Wired review: the best sunrise alarm clocks of 2026
A Wired reviewer has spent two years testing nearly a dozen alarm clocks that wake users with gradually brightening light. She names the Lumie Bodyclock Luxe 700FM as her favorite and the Hatch Restore 3 as the most popular.
Nena Farrell, a reviewer at the technology magazine Wired, has published a buyer's guide to sunrise alarm clocks, which wake users with gradually brightening light instead of a sudden sound. Over the past two years she has tried nearly a dozen of these devices and picked her top recommendations. They are aimed at people who dislike loud morning alarms or tend to hit snooze.
How the devices work
A sunrise alarm has a built-in light that starts to brighten at a set time. The transition can take anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour, and better models let the user choose that window. The author usually picks half an hour. Most models also play sounds as the light grows. Some add a sunset routine that slowly dims the light in the evening to help with falling asleep.
Recommended models
Her favorite is the Lumie Bodyclock Luxe 700FM. It is large and bright, has a button that turns it into an ordinary bedside lamp, and can store five radio stations. Its drawbacks are the lack of Wi-Fi and an app, manual time setting, and a 24-hour display only. A cheaper alternative is the Shine 300 at $169.
The most popular is the Hatch Restore 3, controlled through the Hatch app with a wide range of sounds and lights. It is not as bright as she would like, and part of the content requires a Hatch+ subscription. A budget pick is the WiiM Wake-Up Light, which is small but bright enough, with 102 free sounds and stations in its app.
Honorable mentions include the Blueair Mini Restful (an air purifier with a sunrise function, $140), the Casper Glow Light ($129), the Hatch Baby ($100) and the Loftie Lamp ($280).
Heavy sleepers and SAD lamps
The author, who describes herself as a heavy sleeper, says the devices still work for her. She advises choosing the slowest brightness increase available. A sunrise clock is not the same as a SAD lamp, which is designed for light therapy against seasonal depression.
