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The best smart alarm clocks and smart displays for your bedside table
We can't promise they'll stop you hitting snooze...
It doesn’t matter if you’re an early bird or a night owl, having a trusty alarm clock on your bedside table is a great way of maintaining a healthy sleep schedule. And while the blue light from late-night smartphone sessions could disrupt your natural sleep-wake cycle, that doesn’t mean you have to banish all forms of technology from the bedroom.
One of the most convenient ways to improve your sleep routine is by investing in a smart alarm clock. These internet-connected devices not only tell you the time but also let you set alerts, and listen to music or catch up on the news with your morning coffee.
Best smart alarm clocks
The best smart alarm clocks will let you control other smart home gadgets like lights, cameras and smart thermostats with quick voice commands, all while leaving your smartphone tucked in your bedside drawer.
Pros
- Small design
- Easy-to-read and customisable clock face
- Decent sound quality
Cons
- More expensive than an Echo Dot
- Limited display features
The 2024 version of the Amazon Echo Spot is one of our favourite smart alarm clocks for its blend of functionality and style to suit any bedroom. Its compact design makes it a great fit for a bedside table, and we can confirm it won't take up much space at all. It has a dinky 2.83-inch screen to comfortably display essential information like the time, weather, and your next alarm. You can also personalise the clock face to your preferences.
What makes the Echo Spot particularly appealing is its versatility. It not only functions as a reliable alarm clock but also integrates smoothly into Alexa-based smart home setups. You can easily set alarms using voice commands, and the device can gently wake you with your favourite music or radio station. At night, the screen dims automatically, so you can still see the time without it lighting up the whole room.
While the audio performance may not match larger speakers like the Echo or Echo Dot, it's good enough for casual listening in smaller spaces like bedrooms or offices. We like that its smart functionality makes it more than just an alarm clock, but that it doesn't add a camera for calls, something that's arguably unnecessary for your bedside.
Key specifications
| Display size | 2.83-inch, 320 x 240 pixels |
|---|---|
| Voice assistant | Amazon Alexa |
| Size | 11.3 x 10.3 x 11.1cm |
| Weight | 405g |
| Colours | Black, white or blue |
Amazon Echo Show 5
Pros
- Colour touchscreen display
- Smooth performance
Cons
- Screen too small for streaming shows
With Alexa software smarts, the Show 5 is a wifi-connected display that’s also one of our favourite bedside smart clocks.
Unlike the Echo Dot with Clock, this has a five-inch touchscreen so you can access apps like Netflix, Audible, Prime Video or Spotify and customise what pictures are showing (via Amazon Photos or Facebook) on the screen alongside the time and weather.
It can also be controlled with your voice instead of touch, used to set reminders, hear the news, set timers or interact with other Alexa devices installed around your home, like the Ring Video Doorbell or smart plugs. Who is it for? Anyone who wants an Alexa-powered alarm clock that’s also a lovely little smart display.
Key specifications
| Display size | 5.5-inch |
|---|---|
| Voice assistant | Alexa |
| Size | 14.7 x 8.2 x 9.1cm |
| Weight | 456g |
| Colours | Black, White, Blue |
Pros
- Large 8-inch display looks good
- Solid built-in camera for video calls
Cons
- Might be too big for a bedside
If you want an even larger screen and prefer Amazon's voice assistant over Google, we'd advise going for the Echo Show 8. As the name suggests, you’re getting a more expansive 8-inch colour touch display, plus a few upgrades over its smaller sibling.
Compared to the Echo Show 5, the built-in camera is 13MP instead of 2MP, an adaptive mode adjusts screen brightness and colour to your surroundings, it has a faster processor, and it has better speakers with support for spatial audio. That’s about it, though, the Echo Show 8 is essentially a bulkier Echo Show 5 and it’s also identical in terms of its smart home compatibility, app support and button layout.
This model tracks your physical movements on a video call, but we don’t think that’s too much of a big deal when it comes to using it as an alarm clock. Still, for anyone who loves Alexa and finds a big screen a bit more comfortable to look at, this is one of the best options.
Key specifications
| Display size | 8-inch |
|---|---|
| Voice assistant | Alexa |
| Size | 20 x 13.9 x 10.6cm |
| Weight | 1034g |
| Colours | Black, White |
Pros
- Easy to setup and use
- Subtle design
Cons
- No LED panel
One of Amazon's most affordable speakers, the Echo Dot has an identical design to the version with the clock, but this can only tell you the time via the Alexa voice assistant.
While we much prefer the Echo Dot with Clock as a bedside helper, this is a great budget-friendly option if you don't mind not getting the LED display.
For the most compact option Amazon makes, you could also pick the Echo Pop, which is about half the size of an Echo Dot. It's by far the most affordable way to get Alexa integrated into your home setup.
Key specifications
| Display size | None |
|---|---|
| Voice assistant | Alexa |
| Size | 10 x 10 x 8.9cm |
| Weight | 349g |
| Colours | Charcoal, Blue, White |
How the GH Tech Team tests smart alarm clocks
We test the best smart clocks by setting them up in a bedroom and scheduling multiple daily alarms to find out how effective they are at helping us to wake up in the morning.
But that’s not all: we also check out the capabilities of the voice assistant, the speaker volume and build quality, while (if applicable) also judging how clear and smooth the screen is to use. Lastly, we find out how easily they integrate with other smart home devices.
Why you should trust Good Housekeeping
For this article, we've tried out several smart displays to see how they work as smart alarm clocks, using them in our homes and as our bedside alarms. This guide was written by our Technology Editor, Simon Cocks, who has over a decade of experience working at Good Housekeeping and has tested a wide range of smart home devices over the last five years.
To evaluate these clever displays and speakers, we've checked how easy each one is to set up and control, and how effective they are as alarms compared to a regular phone alarm. We've also checked their smartphone apps and explored smart features like voice assistants and integrations with smart home gadgets.
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 everyday 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 wall-mountable 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 big-screen models are also full-blown 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.
Verdict: Best smart alarm clocks
You'll find that Amazon dominates our top picks at the moment, although Google's older Nest Hub (2nd gen) and Nest Hub Max can be worth it, too.
The Amazon Echo Spot (2024) is our top compact bedside pick. It’s a tiny, camera-free smart alarm clock with a neat little screen for time, weather and alarms, plus Alexa for routines and voice control.
If you want a fuller smart display in a small size, the Echo Show 5 adds video calling and more on-screen info while still working well on a bedside table. Prefer a bigger screen and better audio? The Echo Show 8 is our big-screen choice, with stronger sound and a built-in smart home hub for controlling devices.
Simon Cocks is Good Housekeeping UK’s Technology Editor, overseeing tech shopping content and strategy for the title. He previously also worked across other titles including Esquire UK, Digital Spy, Men’s Health UK and Women’s Health UK.
Simon specialises in testing the latest smart gadgets, home entertainment gear, headphones, speakers, portable chargers, radios, e-book readers and smartphones. He's reviewed top tech products from brands including Google, Apple, Amazon, JBL and Bose.
A magazine journalism graduate from Kingston University in 2014, Simon also worked on the Discovery and Silkroad inflight magazines. He then gained experience writing about entertainment at SFX and Total Film. He also contributed reviews and interviews to TwitchFilm (later ScreenAnarchy), CultBox and Frame Rated.
He joined Good Housekeeping UK as the Editorial Assistant for Special Projects and was part of Good Housekeeping’s Consumer Affairs Team between 2014 and 2019. In this role, he conducted price comparison research, wrote detailed household and money-saving advice guides and edited thousands of in-depth reviews for the Good Housekeeping Institute.
He has focused on technology and gadgets since 2020, where he started by testing out power banks and instant cameras. He writes reviews, roundups, news articles and deals updates, and also covers top tech deals during sales like Amazon Prime Day, Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
When not testing out the latest gizmos, you’ll find Simon either catching up with the newest releases at his local cinema or out shooting with his beloved compact camera.
You can follow Simon on Instagram, on Bluesky, on LinkedIn and on Threads.
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