Alarm digital clocks: Amazon Best Sellers: Best Alarm Clocks

How the Philips SmartSleep Sunrise Alarm Clock Changed My Life: A Love Story

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Photo: Sarah Kobos

Not to be hyperbolic, but this alarm clock changed my life. It reached deep into my soul and yanked out someone I didn’t even know I had inside: a morning person. Not the type of morning person who immediately laces up their sneakers and hits the pavement, but the type who gets up before the sun to claim a little of the day for themselves. The magical span of time between 5:30 and 6:30 a.m. is completely and utterly mine (and maybe my cat’s). Most of that I owe to the Philips SmartSleep Wake-Up Light HF3520 sunrise alarm clock.

Our pick

It’s beauty, it’s grace, it’ll wake you up without screaming in your face. In lieu of a traditional alarm, a sunrise alarm clock helps you gently greet the day by simulating the rising sun, starting with a soft glow that slowly blooms into a bright light. Some sunrise clocks use a white light that can be a bit of a shock to the system, but the SmartSleep HF3520 starts with a red-tinted color that’s much less jarring. Over the course of 30 minutes, that hue gradually grows into a warmer yellow and then finally a bright white light. Overall, the experience is a much more satisfying and humane journey into the waking world.

In addition to the sunrise feature, this Philips alarm clock is equipped with a myriad of alarm tones that trigger after the light. It includes five different sounds ranging from birds to piano music, plus more meditative tones. All of the sounds are reasonably pleasant, but if I’m being honest, the light is effective enough on its own for me. In fact, I’m so unfamiliar with the alarm tones that I once forgot to turn off the secondary alarm and let it play out for about an hour—all the while wondering why there were so many birds outside. (I said I was a morning person—not a high-functioning morning person.)

The SmartSleep HF3520 is simple to use. You can control every function on the clock by touching the face or pressing the small arrangement of buttons along the top and sides. Although hitting snooze on your alarm can be a recipe for disaster (I won’t even check the time if I wake up in the middle of the night), you can trigger it by merely touching the face of the clock. The SmartSleep HF3520 also has a radio (though, admittedly, I have never used it), and our reviewer said it sounded just as good as that of our upgrade pick and can even work as one of the alarm tones.

Besides tools to help you wake up, the SmartSleep HF3520 is equipped to guide you to sleep, as well. It has a sunset function that works in the exact reverse of the sunrise, slowly dimming over 30 minutes until it’s totally extinguished. Whether you’re reading or simply lying in bed, it’s a nice way to ease yourself into sleep versus just shutting off the lights and calling it a night.

The SmartSleep HF3520 isn’t without flaws. As we mention in our guide to sunrise alarm clocks, its ovular, oblong shape is a little bulky and takes up quite a bit of nightstand real estate. It also lacks smart features and ports to charge your phone—though depending on how you feel about keeping your bedroom tech-free, that may be more of a feature than a flaw. Another point to consider is how heavily you sleep. I have a handful of friends who sleep like the dead. It’s an admirable quality, and they will survive the winter, but they said the clock’s gentle sunrise couldn’t get the job done. Not everyone is equipped to be gently roused from dreamland—some folks need to be ripped from sleep with the speed and volume of a freight train barreling down the tracks.

I can’t recommend this clock enough if you’re looking to make small, measurable changes to both your morning and nighttime routines. It’s semi-affordable (as far as sunrise alarm clocks go), pretty intuitive to use, and a kind departure from the traditional alarm clocks of yesteryear. It just might be the missing ingredient you’ve been looking for—it certainly was for me.

This article was edited by Ignacia Fulcher and Daniel Kim.

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I Hate Alarm Clocks.

But I Love Waking Up With Smart Bulbs.

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The Answer

Advice, staff picks, mythbusting, and more. Let us help you.

Photo: Michael Hession

Published February 14, 2020

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You know those people who refuse to wake up, even after hitting snooze a dozen times? I’m one of them. In fact, when an alarm goes off, I double down and refuse to get out of bed. For years I thought something was wrong with me. I thought I was a lazy person, and therefore a bad person.

When I got rid of my alarm clock and started using smart bulbs as an alarm instead, I realized none of that was true. I use Philips Hue bulbs, which Wirecutter also recommends, and between 5:45 and 6 every morning, they gradually brighten. I wake up somewhere in that 15-minute period and climb out of bed. This is a complete change from my decades-long habit of refusing to budge. I’ve come to believe that it’s not only the light but also the gentle approach to waking up that have transformed my morning routine.

I feel like I’m being given a choice of how to respond. An alarm is demanding, and I don’t answer to demands, from humans or machines. I’m not alone in these feelings—people simply don’t like being told what to do. It’s also possible that the sleep-wake cycle can be influenced by light. Russell Foster, a professor at the University of Oxford, writes of discovering a “light sensor within the eye that is used to lock the body clock and the sleep-wake cycle on to the external world.” Either way, the stimulus from a brightening light doesn’t antagonize me the way an alarm does.

My alarm also contributed, I believe, to my sleep anxiety. I had some bad expectations about sleep to begin with. I thought good sleep meant sleeping soundly through the night, despite evidence suggesting that segmented sleep is normal. If only sleeping pills actually worked! But they don’t. They do not significantly enhance sleep “for the average person,” according to The New York Times. Instead, they make us forget that we wake up during the night, and so align us with our expectations, reducing anxiety. Setting the alarm just added pressure to the situation. Now you have to do everything correctly—and you’ll be timed.

So why do such miserable objects have so much staying power? It’s hard to trust a mere light, and there’s no more snooze button, no do-over. You’re accountable for getting yourself up, and accountability is sometimes tough. I haven’t yet slept through my smart-light “alarm,” but I’ll admit that I do use the alarm on my phone as a fail-safe if I have to catch a flight the next morning.

Caveats aside, I’ll never go back. For 20 years my alarm clock was an antagonistic Band-Aid to a problem, but smart lights turned out to be a real solution. They don’t tell me to wake up; they simply provide the optimal conditions under which I can choose to do so—and in that context, I always do. Fewer narratives about how I’m lazy, fewer expectations about sleep, and trust in my own good choices have rendered my alarm clock, which never got me out of bed anyway, obsolete.

It’s Sleep Week at Wirecutter! Read more about deals on our expert-recommended bedding, the best mattress deals, and more of the best sleep deals for your bedroom.

Further reading

• The Best Sleep Deals We’ve Seen This Week

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• It’s Sleep Week at Wirecutter

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‎App Store: Digital Clock – LED Alarm Clock

Description

Digital clock is a simple LED table clock. The design is simple, but it is not simple. Your desk needs this beautiful clock. Provide various digital clock screensavers for Mac
Features:
– Provide various digital clock screensavers for Mac
– Attractive digital display, you can set various clock skin style
– Can display seconds.
– Switching between 12-hour and 24-hour modes
– Can hide the display of the week and date
– Set the alarm, you can choose from a variety of musical instruments
– Hourly voice time

Digital clock is a simple LED desktop clock. The design is simple but it’s not simple. Your table need this beautiful clock.Provide various digital clock screensavers for Mac

Features:
– Provide various digital clock screensavers for Mac
– Eye-catching digital display，you can set a variety of clock skin.
– Can display seconds.
– Switching between 12 hour and 24 hour mode
– Can hide the week and date display
– Setup the alarm, you can choose from many musics
– Hourly voice broadcast time
– Countdown timer, focus on work and study

Jan 23 2022

Version 4.9

Bug fixes and performance improvements.

Ratings and reviews

Ratings: 76

Review of alarm clock

Everything is fine super put it will not regret

Deception

I have paid to disable ads. The ads are gone!!!!

good watch

Everything is great!!!

Developer Junjie Ruan has indicated that, in accordance with the app’s privacy policy, data may be processed as described below. Detailed information is available in the developer’s privacy policy.

Data used for tracking information

The following data may be used to track user information on apps and websites owned by other companies:

Unrelated
with user data

The following data may be collected, which is not related to the user’s identity:

• Identifiers

• Diagnostics

Sensitive Data may be used differently depending on your age, features involved, or other factors. Read more

Information

Provider

Junjie Ruan

Size

17.3 MB

Category

Lifestyle

Age

4+

Copyright

© Digital Clock

Price

Free

• Developer site

• App Support

• Privacy Policy

Other apps from this developer

You may like

Digital alarm clock with fast wireless charging RITMIX RRC-900Qi Gray 4660004544717

The new watch model is perfect for the bedroom, living room, modern kitchen or office. Has large, well-distinguishable numbers of hours and the exact course. It is convenient to adjust the brightness of the display by lightly pressing on the upper face of the case (4 levels are available, the brightness changes sequentially or the display glow is completely turned off). Electronic clock displays the exact time in 24h or 12h format. The internal settings of the clock and alarm clock will be saved even in case of a short-term disconnection from the mains thanks to the built-in battery. The case is compact, made of aluminum in a beautiful dark gray shade, made in high-tech style. On the top surface of the soft silicone pad. On the bottom surface is a multi-function button that allows you to quickly and conveniently adjust the brightness of the display or send an alarm to repeat.

Reliable alarm clock

The alarm time can be easily set using the buttons on the back of the watch. If the alarm clock is activated, the “bell” symbol appears on the display. The duration of the buzzer signal is about 5 minutes. If you want to snooze more, just press the top surface of the watch, pressing the bottom multi-function button will work, and the alarm will go into SNOOZE mode. The Zzz symbol will appear on the display. The buzzer will turn off and repeat again after about 9minutes. In order not to postpone for repetition, but to stop the buzzer, during the signal, press the “bell” button on the back surface – the buzzer will stop, the alarm clock will work again in a day at the same time. The same button enables or disables the alarm activation mode, if you press it in the normal state of the clock, not at the time of the buzzer.

Smartphone wireless fast charging (Qi standard)

To wirelessly charge a smartphone that supports Qi fast charging, simply place the smartphone on top of the watch. A special “lightning” indication on the display will show that the charging process has begun. Please note that in order to ensure fast charging (10W), you need to use a high-quality USB – Type C cable supplied with the watch and connect it to your AC adapter or a surge protector USB socket with a power supply current sufficient for fast charging (3A, QC 2. 0 or QC 3.0). The included Type C to USB cable supports lossless fast charging. If you use a USB network adapter with a lower current strength at the USB output – for example, a mass version of 5V 2 A – then both the clock and the RRC-9 alarm clock00Qi will work just as well, however, wireless smartphone charging will be significantly slower, with less wireless charging power.

Complete set and characteristics

alarm clock with wireless charging RRC-900Qi
appearance options
gray

automatic dimming at night
?

4-step dimming
?

alarm clock
?

12h / 24h format switch
?

snooze mode SNOOZE
?

saving the clock and alarm settings when the power is turned off
?

electronic watch
?

weight
140 g

dimensions
83 x 83 x 30 mm

Qi wireless charging
maximum power
10W

power connector
design connector a
socket
USB 3 type C

power supply
DC

supply voltage
5 V

Rated supply current
3 A

USB cable
connector
connector design
male
USB 3 type A

connector
connector design
plug
USB 3 type C

USB cable
USB plug 3 type A
USB 3 plug type C

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