Philips Hue Twilight Smart Sleep and Wake Up Lamp review

If the winter months are powerful on you, there are a few gadgets that would assist. Issues reminiscent of poor sleep, problem waking up within the mornings and tiredness can all be brought about, or exacerbated, by an absence of daylight.

The primary helpful system is a SAD lamp, which is designed to imitate the out of doors mild you miss over the winter months, and which may also help you combat lethargy and low moods.

You possibly can’t use any previous mild for this. SAD lamps are designed for this function, and have a brightness of 10,000 lux. You possibly can see our prime suggestions in our round-up of the most effective SAD lights we’ve examined.

The second life-changing system is a light-weight alarm, which can assist you get up feeling extra energised. As a substitute of being shocked out of sleep by your customary, blaring audio alarm, a light-weight alarm will wake you gently, by levels, by mimicking a dawn. Many mild alarms even have a sundown operate, that can assist you prepare for sleep at night time.

You possibly can see the most effective mild alarms we’ve examined in our round-up, and see how they examine to the Philips Hue Twilight Sleep and Wake Up Lamp, which we’re on this assessment.

We’re testing this lamp primarily as a dawn alarm. In case you personal a Philips Hue Bridge, and use the Twilight lamp as a part of your sensible lighting setup, you’ll be capable to open up extra performance than in the event you purchase the lamp alone.

Design and Construct

• Back and front lights
• Plastic construct
• On-device and app controls

Mild alarms typically seem like conventional alarm clocks, in a skeuomorphic method, and typically like a baby’s drawing of the solar, however not often like precise lamps.

The Twilight lamp, then again, is decidedly lamp-like. It has a easy and wonderful natural form, with a number of character.

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You possibly can select between a black or a white mannequin and each look equally good.

It’s round 33cm/13in excessive and is meant for a bedside desk. If you see it in footage, it seems to be ceramic but it surely’s, the truth is, fabricated from matt plastic, which is a slight disappointment. It has a cork base that received’t scratch the floor it’s positioned on. It weighs round 990g, and most of that weight is within the base, so it’s not simple to knock over.  

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There are two units of lights: back and front. The entrance mild is behind a smoked panel, however the three banks of LEDs on the again are solely lined by a pane of clear plastic. It’s designed to throw rays of colored mild in opposition to a wall, which it does to spectacular impact.

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Nevertheless, the lights themselves aren’t notably enticing.

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When selecting a routine, you possibly can choose to make use of the entrance, or again lights. The scenes can use all of them.

On prime of the sunshine are two buttons. One switches the sunshine on and off and toggles between completely different scenes. Scenes are brightness settings and there are six to select from, so you should utilize the Twilight as a brilliant mild, a studying lamp, or on a hotter, extra enjoyable setting. You possibly can even swivel the lamp head from left to proper to level it at your ebook.

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The opposite button begins a go-to-sleep automation, which step by step decreases the sunshine’s brightness over a time frame, that can assist you to get into sleep mode.

The buttons have completely different tactile options, so you possibly can inform them aside at nighttime.

App and Good Options

• Bluetooth connection
• No weekly scheduling choice
• Granular configuration of white or colored lights

However it is a Philips Hue mild, which signifies that it might probably accomplish that rather more, by way of its sensible settings. You’ll have to obtain the Philips Hue app, create an account and hyperlink the sunshine, which occurs by way of Bluetooth. I discovered this course of to be fast and easy.

You’ll then be capable to entry all of the sensible options.

The primary and most evident function is a routine, which you’ll be able to schedule. So, you possibly can set the sunshine to get up, fall asleep or come on on the finish of a timer. However there’s no choice to schedule by day, so in the event you set an early dawn alarm for a weekday morning, you’ll want to recollect to show it off on the weekends.

You may as well set a scene. You possibly can select from one of many dozens of preset scenes or customise your individual. The Twilight lamp has each white and colored mild choices, so there are dozens of searchable choices. The defaults are operate based mostly: select from learn, energise, focus and chill out, for instance.

Then there are temper settings, together with romantic, peaceable, dreamy and occasion vibes. On the time of writing, you may also select from various Halloween mild settings, reminiscent of ‘Glowing Grins’, a pink, orange and inexperienced configuration.

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A few of these settings are prone to be very helpful, others only a novelty. It can save you those you actually wish to your ‘lights’ web page within the app, for fast entry.

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When you’ve got various Philips Hue lights in your sensible residence setup, and a Hue Bridge, you possibly can add the Twilight to bigger sensible residence routines, so it’ll swap on – alongside along with your different lights – if you open the door entrance, or at a selected time of day.

You may as well swap your mild on or off utilizing voice management, by way of your Alexa or Google residence sensible speaker.

Mild Alarm Options

In case you select the Philips Twilight as a light-weight alarm, the important thing benefit is the standard of its mild. Cheaper mild alarms don’t change color as seamlessly because the Twilight does, and a few produce fairly an eerie, chilly mild.

I preferred utilizing the LED banks in the back of the Twilight as a light-weight alarm. It begins to wake you by casting a delicate splash of velvety blue, then lilac, in opposition to your wall. By the point it is advisable to get up, the whole room is warmly illuminated.

If you’re setting a get up or fall asleep routine, you possibly can select to make use of the entrance or again mild, and choose to have the sunshine brighten (or dim) for a interval of 10, 20, or half-hour.

However it has limitations, as properly. You possibly can’t schedule for a complete week at completely different instances, or have a time without work.

The opposite limitation when in comparison with most mild alarms, which may additionally swap on the radio, play soothing sounds or music, is that there’s no audio choice. This received’t matter in the event you’re utilizing it along side your sensible speaker or as a part of a wider sensible residence setup, but it surely makes a giant distinction in the event you’re shopping for it to make use of alone.

Worth and Availability

The Philips Hue Twilight has an RRP of £249.99 within the UK and it’s out there at this value from the Philips Hue website or from Amazon. Within the US, it’s out there for $279.99 from Philips Hue.

This makes it one of many priciest mild alarms we’ve examined. Yow will discover rather more budget-friendly choices in our round-up, most of which have extra audio options.

Must you purchase the Philips Hue Twilight lamp?

The Twilight lamp is dear and there are glorious mild alarms that price a lot much less. However I like the design and the high-quality mild it produces as a dawn alarm.

It’s a luxurious purchase, for certain, but when you already know its limitations, you’re unlikely to be dissatisfied. Plus, if you have already got Philips Hue lights and a bridge, it’s a lot simpler to advocate.