Tom's Guide Verdict
After testing it, we think the Hatch Restore 2 is the best sunrise alarm clock you can buy right now. It works as a sunrise and sundown light, waking you up gently and sending you to sleep peacefully. Plus, audio features include natural alarm sounds, guided meditations, upbeat music or historical narrations, which you have complete control of via a smartphone app. Thanks to an elegant, simple design and chic colors, it will also look sleek on your bedside table. If you want a sunrise alarm clock that will help you ace your winddown and wake-up routine (and look stylish while doing it), this is the clock for you.
Pros
- +
A wide range of light and sound settings
- +
Great value for money
- +
Chic aesthetic
Cons
- -
Monthly subscription fee
- -
Requires WiFi and smartphone connection
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Hatch Restore 2: Review in brief
After testing the Hatch Restore 2 for seven nights, we found this TikTok favorite to be as functional as it is aesthetically pleasing. As well as looking great on your bedside table, it wakes you up with a gradual sunrise simulation, which you can supplement with optional sounds from a library of choices (more on that below). We also discovered this soothing alarm clock has a wild side for those who wish to indulge in it — a house music setting for a more vigorous wake-up call, anyone?
Plus, the Hatch Restore 2 helps to send you to sleep with a dimming light function and soothing sounds available to lull you into slumber.
Type: Sunrise and sunset light alarm clock
Best for: Tech-savy sleepers looking for a better wind-down and wake-up routine
Dimensions: 7.24" L x 2.43" W x 5.31" H
Warranty: 1 year
Price: $169.99 at Hatch
Offered in three soothing, neutral colors and with a smooth curved design and partially fabric exterior, the Hatch Restore 2 is clearly intended to look good on your bedside.
As well as it's function as a light to help you wake and fall asleep, this alarm clock features (via its accompanying app) sounds, music, sleep stories, dreamscapes and guided mindfulness practices in the digital Hatch library. The device also comes with a 30-day trial period and a one-year warranty.
As the cold, dark months of winter progress, we tested the Hatch Restore 2 to see if how it impacts bedtime and wake up routines, and by extension, sleep quality and overall wellness.
While there's a lot to write home about when it comes to the Hatch Restore 2, it's worth noting early on that to navigate its full functions, you need to be confident using sleep tech apps. Here’s why…
Hatch recent updates
For anyone not familiar with Hatch’s unique alarm clock suite, the Hatch Restore 2 model is the plush upgrade from their original Restore sleep device. It's no surprise the brand launched a new offering in 2023, since the global wake up light therapy alarm clock market is projected to reach over $651 million in value by 2032, according to Dataintelo.
Hatch is one of the companies at the forefront of this rapidly growing industry, so we analyzed their Restore 2 to see how it performs.
Hatch Restore 2: Price
Compared to other sunrise alarm clocks on the market, the Hatch Restore 2 is a premium buy (though of course, that does mean premium features).
It's also worth noting that it has recently dropped in price. Having retailed at $199 when it first launched in July 2023, the retailer’s MSRP has since lowered to $169.99. You can also get an extra $200 in Hatch’s current sale, bring the Restore 2 down to $149.99.
Granted, there are cheaper wake-up lights out there. The JALL sunrise alarm clock retails for just $34.95 at Amazon. But for a model of this spec, the Hatch Restore 2’s price is pretty standard – the equally efficient Philips SmartSleep Wake-up Light retails at $179.95.
While you can use the Hatch Restore 2 without an additional cost, there is a subscription fee to access Hatch+ for the full features the alarm clock offers, which starts at $4.99/month or $49.99/year.
Price score: 4/5
Hatch Restore 2: Features
Working to “outsmart the dark” (as the brand says) when the seasons change, Hatch’s newest device is sleeker and smarter than the original Restore smart alarm clock.
A comprehensive sleep device, the Hatch Restore 2 uses light and sound to help you fall asleep faster and wake up easier. The accompanying app (disclaimer: a subscription is required to access the full Hatch+ library and features, though you can use the device without and get a basic selection, including light and sound options) features a library full of different colors of light and customizable light intensities, as well as a variety of sound options, white noise, guided meditations and audio stories, and more, so you can personalize your sleep and wake-up routine.
Whether you’re looking for a more natural wake-up call – we can probably all agree that iPhone alarms can become jarring over time – or a more relaxing end to the day, the Hatch Restore 2 has you covered.
In the morning, it gradually phases through red, orange and finally white light to simulate a sunrise before, if you wish, sounding an alarm of your choice (be that natural animal sounds or the aforementioned house music), to help you rise from your slumber smoothly. By night, it can be used as a reading light as well as gradually dimming once you hit the ‘rest’ setting – you can even have it narrate historical stories to you as you drift off.
If you're an early riser, a morning workout fanatic or just feel like you could do with an extra boost of energy in the morning, the Hatch Restore 2 has setting options for you. Namely the combination of bright light and house music alarm settings, which successfully rose our tester from her slumbers (though wasn't a setting she wanted to wake to every day.)
We also found that on slower weekend mornings the option of nature sounds was a more gentle introduction to the day (though of course, you might want to have soothing starts to every morning.) Waking up to a glowing orange light as the Hatch Restore 2 phased through its wake up colors, with the sounds of waves crashing was a blissful experience for our reviewer. This option to mix up your alarm settings day by day via the corresponding Hatch app, allows for flexibility to suit your schedule and needs.
Most people don't love tech that requires a degree in engineering to decipher, and the good news is that the controls on the Hatch Restore 2 are straightforward and easy to use.
Hatch use buttons sparingly, which ensures users don’t feel overwhelmed. There are two sizable ones on top of the device – a ‘rest' button with a closed eye icon and a ‘rise' button indicated by an open eye icon.
Other buttons are located on the front of the device and show as lights through the touch-sensitive cotton fabric covering (if we're splitting hairs, these could be made a little more obvious).
Volume buttons are found on the far edges of the fabric covering and +/- brightness controls are in the middle. You can also tap the front of the clock when you want to see the time, though the default setting is this not showing.
Features score: 4.5/5
Hatch Restore 2: Ease of use
As long as you have a fair understanding of Bluetooth and smartphone app connectivity, the Hatch Restore 2 set up shouldn’t pose any major issues.
There are only two main buttons on the top of the clock – ‘rest’ indicated by a closed eye and ‘rise’ indicated by an open eye – along with a sound switch on the side.
Once connected and signed up to the Hatch app (which you can download from Google Play or the Apple App Store depending on the smartphone you own), you’re good to go exploring the Hatch library. We subscribed to Hatch+ for our week-long testing period, which offers a wider variety of different wake-up and wind-down sounds and light settings.
You can then select your preferences and customize them for different days of the week depending on your routine. The app layout is straight forward and simple to navigate, organized into sections where you can customize your wake-ups and wind-downs, save your favorite sleep meditations and control how the soundtracks you've selected will be used.
Ease of use score: 4/5
Hatch Restore 2: Performance
After trialling it for a week, we tested the Hatch Restore 2 across all key areas of performance, including function, ease of use, set up and sunrise simulation. This is how we scored it.
Set-up
The Hatch Restore 2 arrives in a sleek box complete with the device itself, a connecting cable and plug, and a concise, illustrated instruction manual.
After plugging in, you must download and connect to the Hatch Sleep app. This requires entering the typical personal details you'd expect, while the app also asks some fun questions about your sleep needs and habits. We found that setting up a profile took just a few minutes. Just remember that to access the Hatch+ benefits you must sign up for the paid subscription too (you get one month free with the annual subscription or one week free with the monthly subscription).
Connectivity
We noticed that we had to reconnect the Hatch Restore 2 to the mobile app a couple of times during the week of testing, however, this was always an easy two-minute process. There is a button on the bottom of the device with lights indicating when it the device is connected to WiFi and clear instructions on the app talking you through the stages of reconnecting.
Sunrise simulation
It's fair to say that the sunrise alarm is probably the main attraction of the Hatch Restore 2. Gradually lighting up over a standard time of 30 minutes in the morning, it simulates a sunrise inside your bedroom by phasing through red, orange and then white light. According to Hatch, this process triggers the release of the hormone cortisol, which causes you to wake up. If you prefer a longer, or shorter, sunrise period you can also alter this time based on your own preferences.
Alarms
Although the aim of a sunrise alarm clock is to wake you up naturally with light, the Hatch Restore 2 comes with an audible alarm setting too – reassuring for those, like one of our testers who used a sunrise alarm clock for a week and didn’t wake up once via the device, who are concerned about whether or not light alone can raise them from their slumbers. The Hatch Restore 2 has a variety of sounds to choose from (though again, the selection will depend on if you subscribe to Hatch+ or not), from house music to get you pumped for the day to sounds from nature for a gentler welcome into the morning.
Sunset simulation
The beauty of this light is that it can be used as a nighttime lamp too. Once you hit the ‘rest’ button, the device enters into the sundown simulation, which prompts the lamp to gradually dim. During the testing period, we still found the Hatch Restore 2 bright enough to use as a reading lamp as we drifted off to sleep, even during the dimming process. In fact, by the time it got too dim to see the pages, our tester was ready to fall almost immediately to sleep without a single toss or turn.
Sleep sounds
The sleep sounds on offer with Hatch are one of the Restore 2’s most impressive features. With the Hatch+ subscription, we were able to choose between white noise and nature sounds, guided mindfulness practices, historical sleep stories, dreamscapes and more. We'd definitely rate this subscriber library for having something to suit the vast majority of sleepers' wind-down preferences. The nature sounds include rain, the ocean, wind and crickets – though we found 'evening crickets' more annoying than relaxing. That said, we appreciate that everyone has different tastes when it comes to the sounds that soothe them to sleep.
Should you buy the Hatch Restore 2?
Buy the Hatch Restore 2 if...
✅You need help waking up: Phased colors of light and and the option of additional wake-up sounds are a soothing, yet effective, way to ease you out of bed in the morning
✅You want a clock that looks stylish in your bedroom: With a chic design and neutral colours, the Hatch Restore 2 is one of the best looking sunrise alarm clocks on the market.
✅You want a more relaxing bedtime routine: With 21 new sounds, the Hatch+ subscriber library has a wind-down soundtrack that's likely to suit everyone, whether you want to be read historical narratives or practice breathwork before drifting off.
Don't buy the Hatch Restore 2 if...
❌You’re not confident using a mobile app: With only two buttons on the clock itself, the Hatch Restore 2 is fully operated through the Hatch mobile app, so you need to have a decent understanding of smartphone technology and connectivity to use this device.
❌You are a deep sleeper: Although the sunrise simulation on the Hatch Restore 2 is effective, it might not be bright enough to wake everyone up without sound as well. Other sunrise alarm clocks we've tested, like the Phillips SmartSleep Wake-Up Light, have been able to wake us up with light alone.
❌You’re on a budget: As a plush alarm clock that’s stylish, super smart and functional, the Hatch Restore 2 does come with a higher price tag than other sunrise alarm clocks on the market – it isn’t one for those shopping on a tight budget.
Alternatives to consider
