Amazon Echo Time Smart Alarm Clock Detects Lighter Sleep to Ease Morning Wake Ups

Amazon placed a spherical device known as Echo Time with a 3.2-inch circular touchscreen on the nightstand and left the camera out entirely. The form sits low and rounded, finished in Graphite, Glacier White, or Coral Pink, with a woven mesh covering most of the body.

If the flat base does not fit perfectly on your table, an adjustable stand is available for an additional $39.99. Hundreds of clock faces are displayed on the screen, ranging from very clean analog designs with or without numbers to digital readouts, weather scenarios, and even characters from Harry Potter, DC, Scooby-Doo, and the Powerpuff Girls. You may flip between all of these distinct styles with a voice command or by swiping on the screen; touching and holding brings up even more alternatives. At nite, the display dims to only indicate the time or the next alert, and the blue light is reduced as well. It progressively brightens in the morning, similar to how the sun rises.

If you only want to set an alarm without disturbing the person snoring next to you, the on-screen controls allow you to do so. If you’re just waking up, you can set an alarm with Alexa, which will even send you reminders like “don’t forget to pack lunch” or “adjust the thermostat to 72.” Smart alarms are optional and employ Amazon’s Omnisense sensors (which use all of the room’s temperature data, detect when someone is going to be in there, and even listen for your breathing and distance from the object).

Once you’ve opted into the sleep tracking system, it begins calculating when you’re in a lighter sleep stage and then alerts you 10-60 minutes before your real wake-up time. No watch is necessary; it just begins quietly and gradually increases in volume over the period of up to four snoozes. Sleep detection is disabled by default, but it can be turned off in the Alexa app or simply by pushing the mute button, which shuts everything down. Even though it’s off. There is still an indicator that shows Alexa is listening in. Amazon says the wind-down and wake-up features have been verified by the National Sleep Foundation to satisfy evidence-based requirements.

A second Kids version is available in Galactic Grape and Cosmic Lime for $209.99 (which includes a year of Amazon Kids+). The main feature is that youngsters can set their own alarms, switch faces, ask questions, and check the weather almost entirely on their own. Sleep Studio offers nighttime routines based on popular applications such as Calm, Headspace, and Moshi, allowing your child to prepare for bed by doing things like putting on PJs or brushing their teeth. Parents manage everything using the Amazon Parent Dashboard.

Some of the more advanced features require you to have an Alexa+ account, which is included with Prime membership. The regular version costs $199.99 and is already available for order, with deliveries beginning in December. The lack of a camera, direct on-screen alarm setting, adjustable brightness, and sleep stage assessment all work together to keep this device in its intended position by the bed rather than becoming a general smart display.