Alarmo is a typical Nintendo product. Explore your love of all things Nintendo with a fun and quirky way to control your bedside alarm clock (with motion sensors!). This is a $100 device that is completely intended to surprise and delight its users. But there’s also the usability issue, and we suspect the company’s engineers haven’t encountered the latest gadgets in the last 10 years (which is the same amount of time they’ve been developing Alarmo). .
For example: There is no easy way to enter your Wi-Fi password if you want to download a new theme. Instead, you have to patiently turn the bulbous top button until you land on the character you want, then press the button down like Mario crushing a Goomba. This may not seem like much of a problem, especially since you only have to do it once, but if you have complex passwords that include multiple letters, numbers, and symbols, it can be needlessly frustrating. Thankfully, my password is all lowercase, but it still took me three minutes to type. Instead of resting, I felt like throwing Alarmo out the window (-o).
Nintendo
Alarmo brings Nintendo fun to your bedroom with sleep noises and motion sensor alarms featuring classic Nintendo characters. However, they are expensive and their sleep tracking features are of little use.
Pros Adorable design Fun alarm options Helpful sleep sounds Motion sensing makes waking up fun Cons Expensive Limited theme options Difficult to set up Wi-Fi No companion app Sleep tracking is useless $100 on Nintendo
But then I fell asleep listening to the sounds of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. At 6:30 a.m., as I shuffled around the bed, a mean korok woke me up from my sleep and made a noise to indicate it. When I woke up, they performed the Hestu traditional celebratory dance, much to the chagrin of the sleeping cats. All was forgiven.
Engadget’s Devindra Hardawar
So what is Alarmo?
No one actually needs Alarmo (officially called “Nintendo Sound Clock: Alarmo”), but the appeal for Nintendo fans is clear. With its cartoonish round red case, knobby feet, and prominent control knobs (which, of course, light up), this product would look right at home as a prop in Mario Odyssey. The 2.8-inch screen is surprisingly small and square, not circular like you’d see in Nintendo promotional videos. The speaker volume is enough to fill even a large bedroom with distortion-free nostalgia bombs. Controls are relatively simple. Twist and press the knob or use the back button to return to the previous screen. You can also see notifications like sleep cycle updates by tapping the Messages button.
I admit my bias. I practically grew up on Nintendo consoles, so it’s as if Alarmo was made specifically for someone like me. I don’t really care that Alarmo’s big red case doesn’t really fit my bedroom’s clean aesthetic. But I’m sure it becomes more difficult if you share a bed with someone who isn’t really into Nintendo. (See below for details.)
Alalmo is primarily advertised as a Nintendo-themed alarm clock, but at launch it featured sounds from Mario Odyssey, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Splatoon 3, Pikmin 4, and (oddly enough) Ring Fit Adventure. and characters appear. Add a little Nintendo charm throughout your day. Alarmo can generate hourly chimes or play theme-related “sleepy sounds.” In the case of Breath of the Wild, that includes the crackling of a campfire, nocturnal animals, and fun snippets of the game’s score. (I could be mistaken, but it also seems like there’s a bit of a score right before Blood Moon arrives. I hope Nintendo eventually removes it. No one is afraid of Blood Moon. I don’t want to sleep.)
Engadget’s Devindra Hardawar
Does Alalmo actually work?
Alarmo works as an alarm clock. This has helped me wake up every day for the past week. It was far less obnoxious than my iPhone’s blaring speakers. It simply felt good to have Korok and Mario welcome us into this world. Every time I turned over I heard more sound effects and slowly woke up. In the default “steady mode”, the longer you stay in bed, the more the Alamo gradually gets louder, potentially introducing more ferocious characters like Bowser. However, if you want to keep it super calm, there’s also a “gentle mode” that doesn’t make too much noise. Alalmo also responds to the mere act of getting out of bed with a big celebration. Honestly, it’s about time someone recognized their efforts.
Nintendo provides some rudimentary sleep statistics based on Alarmo’s motion sensing and alarm settings, but they’re largely useless. I think my numbers may be skewed by my three cats who sleep in my bed most of the day, triggering the device’s motion sensors. Admittedly, I wish I had slept the recorded 17 hours at one point. (I’m lucky enough to only get six hours these days.) Even if Alarmo’s sleep tracking were working, there’s not much you can do with the data because it’s all locked to your device. This is one of the many areas where a separate app would have been helpful. (You might think it would work with Pokemon Sleep, but it doesn’t.)
Engadget’s Devindra Hardawar
Another problem? Alarmo’s proprietary motion-sensing technology is made specifically for solo sleepers (just like Google’s latest Nest Hub). If you’re in bed next to your partner or unruly child, Nintendo recommends switching to “Button Mode.” In this mode, you need to tap the top knob to disable the alarm. At least it’s easy to change Alarmo’s modes. Also, if you accidentally leave the sensor on, it’s not the end of the world if it actually turns off. You will hear a little more noise than usual, but you can press the button on the top to silence it.
Alarm setup
There are only three things inside the Alarmo box: the device itself, a USB Type A to USB-C cable, and a small instruction manual. What’s particularly lacking is a USB power adapter. We’ve gotten used to this with smartphones and some of Nintendo’s handheld devices, but for those who don’t have a spare power adapter, not including one is still a pain. It’s easy to imagine parents trying to set up Alarmo for their eager kids, only to be delayed a day by running out of an adapter and having to buy another. That’s not surprising, and we’re happy about that, Nintendo. It’s just annoying.
The actual onboarding process is very simple. Once connected, Alarmo will teach you how to use the dials and buttons on the top and explain how the back button works. You can also adjust the volume by rotating the dial. The device will ask you to test motion detection by waving your hand in front of the device. Alarmo should be oriented towards the bed and have a clear view of the sleeping area at the end of the nightstand or table. If it is too high, motion sensing will not work.
Engadget’s Devindra Hardawar
To complete the setup process, you’ll need to lie down and make sure Alarmo can actually detect your movements. It worked fine on my end, but when I sat down and was asked to lean in a certain direction, there was a delay of a few minutes before it correctly recognized that I was leaning to the right. .
At least Nintendo didn’t force you to connect to Wi-Fi during initial setup. Instead, it is triggered when you select a theme update, and as explained above, the entire process involved is just frustrating. Now, it’s not like Nintendo hasn’t learned how to use QR codes via websites and apps to simplify login. You’ll also need to sign in to your Nintendo Account once you connect Alarmo to Wi-Fi, but thankfully I was able to sign in on my iPhone using a QR code.
My guess is that Nintendo wanted to make the onboarding experience for Alarmo simpler, without the need for external authentication or additional apps. But that desire for simplicity still leads to unnecessary frustration.
I would be happy if there were more theme options. After all, I doubt many Nintendo fans are eager to re-experience the characters and music from Ring Fit Adventure. Where is Kirby? Where is Mario Kart? If there’s room for Splatoon and Pikmin, there should be room for Nintendo’s more iconic series as well.
Engadget’s Devindra Hardawar
Is Alarmo worth it?
I’m no stranger to technology-infused alarms. My nightstand is already stuffed with gadgets like an Amazon Echo Dot (used to play radio stations), an old Phillips SmartSleep rise light, a Homedics white noise machine, and an iPhone 15 Pro Max (charged with a Belkin MagSafe stand) . Hatch Baby Video Monitor. While I appreciated having a piece of Nintendo magic in my bedroom, I didn’t like it enough to replace the devices I already had.
But daughter Sophia is a different story. We’ve played most of Tears of the Kingdom together. I tried my best to teach her the Nintendo way. (I’ll save the company’s super litigious issues for when she’s older.) She wants to use Alarmo to wake up on her own without hearing my early morning groans. She also loves Koroks, so I’m sure the Zelda theme will be permanent. At least until Kirby arrives.
I’m not going to try to justify the need for a $100 alarm clock. If you’re a big Nintendo fan, you’ve probably already placed your pre-order. And if Nintendo can add more themes and lower the price, it could become more appealing over time. But for now, this is a reminder that Nintendo isn’t just about mass producing consoles and games. There’s still room for the company to make the odd pivot, but it’s a shame that Alarmo is expensive and incomplete.
