Perch this portable lamp on your nightstand and it can also double as a sunrise alarm clock. In the morning, warm light will travel up the lamp, creating your own personal sunrise. It can do the reverse in the evening to ease you into sleep. Sync up your body’s natural circadian rhythms with sunrise and sunset, or set your own sleep schedule as needed. You can also connect this lamp with your Loftie alarm clock for the best possible wake-up call.
Choose between five different shade colors—like peach or pistachio—then tweak the lamp’s color settings in the app to match your mood or bedroom aesthetic. (Want to feel like you’re seeing the sun rise in Joshua Tree? You got it.) It’s Alexa-compatible too, so you can boss it around without even getting out of bed.
Best Retro Alarm Clock: Newgate Wideboy Alarm Clock
Newgate is a British company founded by a husband and wife duo, and together they make analog wall and table clocks inspired by Midcentury designs. You can find Newgate’s charming clocks on offer at Huckberry and the Moma Design Store, including this retro alarm clock. To keep time, the Wideboy has an atomic dial and silent-sweep hands that won’t annoy you while you fall asleep. The battery-powered clock lacks smart features or an accompanying app, and that’s exactly the point. When it’s time to wake up, the Wideboy uses a digital beeping to jolt you awake.
Best Bell Alarm Clock: Arne Jacobsen City Hall Analog Electric Alarm Clock
Originally designed by master Danish architect Arne Jacobsen in 1956 for Rodovre Town Hall in Copenhagen, this famous alarm clock will look elegant among the rest of your vintage decor. And it has gotten some subtle upgrades for the modern era.
When the alarm goes off, you can simply hover a hand above the clock to activate the sensor for light or snooze. This alarm uses battery power and precision quartz movement to keep the time (a.k.a. it’s quiet—no audible ticking), and you can choose from four finishes—sandy beige, pale orange, stone blue, or classic black.
Best Minimalist Alarm Clock: One Clock
OneClock takes a totally different approach to waking you up. Instead of an alarm tone, it plays custom-composed music by Grammy-winner Jon Natchez of rock band The War on Drugs. In the morning, the sound slowly ramps up in volume, helping you wake more gradually and naturally. Built with an analog face, tactile controls, and a handsome oak or walnut wood body, it’s designed to look more like a piece of furniture than a gadget.
And compared to other alarm clocks, there’s actually an emphasis on sound quality—it has a high performance speaker so that you can thoroughly enjoy your wake up music. It’s also rich in other features, too: Even if the power goes out, blackout protection keeps your settings saved, so you don’t have to reset anything in the middle of the night.
Best Alarm “Clock” If You Have a Partner: Ozlo Sleep Buds
If you and your partner have wildly different sleep schedules, you know how annoying it can be to wake up to an audible alarm—especially if your SO is a chronic snoozer. Ozlo’s Sleepbuds might just save your relationship. Instead of blasting an alarm across the entire bedroom, these tiny earbuds nudge you awake with personalized sound directly in your ear. The main purpose, though, is to block out noise (like your partner’s snoring) and help you fall asleep faster, with a library of white noise and ambient sounds available through the app. You can customize your alarm tones, set sleep sounds, and adjust the volume so your partner stays blissfully unaware.
The one catch is the 10-hour battery life. While it may sound impressive, it really only gets you through a single night. You’ll need to pop them back into the case and onto the charger every day, so don’t forget to stash a cable next to your bed.
More Alarm Clocks We Love
What to Look for in an Alarm Clock
Set-Up: The process for getting each alarm clock up and ticking ranged greatly depending on the type of clock tested. Not everyone wants a “smart” clock that requires downloading yet another app. On the other hand, some would prefer to have all sorts of adjustable settings available on their phone, including add-ons like white noise sounds and meditations.
Performance: Alarm clocks are are all about function, so performance is key, along with factors like how easy the numbers are to read, how simply you can set your alarm, plus how loud the alarms are. The best sunrise alarm clocks also have to be bright enough to actually wake you up reliably. Other things to keep in mind are whether or not the clock is battery-powered or powers up via cable. A back-up battery is greatly appreciated as well.