These smart digital connected smart speaker clocks will wake you up in style
If we had to choose one place our smart speakers truly excel, it’s as a bedside smart alarm clock.
Setting alarms quickly with a command, getting woken with personalised music playlists, radio stations or tailored news reports is a real crowd pleaser – and that’s just scratching the surface.
Smart alarm clocks are also brilliant for getting to sleep, with audio meditations and sleep sounds readily available, and controllable with sleep timers.
Plus things like Alexa Routines and Google Assistant Routines make it easy to pair devices such as connected bulbs and coffee machines to your morning alarm for a truly smart start to the day.
Below you’ll find our picks of the options out there right now.
- How to use Google Home and Assistant as a smart alarm clock
- How to use your Amazon Echo with Alexa as the perfect alarm clock
Amazon Echo Spot 2nd-gen
Amazon shocked us all in mid-2024 by bringing back a forgotten Echo into the equation: the Echo Spot.
If that name sounds familiar that’s because it is – the original Amazon Echo Spot was launched back 2017, but was discontinued a couple of years later.
Like the original Spot, the 2nd-edition, 2024 Echo Spot model is like an Echo Dot / Echo Show hybrid, mixing up the feature set from both to create a great Alexa companion for a bedside table, which excels as a smart alarm clock.
What is nice with the Spot is that when you ask something, the weather for example, you get a nice little visual on the screen too, to back up the information that Alexa is saying to you.
Obviously a key feature of the Spot is smart alarm clock functionality. This sort of stuff is already available across the Echo range – check out our guide to using your Amazon Echo as the perfect alarm clock – but it’s really ramped up with the Spot with the display taking things to the next level.
You can just simply say, “Alexa, set an alarm for 6.30amam” and Alexa then confirm with you, and you’ll see an extra confirmation on the screen.
You can also ask to woken up by a particular track, album, playlist or radio station too, and it works with Amazon Music, Apple Music, Spotify, Pandora, SiriusXM, TuneIn, and iHeartRadio.
Have a read of our full Echo Spot 2nd-gen review to learn more
Google Nest Hub (2nd-gen)
The 2nd-gen Nest Hub may be a bit long in the teeth now, having launched back in 2021, but still has plenty of smarts packed in to be a perfect bedside companion.
Looking much the same as the original, the big change for the 2nd-gen model was under-the-hood, with increased speed and performance, plus a brand new feature that will thrill many and – conversely – spawn yawns from those who don’t give a hoot about quantified self: sleep sensing thanks to Google’s Soli technology.
It’s a completely contactless experience; just angle the screen towards where you will sleep and the Soli chip will watch your chest rise and fall and monitor your movement.
The built-in microphones, ambient light sensor, and temperature sensor will keep an eye and ear out for disturbances like coughing and snoring, and light and temperature changes.
Combining its metrics – duration of sleep and quality of sleep – with tracking your schedule, its smart alarm clock features and smart home integrations, the Nest Hub provides a pretty unique all-in-one sleep aid device. Something none of the other sleep tracking devices we’ve used do.
Read our full Nest Hub 2 review
Amazon Echo Show 5 (3rd-gen)
The smallest member of Amazon’s Show family is perfect for placing on a bedside table. If you’re used to the 8-inch Show, or even the Show 10 or Show 15, you’ll probably be taken aback by just how much smaller this is.
Yet it packs a lot in a tiny package: a 4W speaker that’s surprisingly good, and a built-in camera. It’s a shame they killed the 3.5mm jack on the 3rd-gen model though.
Before you worry about that built-in camera, there’s a physical shutter that slides across the lens and kills the power, ensuring total video privacy. That’s important if you’re going to use this as a bedside clock, and its inclusion suggests Amazon expects people to.
Read this: The best Echo Show and Spot skills
The display is vibrant but will adjust to its surroundings, dimming when the lights go off. Again, an essential requirement for a bedside companion.
And of course you’ve got built-in mics for summoning Alexa, whether it’s to set a morning alarm, turn off the house lights, or read you a bedtime audiobook. Where we’ve found Alexa a little deaf when using the Echo Show 5 in other parts of the house, it’s close enough by the bed to hear your half-awake mumbles to play the news or announce the weather forecast.
Its diminutive size is much nicer to have in your home than the full-size Show, and the new control panels means there are more ways to use Alexa. It’s a great balance of discreet integration, top control and better privacy that makes it highly recommendable for smart homes.
Read our full Amazon Echo Show 5 review
Amazon Echo Dot with Clock (2nd-gen)
The options above are all well and good, but you might not actually want a display in your bedroom – but still have a need for digital assistant skills and features.
Step forward the Echo Dot with Clock; which has an LED clock display behind the mesh grille of the speaker. It’s nicely blurred by that barrier – it’s still entirely clear to the eye – but has a fuzzy quality that makes it feel embedded in the fabric.
It’s permanently on by default, showing the time to the minute, but can display other things depending on what you ask it. For example, you can ask Alexa about the weather it will show the temperature; or if you set a timer, it will display the timer counting down. It’ll also show you the current brightness or audio level of the Dot with Clock if you ask for a change to either.
As a dedicated bedside clock it works brilliantly. It has a light sensor built in, which can dim the display to suit the light in the room. At night it goes down to really low levels, easily enough for more sensitive sleepers to have no issue.
You can also tap anywhere on the top of the Dot with Clock for a snooze, not just a specific snooze button, to delay an alarm, so long as the speaker’s not muted – that’s a nice feature, making it easier to silence your alarms.
Read all about the Amazon Echo Dot with Clock in our review
Do you need a smart alarm clock?
Smart alarm clocks aren’t just about waking you up; they’re about enhancing your entire sleep routine.
Whether it’s using soothing sounds to drift off or waking up to a carefully curated playlist, they provide a tailored experience that old-school alarm clocks could only dream of (pun definitely intended).
They also offer immense convenience, letting you adjust settings or set alarms with just your voice- no fumbling around in the dark required.
And let’s not forget their role as a central hub for your bedroom’s smart ecosystem. Pairing alarms with routines that gradually brighten your smart lights, adjust your thermostat, or even start the coffee machine ensures you wake up to a perfectly orchestrated morning.
This isn’t just tech for tech’s sake; it’s about making your daily grind a little smoother and a lot smarter.
That said, picking the right smart alarm clock depends on your priorities. Do you value the detailed sleep insights of the Google Nest Hub? Or perhaps the simplicity and charm of the Echo Dot with Clock is more your style. Whatever you choose, the options today make it easy to blend modern technology with timeless functionality for a better start- and end – to your day.
FAQs
Smart alarm clocks require Wi-Fi for advanced features like voice commands and music streaming. Some models may still show their clock face displays if you turn Wi-Fi off.
Absolutely! Most smart alarm clocks with Alexa, Google Assistant, or similar platforms allow integration with smart home devices. You can link them to control lights, thermostats, or even coffee machines as part of a morning routine.
Yes, many options exist without cameras, including the Echo Dot with Clock, Lenovo Smart Clock Essential, and the Philips SmartSleep Wake-Up Light. These are great choices for users who value privacy but still want smart functionality.
Yes, smart alarm clocks are generally safe for bedroom use. Many models come with privacy features, such as physical camera shutters or microphone mute buttons, to address security concerns. Devices with displays also often include ambient light sensors to prevent sleep disruption.
