaker that can be used as a backup alarm if the lighting technology doesn’t work.

Another benefit, this alarm doubles as a reading light!

Philips Wake-Up – Amazon Price

Pros

  • Sunrise simulation (1 million light stages)
  • Clinically proven to improve sleep
  • Backup beeping alarm (tap to snooze)
  • Great value (affordable)
  • 10 brightness settings
  • Can be used as a reading light

Cons

  • Only shines one color: yellow
  • Only uses beeping for sound alarm
  • No battery backup

4. Soundfreaq Sound Rise

The Soundfreaq is a more traditional alarm clock radio with some smart features. This smart alarm clock has a slim design that fits easily on a nightstand, and can wake you with music, radio or a chime.

The alarm offers wireless Bluetooth capability which allows you to pair and wake-up to music from your smartphone. Alarm options include dual alarm settings for weekday and weekend alarms, gradual sound wake-up so you are not just startled awake, and a nap or sleep timer. 

The Soundfreaq allows you to dim the brightness of the display, which helps you sleep better at night. You can even put the device in total black-out mode, offering total darkness, which may help some distracted sleepers. 

One additional benefit of the Soundfreaq Sound Rise smart alarm is a USB charging port that lets you charge your phone, tablet, or other devices while you sleep. Perfect for charging and pairing your phone with Bluetooth for music.

Soundfreaq Sound Rise – Amazon Price

Pros

  • Bluetooth connectivity (alarms using music from your phone)
  • Adjustable brightness controls
  • Black-out mode for total darkness
  • High-quality sound for music-lover
  • Attractive wood-look design
  • Battery backup
  • USB charging port

Cons

  • Slightly bulky on the nightstand
  • Cumbersome buttons that are hard to use at night
  • Fixed snooze and sleep timer duration
  • Requires external antenna for radio use

How to Choose the Best Smart Alarm Clock

Spend some time examining your sleeping habits before buying. This will help you choose the best smart alarm clock for your personal needs. Knowing your sleeping habits allows you to identify the most crucial features in a smart alarm clock. 

For instance, if you find yourself having trouble falling asleep at night, you should find an alarm clock that caters to this need. Some clocks shine a dim, relaxing light that helps you fall asleep faster. Other alarm clocks can play soft, calming music for you while you’re trying to fall asleep. 

Do you hate the sound of a loud alarm clock waking you up in the morning? Several options exist with other solutions. For example, some alarm clocks wake you up by vibrating or with light instead of making a loud sound. Other clocks can wake you up gradually with customizable music and volume controls. 

Benefits of Smart Alarm Clocks

Smart alarm clocks are more than just an annoying sound that you dread each day.

They adjust your sleep schedule

Smart alarm clocks have the ability to alter your sleep schedule so that you’re more productive throughout the day. If you desire, these alarm clocks can even help you create a new sleep routine by waking you up a few minutes earlier every day. Consequently, your body will get accustomed to waking up earlier, so you will feel like you have more energy throughout the day. 

They’re reliable

Some people would much rather choose to use their phone, tablet, or other simple type of alarm clock instead of spending the money on a smart alarm clock. However, depending on these devices as the only method of waking up could backfire if that device fails or is not adequately charged. Therefore it might be better to have a device whose sole purpose is to act as an alarm clock.

They have smart features

Smart alarm clocks are called smart for a reason. They contain smart features that make these types of alarm clocks better than the simple ones that just display time and sound an alarm. The latest smart alarm clocks contain advanced features intended to make life easier when waking up. For instance, some of the latest alarm clocks contain smart features that can alter the time that you wake up according to that specific day’s traffic, that day’s weather or other factors.

Considerations Before Buying a Smart Alarm Clock

Smart alarm clocks offer a wide range of features and benefits at various price points. Since no single smart alarm clock is the same, you should consider a few things before deciding on the best smart alarm clock for you. 

Type of Alarm

Smart alarm clocks can have many features, but it ultimately needs to get you out of bed energized and ready for the day. With that in mind, you should choose a smart alarm clock that wakes you up in the most effective way. You will find three primary methods used by smart alarm clocks.

  1. Sound – Smart alarm clocks don’t blast you awake with a loud buzzer. Some alarms allow you to customize a wake-up music playlist. Others feature a variety of soothing nature sounds. Are you a heavy sleeper that needs a harsher sound? Or are you a light sleeper that can easily wake up to a gentle nature sound?
  2. Light – The best smart alarm clocks can wake you up naturally with light. These alarms mimic a sunrise and slowly brighten a room. The light gently wakes you up during the most optimal time of your sleep cycle. This allows you to feel more rested and ready to take on the day. 
  3. Vibration and Physical Actions – Heavy sleepers need a little more motivation to get out of bed in the morning. For you, there are smart alarms that vibrate you awake or make you physically get out of bed to turn off the alarm. 

Design

You should consider the design of the smart clock and the sophistication level that you need. Weigh the benefits of an attractive design against features like user-friendliness and price. You should also consider the design of your smart alarm clock as it fits with the rest of the design in your room. 

Smart Features

You should review the individual smart features of each alarm clock and determine the ones that are absolutely necessary for you. You should also keep in mind the “nice to have” options. The features should be personal for you situation. This includes whether it connects to your phone, how it wakes you up, and whether there are any customizable features for your sleep patterns. Additionally, consider non-sleep related features such as controlling smart home devices and viewing security cameras. 

Price

Price points for smart alarm clocks vary greatly. You should balance affordability and quality while maintaining the feature you seek in a smart alarm clock. However, you should look at this purchase as an investment in your quality of sleep and not just an electronic device.

Conclusion

Overall, each of the smart alarm clocks included on this list have the ability to provide you with a variety of beneficial features. Choosing the right smart alarm clock may come down to what features are most important to you in an alarm clock. 

The Amazon Echo Show 5 would benefit anyone with smart home devices due to the compatibility and smart home connectivity features. However, it shouldn’t be overlooked as an alarm clock because it has a lot of advanced features. The Echo Show 5 allows you to choose from multiple clock faces, set multiple alarms by voice (next Monday, every weekend, etc.), and wake to your favorite music. It also has an ambient sunrise feature that allows you to wake up with light similar to other specialty devices. This alarm clock is the most versatile choice for most users.

For those who would prefer more advanced sunrise features for waking, one of the Philips smart alarm clocks might be a better fit. These devices are clinically proven to help with sleep. 

Regardless of your pick, a smart alarm clock is a great addition to your bedroom. Who doesn’t want to wake up feeling ready to take on the day? 

P.S. Please leave a comment below to ask a question, help someone else or share your experiences. Thanks!

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