Smarter Ways To Wake Up
These high-tech alarm clocks will give you a boost to start your day
These high-tech alarm clocks will give you a boost to start your day
Let’s face it, getting out of bed, especially during these times, can take the power of a forklift to pry most of us from all that cocooning comfort to face the day. But maybe, if the wakeup method itself were a little more enticing rather than a shrill jolt, the process would be much less painful. Enter smart alarm clocks, which come with capabilities that rival house managers in real life as well as state-of-the-art entertainment systems that kick off your day in a more energized way.
While they don’t include robotic arms to physically lift you out of your lair, they do have some serious functionality that might inspire you to, in fact, get up.
Here are four of the latest models on the market.
Part clock, part digital detox, the Lenovo Smart Clock isn’t just designed to tell you the time and wake you up. Thanks to a screen that gradually dims and brightens, it can help you fall asleep and get up less abruptly—so you can slide into your day in a more organic way. It works with Google Assistant, so all you have to do is ask it for things like news briefs, weather reports or updates on the traffic and you shall receive.
Set good nightly routines by telling it to dim the lights and lock the doors—and have it turn on the lights, play energizing music or start the coffee maker in the morning. If that’s not enough, when the screen is not in use, it displays the time on customizable clock faces.
The Lenovo Smart Clock Essential is available for around $79. lenovo.com
LaMetric Time
As clocks go, LaMetric Time takes the prize for coolest retro vibes. The Wi-Fi-connected timepiece lets you choose the clock face (from tons of adorable designs) that come to life in pixelated fashion. Program it to play your favourite tracks through Spotify or online radio, or you can stream tunes from Apple music—so you’ll wake up on the sunnier side of the bed instead of being scared out of a deep sleep.
The intelligent clock also has countdown capabilities, which can measure how much time you spend on daily tasks like cooking, fitness or other activities. Send notifications from your phone straight to your clock and it will display reminders right on screen. Like any good smart device, it also connects to other home functions—like lighting, appliances and temperature control.
The LaMetric Time is available for $199. lametric.com
Amazon Echo Dot
The perfect companion for your nightstand, Amazon Echo Dot with its LED clock works with Amazon Alexa, so you can ask it just about anything—for a joke, to play music, to answer questions, to play the news or check the weather and set alarms. Before bed, program it to put on your favourite ambient sounds or audiobook, and then tell it to set a sleep timer, so it turns off while you turn in.
Controlling your smart home using your voice to do everything from turning the lights on and off to adjusting thermostats and locking doors is undoubtedly impressive, but this device’s most noteworthy feature is its capacity to set and store alarms—and a lot of them, 100 to be exact. Ask it to set single, one-off alarms or even repeating alarms on different days. Basically, you’ll never forget anything ever again.
The Amazon Echo Dot is available for $59.99. amazon.com.au
Reason ONE Smart Alarm Clock
In terms of utility, Reason ONE Smart Alarm Clock makes no mistake on time. Its large digital time display is easy-to-read. And it automatically adjusts brightness based on ambient light. Paired with Amazon Alexa, you can set timers, check the weather or news and play music, podcasts or audiobooks. The accompanying Reason Home app lets you take the controls, so you can use it to manage any smart home device. And if you set it to night mode before bed, it eliminates the clock display entirely, which means you won’t have to cover it (or your head) to get the room pitch black.
The Reason ONE Smart Alarm Clock is available for around $30. thereasonclock.com
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Soneva’s groundbreaking Coral Restoration Program in the Maldives has been endorsed by the United Nations and listed on UNESCO’s Ocean Decade platform, recognising it as a global model for reef regeneration and sustainable marine science.
In a landmark moment for marine conservation, the Soneva Foundation’s Coral Restoration Program has received official endorsement from the United Nations and been listed on the UNESCO Ocean Decade website — an international recognition of its pioneering work in large-scale reef restoration.
Based in the Maldives and operating from Soneva Fushi’s AquaTerra science centre, the program is now the region’s largest coral restoration facility. Combining advanced marine biology with local collaboration, it has redefined how the tourism sector can contribute meaningfully to ocean health.
What sets the program apart is its blend of innovation and scale. The facility includes a Coral Spawning and Rearing Lab—Maldives’ first of its kind—replicating natural reef conditions to stimulate coral reproduction. Thirty micro-fragmentation tanks further accelerate coral growth, enabling up to 150,000 coral fragments to be produced and replanted on damaged reefs each year.
Since launching in 2022, Soneva’s coral team has relocated more than 31,000 coral colonies and fragments from threatened areas, establishing a thriving coral hub in the Indian Ocean.
he initiative is managed by Soneva Conservation, a Maldivian NGO set up by the Soneva Foundation, and forms part of the group’s broader sustainability strategy.
“This milestone is a testament to the scientific rigour and community-driven ethos at the heart of our work,” Dr Johanna Leonhardt, Soneva’s Coral Project Manager, said. “It validates the potential of hospitality to lead ocean regeneration at scale.”
Beyond science, the program engages governments, NGOs, research institutions and the wider tourism industry—demonstrating how cross-sector partnerships can drive real environmental impact.
The UN recognition now positions the project as a beacon for similar initiatives globally, reinforcing the Maldives’ role as both a luxury destination and a marine conservation leader.
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