Loftie Alarm Clock Review: How My Mornings Became Way More Pleasant Than Ever

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I’m the kind of girl who needs at least three alarms to wake up and get out of bed in the morning. For the past few years, I’ve relied on my iPhone and a heart-stopping, blaring alarm of my choice to jolt me awake. Unsurprisingly, it’s not a pleasant experience (and I’m fairly certain my next-door neighbor loathes it), but this method does the job. It wasn't until recently that I learned that there are far better, more peaceful ways to start my day: namely, the Wi-Fi-connected alarm clock called Loftie.

For the past month, I’ve ditched my smartphone's ghastly alarm to wake up to Loftie’s melodic sounds instead. I’ve even started falling asleep to crickets chirping as opposed to the honking horns of New York City, and I have come to appreciate the alarm clock’s soft glow when making my way to the bathroom in the dead of night.

That being said, Loftie isn’t perfect, and the $150 price tag is a lot to stomach. Here are my first impressions of this alarm clock alternative, as well as three other experts at the Good Housekeeping Institute who test everything from the best smart speakers to the top-rated sleep apps. Below, I share what we liked and didn’t like about this trendy smart alarm clock to help you decide whether investing in the Loftie is worth it for you.

What is the Loftie alarm clock?

The Loftie alarm clock isn’t like the clock radio alarm clocks of the 90s, you know the ones with the constantly glaring red LED numbers. On the contrary, Loftie features a sleek, modern design that fits unobtrusively on most nightstands — and it is designed to wake you just as unobtrusively with soothing sounds.

Unlike traditional alarm clocks, Loftie comes with a library of content. Not only can you choose among a variety of calming alarm tones to wake you up, but there are built-in sounds and playlists to help you go to sleep, like white noise, nature sounds, bedtime stories, breathwork exercises, meditation and sound baths. What's also notable is that the Loftie alarm clock connects to Wi-Fi so you can expect updates to sounds and playlists over time. And because it’s Bluetooth-enabled, you don’t have to say goodbye to your favorite nighttime podcasts or Spotify playlists – you can just stream them through Loftie.

What's all the hype about?

What sets Loftie apart from other standard alarm clocks is the idea that it enables users to keep their smartphones outside of the bedroom — and ultimately get enough sleep. It's been getting a lot of attention on TikTok and Instagram as a relatively painless way of signing off at nighttime to set some digital boundaries. Since you technically don’t need to rely on your smartphone’s alarm, there’s no reason to have your phone by your side along with the temptation to scroll through Instagram or check emails before bed.

And, of course, Loftie just looks good. “This product is beautiful!” said one tester at the GH Institute. “Everything from the packaging to the app is very chic. It looks amazing on my end table.” Other testers admired its slim design that doesn’t take up unnecessary space on nightstands.

But what won most testers over at the Good Housekeeping Institute was Loftie’s white noise feature (and the freedom to finally get rid of separate sound machines). “By far, its white noise options take this alarm clock far,” said our tester. “I didn't count all the different noise settings but there are plenty, including different ambient noises such as white, brown and pink, as well as natural noises like campfire (a favorite), rain, etc. The volume settings are impressive as it can go from a hush to a loud sound that drowns out nearby noises.”

How to use the Loftie alarm clock

What's really great is that Loftie uses a two-phase alarm to slowly rouse you from your slumber. The first phase gently nudges you with soft sounds, while the second phase fully wakes you up nine minutes later with melodic sounds. The concept behind a two-phase alarm is to wake you up gradually and peacefully, similarly to how you would awaken naturally.

With only three buttons located on the top of the device, it's minimalist and easy to use and operate alongside an app (though you don’t actually need the app after the initial setup). It comes with a warm night light that’s one of my favorite features to help you get out of bed without breaking a toe, as well as a blackout mode so you can completely turn off the display when it’s time for sleep.

What we like about the Loftie alarm clock

• Waking up is more pleasant. Since using Loftie, I’ll admit that I haven’t missed the feeling of being ripped out of a dream by a ruthless alarm. Mornings with Loftie are like waking up to the sun shining and birds chirping. Plus, the snooze button is conveniently easy to hit.

• Falling asleep is easier. While Loftie doesn’t necessarily help me sleep better, I find myself looking forward to falling asleep to its various nature sounds and different noises, from white noise to pink noise and red noise. “I live in a New York City apartment with extremely noisy neighbors (that includes heavy footsteps and loud thuds),” one tester said. “This has made a tremendous difference in easing me into sleep.” There’s even a signal you can set to remind you when it’s time for bed, which is particularly useful if you’ve put your phone away for the night and have lost track of time.

• Its night light is perfect. My favorite feature of all has to be the built-in night light. Though you’d need more light for journaling or reading a book, Loftie really nailed it when it came to creating the perfect glow – it’s just enough illumination to get me to the bathroom safely, or to crawl my way into bed without waking up my partner. The big button, which is the same as the snooze button, makes it extremely intuitive to turn the light on when I need it, and I can say the same about turning off the screen entirely when I want it to go into blackout mode. “The dimmable night-light setting at the base is both cute and practical for transitioning into bedtime,” one tester said.

What we don't like about the Loftie alarm clock

While there’s a lot about Loftie that I liked, I’ll admit that there’s room for improvement.

• The setup is tricky. Though the setup should be straightforward, it took me two attempts to get things up and running and the majority of testers agreed that setup was more time-consuming and complicated than expected.

• The app itself isn’t very useful once your device is set up. “The app feels silly,” another tester said. “It's difficult to use and doesn't really add to the experience.” Most testers, including myself, wish that you could use the app to select the sounds you want to play on the alarm clock as opposed to having to click through every option on the physical clock. I found it super tedious to scroll through each sound manually, and it wasn’t comfortable doing so from my bed. “It takes a long time to go through all of the options and it would be easier on the phone,” one tester shares.

• Its sound quality isn't great. Connecting to Bluetooth was flawless, and I like that Loftie enables you to stream your own music, podcasts and playlists. That being said, Loftie is not a replacement for a Bluetooth speaker or a smart speaker with high-quality sound. When streaming from my phone, the audio quality was weak.

• Its battery life could be better. I also wasn’t impressed by Loftie’s battery life. Though it’s nice that it features a backup battery in case of power outages, it’ll only run for a few hours before dying, which isn’t enough to get you through the night. Your Loftie alarm clock essentially has to be plugged in at all times or you may not wake up at the time you want.

The bottom line: Is the Loftie alarm clock worth it?

Loftie doesn’t come cheap, so I’d only recommend it to those who truly despise waking up to their current alarm or need the motivation to keep their smartphone away from the bedroom. Exposure to blue light can affect sleep quality and Loftie’s “less screen, more dream” mission can really help. Another option to consider is a smart speaker like a Google Nest or an Echo Dot which are less than half the price, voice-controlled and overall better speakers. You can even purchase the Echo Dot with a clockface and simply ask Alexa to set alarms for you to wake you up. There are also other smart alarm clocks to consider as well as fantastic traditional alarm clocks that are significantly more affordable.

If you have your heart set on Loftie, it does offer a lot of value with its robust library of sounds and playlists, eliminating the need for a noise machine and offering some of the most serene alarm tones out there. Its night light is a nice touch that I’m now unwilling to give up and I’m curious to see what updates the company makes down the line. If you can justify the higher price tag, you won't hate this alarm clock nearly as much (if at all) as others.

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Why trust Good Housekeeping?

Media & Tech Reviews Analyst Olivia Lipski oversees product testing and covers consumer electronics, such as smart home devices, audio equipment and more. She continues to stay on top of the industry's latest innovations and helps readers make better buying decisions by testing and reviewing the best gadgets to hit the market. Along with other experts at the Good Housekeeping Institute, she's been testing the Loftie alarm clock in her bedroom for the past few weeks, falling asleep to crickets (not car horns) and waking up with a smile on her face to a peaceful gong.

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