Alarm clocks have come a long way from the days of simple time and ringer devices, with the latest models offering advanced features to get you into a soothing bedtime routine and improve your quality of sleep. The best smart alarm clocks have built-in displays with app control and access to voice assistants like Alexa. Advanced models have lighting to mimic sunrise and sunset and AI assistants to tell personalized bedtime stories to ease you into bed.
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At Pocket-lint, we test laptops, monitors, and all types of devices, and it’s refreshing to test niche items like smart alarm clocks because of their modern designs and impressive features. For this list, we looked at some of the best smart alarm clocks on the market from every brand to offer a comprehensive choice to suit any buyer.
Best smart alarm clocks: Our favorite models
Google Nest Hub (2nd Gen)
1. Best overall smart alarm clock
Multifunction bedside brilliance
$50 $100 Save $50
The Google Nest Hub (2nd Gen) has a large, 7-inch display that can stream movies and includes a radar system to track your sleep.
- Large display
- Works as a Bluetooth speaker
- Sleep tracking
- Lack of camera could be drawback for some
- Not as accurate as a wearable
Google’s Nest Hub (2nd Gen) comes in chalk, charcoal, sand, and mist and stretches the definition of an alarm clock with a bright, 7-inch display and touch and gesture controls. It doesn’t just display the time and weather but can also work as a Bluetooth speaker, a streaming device for Netflix and other services, and has Google Assistant compatibility to control your lighting and other smart home devices.
Google Nest Hub (2021) review: Sweet dreams are made of this
Sleep tracking comes to Google’s smart display, offering an unintrusive way to monitor your rest.
Apart from the alarm system, the Nest Hub uses the Soli radar system to track your sleep by monitoring the light and sound in the room and keeping track of coughing, snoring, and respiratory rates. You can then check out the report in the morning to discover your sleep patterns, find out if you are restless, and try to improve your schedule.
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The Nest Hub is fairly affordable considering its capabilities and is the perfect multi-function smart alarm clock because it can stream movies and shows and track your sleep. It’s easy to forgive the lack of a camera because of its strong performance in all other areas, and while it’s not as accurate as a proper tracker, it’s great for people who are uncomfortable wearing smart alarm watches to bed.
Hatch Restore 2
2. Best premium smart alarm clock
Soothing sleep cycles
The Hatch Restore 2 has a stylish, organic look that mimics the sun and includes comforting sounds to block unwanted noise for a good night’s rest.
- Stylish design
- Mimics sunrise and sunset
- Plays soothing sounds
The Hatch Restore 2 might be pricey, but it’s the best smart alarm clock for people who live in city apartments and want a personalized sunset and sunrise to help them sleep well and wake up fresh in the morning. It has a semicircular shape with Putty, Latte, or Slate fabric covering the programmable light which supports a healthy daily rhythm by automatically lighting or darkening the room at set times.
Yes, it displays time and includes countless alarm sounds to choose from if you want to keep things simple. Most buyers will appreciate the soothing white noise, rain, and other sounds that will help you sleep soundly and block out traffic and loud neighbours. The lack of sleep tracking might put off some buyers, but it is an advantage to those who don’t want devices monitoring their every move.
The Hatch Restore 2 has an intuitive app to adjust light and sound settings, and most people will use the tactile buttons once everything’s set up. Adequate sleep is the key to good health and a productive day, and the Hatch Restore 2 is worth it for people who are too stressed to fall asleep or struggle to drown out the irritating noises around them. It also looks great with a more organic and natural vibe than an in-your-face tech product.
Amazon Echo Dot with Clock (5th Gen)
3. Best value smart alarm clock
Simple and effective
$40 $60 Save $20
Amazon’s 5th Gen Echo Dot has improved sound quality and includes popular streaming services, a temperature sensor, and 20 alarms to help you get out of bed.
- Compact
- Excellent Alexa compatibility
- Works as a Wi-Fi extender
- No 3.5mm audio
- Finicky tap controls
Amazon’s 5th Gen Echo Dot comes in blue, charcoal, and white, and resembles an unassuming spherical speaker with LEDs displaying the time. It’s much more and includes fantastic Alexa voice integration to control its functions and your smart home devices. You can also use the large buttons or tap function to adjust the volume on the 1.75 driver for decent sound. There’s a handy temperature sensor, which can be helpful if you have young kids or sensitive pets, and it can work as a Wi-Fi extender as part of an Eero mesh system.
Amazon Echo Dot (5th gen) review: Small speaker, big sound
Amazon’s small Echo sounds even better than before. It’s a winner.
As an alarm clock, the Echo Dot has a large, clear LED displaying the time, and it can also show the weather, track titles, and more. There are 20 alarm sounds to choose from, and you can even set routines to adjust your smart lighting or heating based on your movements or sounds. Streaming services like Apple Music, Spotify, and Pandora are all supported, but there’s no 3.5mm audio port to connect to older smartphones and tablets.
One of the best things about the Echo Dot is that it’s compact and unobtrusive to fit any bedside, and it also goes with most decor. Its reasonable price tag is substantially less than many premium options, yet it offers a vivid LED display, smart capability and works as a Wi-Fi extender.
Philips SmartSleep Connected Sleep and Wake-Up Light
4. Best smart alarm clock for environmental tracking
The light at the end of the tunnel
$190 $200 Save $10
The Philips Smartsleep HF3670/60 has an unmistakable disc-like shape with built-in lighting to mimic the sun and includes breathing exercises and soothing sounds to keep you rested.
- Mimics sunrise and sunset
- Soothing Alarms
- Tracks sleeping environment
- Isn’t a true sleep tracker
- Pricey
The Philips Smartsleep HF3670/60 looks like a white plastic doughnut thanks to its circular shape with a hole in the middle. Its shape is handy for mimicking the sun’s rising and setting to help you wake up and get to sleep, and it comes with a host of customization options. Setting the duration and light intensity is easy with the app sliders, and you can also choose between various colors, like Sunny Day, Nordic white, and Caribbean red, to suit your preference.
Apart from lighting, the Smartsleep HF3670/60 can put you to sleep with breathing exercises or white noise. You can choose between various alarms, like ocean waves, summer birds, and other relaxing options to ease you into the day. The Smartsleep HF3670/60 also works as a conventional night light and includes an FM radio with Bluetooth speaker functionality.
Getting the right amount of sleep can do wonders for your life and improve your happiness and concentration. The Smartsleep HF3670/60 isn’t cheap but can help you achieve the peaceful rest you deserve with natural wake-up and bedtime routines. It monitors the environment instead of working as a true sleep monitor, but makes up for its shortcomings with a built-in smartphone charger, soothing wake-up alarms, and other useful functions.
Loftie Alarm Clock
5. Best innovation smart alarm clock
Less screen time, more sleep time
The Lofie smart alarm clock has a simple and easy-to-use design with a built-in nightlight, guided breathing and meditation, and it can also tell custom AI-generated stories.
- AI-generated stories and horoscope
- Two-phase wake-up alarm
- White noise and other ambient sounds
- Tricky setup
- Premium pricing
Some people prefer conventional-looking smart alarm clocks like the Loftie on their bedside instead of distracting and bulky spheres and light discs. The Loftie fits on most bedsides and has a user-friendly design with large, tactile buttons and a built-in nightlight. It also works as a Bluetooth speaker, and it’s refreshing that the app is optional, with no need to create an account or subscription to access all its features.
The point of the Loftie is to replace your smartphone as a bedside companion with calming features like breathing exercises and guided meditation instead of blue lights and stimulating apps. Another trademark feature of the Loftie is the two-phase alarm, which gently eases you out of sleep with soft sounds and then fully wakes you up later with melodic ringing or other customizable options. Where the Loftie stands out from other smart alarm clocks is its AI bedtime story function that will create custom stories based on your preferences to help get you to bed.
Many buyers are uncomfortable with gadgets tracking their sleep and want to unplug from their phones for the night. Whether the Loftie can replace your smartphone alarm is up to you, but it makes a compelling case with a simple and easy-to-use design filled with practical features like a night light, wellness content and customized stories.
Amazon Echo Show 5 (3rd Gen)
6. Best alarm clock that’s also a full smart home hub
Show and tell
$40 $90 Save $50
The Amazon Echo Show 5 is more than just a smart alarm clock and can stream videos and make calls and has fantastic Alexa integration to control smart home devices.
- Fantastic Alexa integration
- Can make video calls
- 5.5-inch touchscreen
- No tap gestures
- No 3.5mm audio
Amazon’s Echo Show 5 is an excellent smart alarm clock packed with various nifty features. It comes in Glacier White, Charcoal, and Cloud Blue, with the front dominated by a 5.5-inch (960 x 480 pixel) touchscreen that’s handy for telling the time or watching videos and podcasts. At 147 x 91 x 82mm and 456g, it’s practical enough to fit on most bedsides and has large tactile plus and minus buttons to adjust the volume.
Amazon Echo Show 5 (2023) review: Your bedside Alexa just got even better
The Echo Show 5 is an ideal bedside smart display and the latest update brings some welcome improvements.
Under the hood are a MediaTek MT 8196 B chipset and AZ2 Neural Edge processor, which deliver smooth performance and enhance the Alexa voice recognition capabilities compared to the previous model. Alexa support makes it easy to control your smart devices, and the built-in speaker is decent for music and combines with the 2MP camera to facilitate video calls. Setting multiple alarms and choosing between wake-up sounds is simple with the touchscreen, and you can also use Alexa if you prefer a more hands-free approach.
The Echo Show 5 is more affordable than its more powerful siblings and offers a decent display and excellent Alexa integration at an accessible price for most buyers. Its lack of tap gesture control and 3.5mm audio are minor drawbacks, considering what it can do and don’t affect its overall value.
iHome Alarm Clock
7. Best lighting smart alarm clock
Brighten up your morning
The iHome Alarm Clock can change between various colors to match your decor and has five wake-to modes for a bright morning start.
- Five programmable colors
- Backup battery
- 3.5mm audio
- No app control
- No sleep tracking
Looking at the same bedside device every day can get boring, and that’s why the iHome Alarm Clock allows you to change its color to spice things up or match your decor. It has an attractive spherical shape with a large and easy-to-read display in the centre, and you can switch the color of its body to yellow, purple, blue, red, and green. There are also five wake-to modes with eye-catching effects if you want to get up to a vivid light display in the morning.
For an inexpensive model, the iHome Alarm Clock has decent functionality with a built-in FM radio and Bluetooth speaker to provide entertainment and Siri and Google voice assistant compatibility to find your favorite tracks and control your lighting. You’ll never miss an alarm because it works on electricity and has a battery backup for when there’s a power failure. Unlike many competitors, it includes a 3.5mm audio port to connect older smartphones and tablets, and you can also charge them up when they’re dead with the 5W USB charging port.
This smart alarm clock brightens your room with its attractive colors and includes a built-in speaker, radio, and voice assistant compatibility. There’s no app control or sleep tracking, but the iHome Alarm Clock has large buttons for most functions and 3.5mm audio to make up for it.
Emerson SmartSet
8. Best budget smart alarm clock
Simple and effective
$27 $32 Save $5
The Emerson SmartSet is affordable and easy to use, with a large display, and you’ll never miss an alarm because it has backup batteries.
- Bluetooth speaker
- Fantastic price
- Backup battery system
- No voice assistant
- No app control
No-frills smart alarm clocks like the Emerson SmartSet are ideal for buyers looking for a simple, easy-to-use solution without unnecessary extras like voice assistants and sleep tracking. It may be the same size as a conventional alarm clock, but its premium feel with a built-in blue night light and sturdy buttons elevates its style to give it a modern appeal. The time is displayed on a 1.4-inch Cyan LED display, and there’s a dimmer control to adjust its brightness, so it won’t disturb you in the dark.
There’s no worrying about this clock displaying the incorrect time and date because it automatically syncs on startup. It also has convenient USB charging with a built-in backup battery to ensure the alarm will go off no matter what. Smart capability is limited to Bluetooth speaker connectivity to play your favorite songs, and there’s an FM radio with a 20-station memory. The lack of app control can be an advantage or disadvantage depending on your taste, but the SmartSet is easy to set with responsive buttons and allows you to program the dual alarms for weekdays, weekends, or seven-day operations.
The Emerson SmartSet won’t compete with some of the more advanced smart alarm clocks on this list, but it’s not meant to. Its job is to provide a simple and foolproof alarm system at a low cost, and it succeeds with a built-in battery, Bluetooth speaker functionality and other practical features that don’t cost a fortune.
The bottom line: Which is the best smart alarm clock?
The Google Nest Hub (2nd Gen) is the best smart alarm clock because it can stream movies and videos on its massive display and has a radar system to track your sleeping pattern. The Hatch Restore 2 is the best premium option because it can bring the sunrise and sunset into your home and includes soothing sounds to put you to bed. Amazon’s Echo Dot offers incredible value because it’s inexpensive and offers easy Alexa access and a temperature sensor.
Google Nest Hub (2nd Gen)
Editor’s Choice
$50 $100 Save $50
How did we choose the best smart alarm clock?
We specialize in testing Apple HomeKit devices, sunglasses and other smart home gadgets and have hands-on experience with many models listed here. Smart alarm cocks can be trickier to test than many tech devices, and we evaluated them based on features and value.
The best options have large touchscreen displays for watching content and can simulate realistic day-night cycles with their intelligent lighting. We’ve added various models for every price, and even the basic models have a backup battery system, so you’ll never miss an alarm and include Bluetooth speaker functionality.
Value is always a critical factor because it influences most buying decisions. All our picks offer great value, with the premium models having unique functions to justify their cost and the budget-friendly options punching above their weight to deliver more for less.
What is the best smart alarm clock?
Many excellent smart alarm clocks are currently available, with the Hatch Restore 2 and Loftie rated as some of the best.
Are smart alarm clocks better than phone alarms?
Yes. Most smart alarm clocks include soothing sounds and lights compared to phone alarms. There’s also no worrying about the battery dying or getting distracted by a blue light that might inhibit your sleep.
What are the features of a smart alarm clock?
Most smart alarm clocks have internet connectivity, app control and voice assistant compatibility, making them easier to use. Even the basic models have Bluetooth and connect to your mobile phone to play music.
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