Philips SmartSleep Wake-up Light, Colored Sunrise and Sunset Simulation, 5 Natural Sounds, FM Radio & Reading Lamp, Tap Snooze, HF3520/60

I am very frugal and don't care about fancy tech so I hemmed and hawed over this purchase for a while. I also did my research on sunrise clocks before going with the Philips, this one was very highly rated. One of the selling points for me was that it started with a natural red light that eased into orange then yellow, whereas other cheaper lamps just do a low yellow light before getting brighter. I actually have a sun lamp, tied to my Alexa, that turns on when my alarm goes off. But that's just no light to on immediately, no graduality, and it's not nearly as bright. It doesn't have anything near the effect/benefits this one did, so I think quality here matters. Initial set up isn't too complicated but it is a bit lengthy. You can set up two alarm "profiles" so you can set a weekend and weekday alarm profile. I'll also note - information is saved when unplugged, up to 8 hours. You can also use it just as a lamp when needed, which I like for reading/writing in bed.I was frustrated during set up because I set the natural sounds (as opposed to FM) as my wake up noise. When I would test the alarm (there's a 90sec preview feature) it would play FM static. I went back and checked my selections multiple times, even tried setting the noise as FM thinking they were reversed, nothing worked. I googled it to find a solution and apparently there were a lot of people with the same problem! Well, I went to bed and left the alarm set and set a back up alarm on my phone. Color me pleasantly surprised, but when the alarm went off it did in fact use the natural noises I had selected. Must just be a bug with the preview alarm feature.I also woke up immediately to the natural noises (bird song). Now, I am a relatively light sleeper, but I always use the harsh beeps on my alarms and often hit snooze and cycle through a couple before I'm willing to physically get up. I woke up to this alarm immediately and felt great. If you tap the top, it snoozes (light but no noise) for 10 minutes, you can press menu to stop the alarm noises without snoozing.Despite sleeping 7 1/2 hours as opposed to my preferred 9, I woke up feeling ready to go and my eyes didnt hurt the way they always do when I wake up. I am a frugal person but waking up every morning refreshed is worth the $115. I may actually be able to go back to sleeping just 8 hours.I also tried the sunset feature to fall asleep, I set it to just 10 minutes. Falling asleep for me is hit or miss, sometimes its quick sometimes I lie awake for hours. I fell asleep before the 10 minutes was up, but whether that's because of the sunset feature or because the night before had been NYE so I didn't get much sleep, I can't really say. But it doesnt hurt to have the option and I like that it's putting my body back to a more natural rhythm.Summary:The preview feature may not play the correct noise, but at least for me the regular alarm did correctly use the noise option I selected. I like that it starts with a natural red -> orange -> yellow light, as opposed to the cheap-o models that just used yellow light. Upon use- I woke up immediately to the alarm. I immediately felt awake, as opposed to super groggy and grumpy like I normally do. I had less sleep than I normally do but still felt more refreshed and awake than I usually do. Overall, I consider this a huge win and absolutely worth the $115.

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.