PHILIPSSmartSleep Sleep and Wake-Up Light, Simulated Sunrise and Sunset, Multiple Lights and Sounds, RelaxBreathe to Sleep, AMZ Exclusive, HF3650/60

Have I reviewed this wake up alarm clock/sunrise lamp before? Maybe, but I'm buying my fourth (4th!) Philips SmartSleep lamp, so I think my experience can help others.I started with the cheapest model HF3500/60 (model in current listing) back in 2014. That clock is still working, but now in my kid's room. (Every family member has slept in a room with one of these lamps at some point, and none found it bad/annoying, but only one kid and I really NEED these lamps to wake up happy in the winter.) I replaced the first Philips sunrise alarm because it is so lightweight, I would knock if off my bedside table pushing its buttons. That was annoying, and my round-topped bedside table is cute but less functional for this problem than the square table against two walls in my child's room.When I saw the HF3520 in November 2017 had a much greater brightness (300 lux vs. 200 lux) and more mass, I bought that one on a whim and gave my kid the first lamp. The HF3520 was probably my favorite while it was in use, but it died in the middle of 2023, so only lasted less than six years. It died after a power failure, so the issue may have been some kind of power surge since it was not on a surge protector, but it never worked again.In October 2023 I purchased the model I'm buying again today: the Non-App (dumb) model HF3650/60. (Note: I never tried, and do not want, the HF3670/60 "smart" product.) I bought the HF3650 over the familiar 3520 in part due to its extra 10 lux (310 lux vs. 300 lux.) In reality, I still need a bright light therapy lamp, and I now have one of those on a timer to illuminate my face for 30 minutes every morning AFTER my Philips clock wakes me gently with a sunrise. The difference in light level between the HF3650 and the 3520 probably shouldn't be your reason for picking one over the other either.The 3520 costs a lot less and I was happy with it. In the end, the fact that it takes up so much more room led me to stick with the newer, slimmer model. The 3650/60 has more weight to it and is far less tippy than the original 3500, and I don't knock the newer one off my table.I'm buying an additional 3650 to keep in the guest room at a family member's house where I spent up to a month every winter. Every year, I have a harder time waking up on dark mornings, and I can afford to splurge on the best solution to that problem for a second location where I spend a lot of time. I almost went with the 3520, because it was totally fine and it is cheaper, but decided that having the exact same controls would be the wisest choice for me.All of these clocks have some learning curve, but the controls differ between 3520 and 3650. They aren't so difficult that I need the pull out the manual, but they are fiddly and require navigating down into a menu, and I don't need to make my life harder when I arrive jet-lagged across the country.Finally, the "wind down" sunSET simulator on the 3650 is very pleasant. I had insomnia a lot as a younger person, but I am almost completely cured of it in mid-life, in part because I've developed excellent "sleep hygiene" habits such as avoiding blue light in bed, winding down with a book every night, and following a routine. The sunset simulation fits beautifully into my routine, and my eyelids get heavier as the clock dims, even though I read on a backlit Kindle most of the time so can continue after my lamp goes full dark.There are nitpicks: it is dumb that starting the sunset simulation briefly sets the lamp, if it was on when the option is selected, ALL THE WAY DARK, then raises the light level back up to where you asked the wind down process to begin. Sometimes my spouse is annoyed, thinking he can go to sleep in full dark at the moment when I actually need the gradual dimming to help me get ready to sleep.I can't recall now if my 3520 went fully dark at night (no visible clock display), but I love that the 3650 does go absolutely dark while I sleep. Simply tapping the face of the clock shows me the time if I wake and want to know what time it is.I also use the tap-the-top nightlight feature most nights as my husband goes to bed before I do. That works great to give me just enough light to get from bathroom to bed without banging into the bench at the foot of our bed. I don't recall my 3520 offering the same convenience in that way, either.At the end of the day, the negatives for the 3650 are small and none are deal-breakers for me. If my 3520 hadn't died, I'd happily buy a new one of those today, so I do recommend it. I only suggest the lightweight 3500 for those with a very tight budget who wake up with plenty of dexterity and not too much tendency to get annoyed by using two hands to settle the alarm clock.

Update: Two years later…still have it, still indispensable to my morning routine. I am about to go into rotating shifts and I know this device will be key to having any semblance of a sleep schedule. I also changed internet providers last year and it was easy to get it set up again - just “forget” the device and re-add it from your app. It took about 3 minutes to get it fully functional again. Short story: if this would quit working tomorrow, I would pay the full-price amount again to buy it without hesitation.Original review: I have had this for about a month, enough time to provide a fair assessment. Like the title says, I love this thing. And I should, for the price. Apologies in advance for a lengthy review...A bit of background, I am a bit of a sleep geek after having worked as a sleep technologist for nearly two decades. To be clear none of my review constitutes medical advice - and I am no longer a sleep tech. If you are really having sleep issues, you likely need a physician’s personalized input/assistance. That said, I am very keen on improving my sleep hygiene and also dig data, and this does that for me.I have loathed alarm clocks, but desperately needed them, since I was a teenager. The annoying sound doesn’t really start my day off right. Now I have gradual light and then pleasant bells if the alarm even gets that far. I have never had to listen to the last ditch “power wake” that is a setting - so I can’t comment on that, but I consider that a positive. How it works: the time you set is the time the light is at optimal brightness and your chosen sound plays...30 minutes before that, the light starts off low and increases. Not sure that is explained well in the item description.I also love the sunset feature with the additional sound. Sometimes it is difficult to fall asleep due to outside noise in my neighborhood. The underwater noise, coupled with the Caribbean island light setting puts me right to sleep. I have never been awake when it stops, even at a 15 minute setting.The regular light is definitely sufficient as a bedroom light. I turn it on, then turn off my light switch. Then when I am in bed, start my sunset feature. It has made my bedtime routine very convenient.Some of the more technical aspects: I know other reviews complained about starting and maintaining the WiFi connection since so much is done via the SleepMapper app. I had zero issues. I set it up in my living room about 10 feet from my WiFi router, then unplugged and took it about 30 feet away to my bedroom. It reconnected without any intervention from me. I have not had one quirky event with the app either, and the app is very user-friendly, in my opinion.The USB port on the back of the light is easy to use and I charge my iPhone on it every night without issue. I have the Somneo on a small-ish suspended shelf next to my bed, with enough room for it, my phone, and my glasses. My bedroom has more of an antique/boho vibe but the sleek/modern Somneo surprisingly doesn’t clash with it.Oh, almost forgot about the data - which is a big part of why I got the more expensive app-enabled one! So, I probably haven’t even fully explored all of it, but the big draw for me was analyzing my sleep environment (aka, why do I sometimes wake up at 3am for no reason!?). The app monitors light, humidity, temperature, and sound levels. The nights that I wake up - there are sound spikes around that time. So I know to investigate that more. Also, they show the desired ranges for each environmental factor. These are pretty on point with desired levels, though please be aware that not everyone needs a super cool room to sleep well - they do caveat that range (somewhere in the app or the manual), but I wanted to footstomp that temperature is what you find comfortable, and their range is probably okay for most, but not all people.Thanks for hanging in there on this long review! I just know that when I am thinking about dropping serious $ on a product, I want some details by real users that paid full price. Oh, and if something goes south - I will update this review.