Are you looking for the best smart alarm clock? We’ve got you covered.
If you’re tired of being woken violently from your slumber by your morning alarm, then you’ll want to consider what a smart wake up alarm might do for you.
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What Are Smart Wake Up Alarms?
Waking up the right way is all about timing.
When we sleep, our bodies and brains go through natural sleep cycles.
The first state in a sleep cycle is light sleep, followed by deep sleep and REM-sleep (that’s when we dream). A full sleep cycle lasts about 90 minutes and is normally repeated several times each night.
The problem with traditional alarm clocks is that that dreaded buzz jolts you from your slumber regardless of what point in your sleep cycle you are at.
When this abrupt awakening occurs during the wrong part of the sleep cycle — as in, not at the end of it — it wrenches us from much needed deep sleep, disturbing our natural rhythm and leaving us feeling drained and groggy.
The best smart alarm clocks use motion and sound tracking technology to monitor your sleep and determine the best moment for you to wake gently from the lightest phase in your sleep cycle.
A smart wake up alarm will typically include body motion sensors to determine where you are at in your sleep cycle, and soothing lights and sounds to rouse you from your sleep gently.
The Benefits of a Smart Wake Up Alarm
As you might expect, any product spouting the latest in ‘sleep technology’ is bound to be a bit more expensive than your run of the mill alarm clock — or just using the inbuilt app on your phone!
But is it worth forking out a little extra for the best smart alarm? Will they really bring tangible benefits to your life?
Speaking personally — yes, smart alarms are worth their price. They’ve revolutionized the way we wake up and really start the morning off right. But let’s look at some more general benefits you can expect from these bad boys:
- No disruption to your sleep cycle equals a more complete night sleep
- No grogginess upon waking
- No loud noises waking up partners
- You can turn your phone off and not worry about missing an alarm
- Starts the day on a peaceful note
- You still have the option to snooze if you want to although you really shouldn’t
- No LED lights suppressing melatonin production like you have with traditional alarm clocks
The Best Smart Alarm Clocks of 2020
So now you know what they are, let’s take a look at the absolute best smart alarm clocks on the market right now.
These literally life-changing appliances will soon transform your early mornings into something to look forward to, rather than dread.
With the Philips HF3520 you can wake up to sunshine even on the most dreary of days.
This smart alarm uses a bulb that simulates natural daylight, and as well as a sunrise setting, it also has a sunset setting to help you drift off to sleep.
Choose between FM radio or a selection of 5 natural sounds to rouse you.
The natural colored light is activated 20 to 40 minutes before the wake up sounds to ensure a gradual wake up.
In addition this smart alarm has a snooze feature (just in case you fancy a few extra minutes in bed), a clever auto-dimming LED display, and 20 different brightness settings so you can adjust the light level to suit you.
Pros
- Customizable brightness, timing, and sounds
- Very peaceful and relaxing wake up
- Convenient snooze feature
- Long lasting LED bulb
- Surprisingly realistic sunset and sunrise settings
- Great build quality
Cons
- Expensive
- Interface could be more user friendly
The Sense with Voice Sleep System is a hi-tech smart alarm.
It uses a little gadget called the ‘Sleep Pill’ to monitor your movements while you sleep (it attaches to your pillow). As well as this, the Hello Sense measures the quality of your environment where you sleep, looking at factors such as temperature, humidity, light and noise.
This clever device then analyzes all this data and uses it to wake you at the optimum moment during your sleep cycle using ambient sounds and lights.
It also puts this information into a handy little mobile app where you can use the results to improve your quality of sleep — or if you prefer you can simply communicate with this smart alarm clock by voice.
Pros
- Attractive design
- Voice or app interaction
- Nicely made
- Easy to set up
- Intuitive interface
- Clear presentation of data in app
- No need to wear a device, just attach it to pillow
- Calming when falling asleep and waking
- No LED light
Cons
- Device is very sensitive and can occasionally give inconsistent results
- Some users report ill-fitting USB cables
This cute, intelligent little voice activated device is packed with features that make it so much more than just an alarm clock.
It uses Amazon’s ‘Alexa’ to perform a wide variety of tasks, including organizing your diary, playing music, ordering things online, giving weather and news reports, controlling other smart home devices, and of course, acting as an alarm.
The Echo Dot is of course much more than just a smart alarm in the bedroom — it can be used to turn your lights on and off when you want it to, to set multiple alarms, and play relaxing music or generate white noise to help you sleep all without having the distraction of a brightly lit LED screen next to the bed.
Pros
- Excellent hands free, voice control
- Very responsive and effective
- Elegant, unobtrusive design
- Multiple color choice options
- Simple to set up and easy to use
- Wide receptivity range
- Good value for money
Cons
- In order to benefit from all, non smart alarm features, you need to have other smart devices in your home
Another smart alarm clock from the Philips range, the HF3500 mimics a natural sunrise with a gradual warm yellow light that slowly but surely increases in brightness during the half hour before your chosen wakeup time – -the idea being that this is a relaxed and non-stressful waking experience that will gently lift you from your sleeping state to leave you feeling revitalized and ready to face the day.
The light levels can be customized to suit you, and there is a snooze function which will automatically start playing a soft beep after 9 minutes of dozing.
This is a more affordable Phillips smart alarm clock than the HF3520 above.
Pros
- Simple and effective design
- Failsafe backup beep to make sure you wake up
- Doubles up as a bedside reading light
- Very user friendly
- Affordable
Cons
- No choice of alarm sound
- Power cable is on the short side — you may need an extension cable
The HeimVision Sunrise Alarm Clock has become super popular this past year as it’s very similar to models like the Philips, but at a fraction of the price.
Like the other sunrise alarms on this list, the HeimVision focuses on a gentle wake-up — light will gradually fill your room before your pre-set alarm time, in effect, waking you up with the sunrise.
It also comes with 7 ‘natural’ alarm sounds, including birdsong, streams and piano. You can also hook it up to FM radio if you want something a little more… unnatural.
There is a 15 minute snooze function as well, which is handy if not the best thing for your sleep. You know how we feel about snoozing… why you should never use the snooze button.
Pros
- Affordable
- Compatible with Amazon Alexa
- Good choice of alarm sounds
- Effective sunrise simulation
- 15 minute snooze function
- Can also function as a white noise machine
- Easy to set-up and use
Cons
- Sound quality is a little lacking
- It’s quite bulky
We hope you’ve found our Top Smart Alarm Clocks post helpful. Looking for alternatives? Be sure to visit our sleep tech reviews section for other great options.
