Best smart alarm clocks in 2024

What to consider when buying a smart alarm clock

Don’t buy before considering these points:

Voice assistant

You can control all the smart alarm clocks on our list with your voice, and they run on either Google Assistant (triggered with the term “Hey Google”) or Alexa (“triggered with the word “Alexa”). Google doesn’t let you change the wake word, but Alexa can be changed to Amazon, Computer, Echo or Ziggy.

In daytoday use, the two assistants are almost identical in terms of how they work and reliability. So, choose the one that fits best with the rest of the tech around your home as the assistant and gadgets of the same brand are designed to connect seamlessly. If you have lots of Amazon products installed, they will work best with Alexa. The same is true of Google.

Display

You can physically see the time on all our favourite smart alarm clocks – but not all come with a large touch screen.

That means you’ll need to consider what you need from the device. If you want it to double as an entertainment hub for watching videos or work as a digital photo frame, get a more powerful model like the Nest Hub or Echo Show, but if it’s just the basics you’re after, ditch the screen to keep costs down.

Dimensions

If your bedside table has limited space, you’ll need to consider the size of the alarm clock. None of our top choices are huge (if you have zero room you can check out the wallmountable Echo Show 15) but some models are certainly more discreet.

The Echo Dot is a ball shape that blends into your decor due to its smaller stature, but larger devices like the Echo Show 8 or Google Nest Hub are impossible to miss.

Power

A small but important consideration: all of the smart alarm clocks on our list are wired, so they will all need to be placed close to a plug socket.

App support

The software is limited on basic smart alarm clocks, but the bigscreen models are also fullblown smart speakers and displays that can access apps like Netflix, Prime Video, Audible, Spotify, YouTube, Philips Hue and Twitch.

Each model on our list has an official app (Alexa or Google Home) that’s used to change settings and manage routines, but only the larger devices with screens can act as entertainment hubs, make video calls, view daily calendars, show your family photos or read dinner recipes.