First off, many of these reviews sound a bit fishy, as if they are `fake' reviews made by the manufacturer or whatever to sell the product. This is not, this is an actual user of the actual product and I have actually rated it 5 stars. I'll start by going over the features then list the pros and end with the cons and wrap up with a final impression.
Features:
All the advertised features above are present so I won't bother going over those. This is more for the `ins and outs' of it. The device itself has a `touch screen' like front bottom portion. All of the controls are there and don't show themselves unless your finger is about ¼ of an inch from the surface of the light. Once there they light up. There is a -, menu, select and + button listed horizontally across the bottom in that order. When you get near the device they light up with an intensity to match the clock face. The clock face has an intensity setting from 1-4, which will automatically adjust UP as the room becomes brighter. For example a contrast setting of 1 helps you get to sleep but doesn't help you see the clock face at, say, 2 in the afternoon, so the auto adjusting feature I consider that a bonus. The light itself has an intensity setting from 1-20. On the lower settings it is a very dim red glow similar to the red of a sunrise (or set) and as it increases it steadily goes to bright white. Not the white you'd expect from a light but the kind of white of a sunny day. Picture a piece of paper outside on a cloudless August day. You can also adjust the `wakeup time' which is the time between program start and the alarm. The default is 30 minutes so if you wake up at 6AM at 5:30 it will start at intensity 1 and `step up' in intensity until it hits your intensity setting and it spaces this `step up' out over the `wakeup time' that you select. It ranges from 20 minutes to 40. It also includes an audible alarm of 6 different types. 1 is the radio, the other 5 are various combinations ranging from light woods birds/forest sounds to nature sounds with light music overlaid. You can also adjust the volume. These sounds do not play until the alarm time is reached. In other words, it doesn't play during the `wakeup time' period. It also has a snooze function. Simply touching the face of the clock turns the sounds off for 9 minutes but leaves the light on and after the 9 minutes, the sounds start again. The light/clock includes 2 different alarms you can set as well as an FM radio (as alluded to previously). A final note is that it also includes a "dusk" function. By activating the dusk function by pressing the button on the side the exact opposite happens than what happens with the wakeup time. It starts bright and eventually fades to 1 then turns off. This very much simulates the evening.
Pros:
I noticed a huge change the very first morning I used it. Instead of the harsh bleating of an alarm clock your body first starts to notice the increased light then your consciousness notices the sounds and eventually you're awake. This is VERY similar to waking up while you're rustic camping, if you've ever done so. So much so that at first I thought I was back in my tent at Yellowstone. That is really the only way I can describe it. I also liked how the light changed from dim red to bright white as it got brighter. Lights I've had in the past do not do that, you just get a more intense version of the same color light.
Cons:
This light is NOT meant to treat SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) being that it only puts out 300 lux at 20 in. and light therapy requires at least 10,000 lux. That aside, it can be used in conjunction with a medical grade light box (such as the SAD Light Therapy Box - Alaska Northern Lights- North Star 10,000) as a comprehensive approach. That is what I have done and it seems to work well. You also may have problems using it if you're married and you each wake up at different times as it has a tendency to light up the entire room. As brought up by others, you can't completely turn off the clock face but the lowest setting is pretty darn dim anyway. Finally when you click the alarm off you have to immediately turn it back on again, just like with the old-school alarm clocks.
Final thoughts:
Overall I believe, considering the price and its effects, the purchase was a very good value. I have always struggled with the `up and at-em' routine and even went to the point of drinking energy drinks as soon as I woke up to no avail. Like I said, the very first day I used it I noticed a difference. Within 10 minutes of waking up I was wrestling with the dog. No joke. I have combined it with the use of a light box (see above for which type) and it has done wonders for my mood and energy level. The minor inconveniences I noted above are just that, minor, and I enjoy the features and ability to have a sunrise and sunset `on demand' as I work very long days and during the winter months I am usually up before the sun and down after the sun as the saying goes. The first week I set a `regular' alarm clock as a backup to click off 15 minutes after this one in case it didn't work and not once did I have to rely on it, nor have I had to use the snooze feature. Like I said, entirely different waking experience and if I had the $$ I would buy one for each of my family as a present this Christmas. Hopefully this review helped you sort things out with this model as to what exactly it does, it's pros and cons.
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Philips SmartSleep Wake-up Light HF3520/60
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Philips SmartSleep Connected Sleep and Wake-Up Light HF3670/60
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Philips SmartSleep Sleep and Wake-Up Light HF3650/60
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Philips Wake-up Light HF3500/60
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| Customer Reviews |
14,364
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2,717
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2,717
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7,472
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| Price | $108.95 | — no data | $219.99 | $57.55 |
| Simulation | Sunrise and sunset | Sunrise and sunset | Sunrise and sunset | Sunrise |
| Brightness Settings | 20 | 25 | 25 | 10 |
| Light intensity | 300 LUX | 315 LUX | 310 LUX | 200 LUX |
| Wake-up sounds | 5 | 8 | 7 | 1 |
| Wind-down Program | no data | ✓ | ✓ | no data |
| SleepMapper app enabled | no data | ✓ | no data | no data |
| Charges mobile phone | no data | ✓ | ✓ | no data |
| Sleep Environment Tracker | no data | ✓ | no data | no data |
| Midnight Light | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | no data |
| Power back-up alarm | no data | ✓ | ✓ | no data |
A Few Differences From What I Read About This Product...... See Photos~
Since this product has already been reviewed over sixteen hundred times and some quite thoroughly (thank you!), I'll keep this review short (for me). This has been one of our favorite purchases we own here from Amazon!I'll mention a few things that I think vary from what I remember reading (and I read a TON or reviews, lol) and am uploading some photos so you can get a closer look and see what I mean...First, I read some frustrations about not being able to set the time or alarms without accessing the buttons from above. I'm able to set the time and alarm times via the touch buttons on the front, below the time (see photo where buttons are lit). You can also use the upper buttons but don't have to for everything. The only thing you have to use the upper buttons for (in relation to setting alarms) is to turn an alarm off or on. For us, this isn't a daily event since we usually get up at the same times so no big deal.Second, I was under the impression from the reviews that this thing would be kind of huge but I guess that depends on what you consider large, lol. I posted a photo with it next to some small alarm clocks and a bill to give you an idea of it's size. For us, it replaces both an alarm clock and a lamp on a nightstand so it's not too large.Other than that, my wishes are few. I wish it included AM radio and didn't remember reading that it didn't (but I wasn't likely thinking I'd miss it). Sometimes I miss a little talk radio but other technology obviously suffices.Like others mention, the buttons above are out of sight from the front. Call me crazy, lol, I used a Sharpie to mark lines where the buttons are. (There's no reason for my using different colors except that I added the red lines later and that's what I had handy.) Feeling around for the buttons when you want to turn the light or radio on, off, up or down, is just annoying. When I finally buy a yellow or orange Sharpie it'll look more like sun rays, haha... And rubbing alcohol rubs it right off anyway. The last two photos show all of the upper buttons, all the way around.Lastly, the snooze sensitivity is too high for my preference. If I set down a cup of coffee near it, during the alarm time, it snoozes the radio off. I could change the settings for no snooze but I like waking up to radio and having the option of touching it for more quiet time. If I softly close a drawer below it, same thing, it snoozes.I'm generally not this generous with 5 star ratings but overall I think the good heavily outweighs the bad and I definitely love this product. We've had ours for 5 months without problems but I'll update this review if anything changes. We live in the grey Seattle area and the sunshine this thing brings us makes it the best alarm we've owned. Smile. Buy with confidence. Hope this is helpful!
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- Reviewed in the United States on January 1, 2025
