SAD-DP-21

Love this lamp! It was super easy to download the ap and set up. I set it to turn on about 10 minutes before my phone alarm goes off and the bright light naturally wakes me up.

The app-controlled version is absolutely worth the money. I’ve only had this about a week but I am beyond grateful. The sunrise option is a game changer, the various settings for light temperature and brightness, turn off/on from phone or just by tapping the device… worth every penny so far. Helps me wake up in the morning, and I think the bright light helps me feel more positive while working during the day. Winter is dark and depressing; do yourself a favor and get one of these. Edit: It’s been about a month. Still super happy with this purchase. It’s great to wake up with some light you can’t ignore in the morning! I also LOVE working at home with it on during the day. I do think it helps my moods. Regarding the app- you just need to pull down to refresh the main screen each time and then you’ll be able to select the device and modify the settings. Edit/Update 8 months later: I still use this every morning to help wake up. The light in the morning is a complete game changer and I still agree the app-controlled version is completely worth the money. I haven't tested anything besides the light, but just the light is completely worth the money for me. I love love love being able to set a schedule for the light to start to come on in the morning, especially as it's getting darker out now. I use it every weekday.

Not much to say, it does what it's supposed to do. Setting it up was a breeze, I think maybe because I purchased the model that has an app with bluetooth set up? Not sure why others would be having a problem with setting it up otherwise? It is surprisingly nice to wake up to the sunrise light in these cold and dark days of winter. The alarm could be a little louder maybe? Probably my only complaint.

There are so few of these on the market, after shelling out $90 for a "swankier" version -- that ultimately ended up being unusable due to atrocious, untested controls (when I say unusable think abt what happens if u have insomnia already, are fumbling around inthe dark to try to make sure the alarm is on, or turn the LED off and BOOM FULL STRENGTH 10K+ LUMENS RIGHT IN YOUR FACE) - So I was REALLY hoping this would solve those issues, as it actually has tangible buttons & is more clearly separated. Here's the problem: Yes that happened to me with this but at a decreased rate (which is partially bc I use it less bc its useless, more on that later) #1) Its fabulous there are tangible buttons that are separate. However they're super small and impossible to read ever with the lights on during the day, and they're all the same/clumped size etc. You MIGHT be able to if u went over the invisible etchings of the button functions with dark nail polish or something. Also I have yet to understand how/why they chose to separate / set up certain settings for when the light comes on the way they did so -- its not intuitive. Wildly better still than the $90 one. #2) YET AGAIN -- like with the more $$$ one (they must still come from the same factory) the SUNRISE/SUNSET buttons/functions (both the button icon and the icon in the LED that tells u its set/on) are ALMOST IDENTICAL. They are tiny suns with arrows up and down (confusing int he first place) but I dont know how the designers expect anyone to read that, for it to be clear, intuitive, more or less legible easily on a daily basis in the dark or when you're tired?? Who in their right mind decided to use this obnoxious minuscule extra-work to make icons instead of, A SUN AND A MOON??? Okay so I could deal with those issues with this if I had to to get the functions I desperately need. Its still better than the other one (in terms of deal breakers). But here's the problem-- #3) similarly to the $90 circular model (diff co I think)-- there is this absolutely asinine ridiculous nonsensical design feature for the "SUNSET" function (serious what are you THINKING?) Where guess what the senset function actually is? Its literally TURNS THE LIGHT ON FULL BLAST & REDUCES IT TO OFF OVER 30 MIN. -- How outside of incredibly niche circumstance (like on a train car, where its serving as the primary and only source of light 24/7) HOW does this serve ANY function at all other than being the polar opposite of what you'd want? 9:30pm rolls around.. BOOM FULL MORNING SUNLIGHT ON HEY GUESS WHAT ITS TIME TO GO TO SLEEP HOW BOUT U GET BLINDED & STAY UP ALL NIGHT. I could understand this THEORETICALLY if--IF-- the product is primarily actually designed to stay on ALL DAY. Even if that's the case (its clearly not bc its own functions contradict that) a 30 min gradual light reduction from full sunlight to darkness is NOT in any universe any kind of effective biorhythm or trigger for sleep. In order for this function the way its programmed to have literally any utility for 98% of humans it would require: A) that the SUNSET function had a NIGHT LIGHT tone that actually had a red low light (note if u put the regular light function on, as this requires, and put it on the lowest, there is again no point bc it has nothing to dim from B) The duration of dimming has to be AT LEAST an hour, AT LEAST. In reality it should be over the course of 2-6 hours. The point is to mimic the sun. If the product itself isn't designed to just be a full all day sun cycle simulator inside... at least SHOOT for something close to emulate it. The thing is, if in fact this product were designed to STAY ON ALL DAY, THEN THE SUNRISE WOULDNT POWER OFF until the PM function did that, and it would then be massively simplified (one would hope) in both the programing/buttons & instructions. Also there even product warnings about not using it in the evening etc. with how it effects your body. The next issue, with SUNSET where this product differs from the $90 round one, on a level that renders it an utter dealbreaker -- C) Yes it has some great audio tones/tracks (better than the pricier one actually that insisted on having bird song in its cricket, contradictory much?) BUT THERE IS NO OPTION TO SET THE SUNSET ON THIS MODEL/PRODUCT WITH A SOUND TRACK. For me, if the light option is totally moot bc of the absolutely asinine untested blinding light timer feature, having a soothing nighttime white noise track come on (isn't this the ENTIRE POINT of why they're loaded into the product?????) and turning off that light feature, is the only reason the Sunset would even be relevant. Crickets at PM with PM light Birds at AM with AM light.... WHY is this such an utterly complicated and unattainable thing when dropping $50-200 on these products, how does this just not exist? (the answer im sure is an utter lack of human product testing while just trying to pack as many random features into something as possible to advertise/hit keywords/jack the price up on amazon). Okay so my mind would next (and did) go "well $50 is better than $90, if that doesn't work, might as well just keep this for AM rise with birdsong/light, and buy some second white noise night light product to automate for PM. Well therein lies the ultimate deal breaker and problem with this product-- #4) THE "ALARM" VOLUME IS SO LOW ITS UTTERLY USELESS. ??! Why??? All of the sounds at max volume are so low, that even while awake programming it I struggle to hear them on certain tracks. This is kinda unacceptable and product death. Its literally the point of the product. I have tried this for a couple weeks thinking it can't be that bad, but it has only screwed me over, as my sleep schedule and issues just continue to degrade, moreso than before bc its completely unreliable as an alarm clock. At least the $90 round model actually accomplished this-- despite it shutting off abruptly at (again not long enough of a time duration). This model DOES have the option for a longer setting on the AM (IMO still not long enough) -- I wouldn't be able to tell u if it ends abruptly or not bc I have 0 memories after 3 weeks of being conscious / awake with it bc it DOESNT WORK. #5) The final issue? Its great that its light and slim, but the kickstand is incredibly cheap and obnoxious. If u try to position this bedside, vs handing it on a wall or headboard etc, it is impossible to live your life or even touch it, more or less program anything without it immediately falling over. Which can't be good for longevity. OVERALL: I am still giving it 3 stars because its a decent SAD lamp at the price point, similar to others, that unlike them has any kind of automation (or sound, tho almost useless) option at all. TAKEAWAY: If you are a heavy sleeper in the least, have sleep disorders etc, are trying to use this as a primary wake up, want timed soundtracks in the PM (without having to fuss for 10 min to set it while fighting to figure out the control every time u turn it on & the rise of blinding yourself late at night in bed & ruining your week)-- this will not work. If you're looking for a decent, low profile, personal SAD lamp that can be programmed to come ON at all (rather than just auto-timer for off), and you're going to hang it somewhere, this is a great option. Its really too bad bc there are barely any of these on the market and so far they all seem unusable & like added "features" that done actually work & only serve to jack up the price tag & search algorithm. Guess I have to keep looking. Beside myself bc at this point, with my situation I NEED this to function on a daily basis. It looks like its gonna have to be a much larger investment in multiple products and or complicated smart home automation/tech that I dont have the luxury or time for. Siggggh.

I was looking for a sunrise alarm clock but with a really bright setting. Most options either only had the 10,000 lux brightness with no alarm setting or they had an alarm setting with a “meh” brightness. This was the only thing that I found with both a sunrise alarm setting and really bright setting. (1) Sunrise alarm function: it works as advertised. The buttons are fairly simple and after a few tries, I pretty much memorized how to set everything. The panel will gradually get brighter and brighter for 30 min starting at the set alarm time until it reaches the brightness level you set it at. It also has an additional “alarm” where I can choose a sound such as birds chirping and surprisingly that seems to help wake up my brain. I can have the light stay on for 30,60, or 90 min after the alarm time. There’s 3 light temperatures and I like using the middle one. The most yellow one could be fine but I think it’s more for winding down. The whitest temperature is supposed to be for waking up but wow does it get really bright to where it seems to be giving me headaches so I defaulted to middle color. **I figured out the sunset settings but I only use this for waking up (sunrise). (2) Brightness: This thing is BRIGHT! which I really like about it. It can go from level 1-40 and level 15-20 is already really bright (depending on which color temp used). I wanted strong brightness where I could sense it thru my closed eyes and trigger “wake up time”….and it definitely does that. Overall, it’s a simple product with simple controls (which some might think is too simple), that is super effective and the right combo of sunrise alarm and super brightness. UPDATE: After a couple months usage, this works pretty well but a word of caution that it has caused me headaches when using it too close. I experimented with hanging it directly over my head on level 20 (halfway) brightness. It definitely wakes me up but also giving me headaches. When I set it on my nightstand a further distance away I didn’t get headaches but it didn’t work well unless I was actually facing it when the light turned on. Still figuring out the best placement and distance for it.

Does not work properly just keeps flashing and disconnecting from Bluetooth

This was my 2nd attempt buying a new sunrise alarm clock. I had one back in 2018 that lit up the whole room BRIGHT!!! great natural noises. 1st alarm I bought looked similar tbut when it arived it was the size of a soda can and not bright like it claimed, I returned it for this and this is better used to just stare at I guess. It isnt near bright like the old alarm I had that seemingly mustve been banned off amazon cause everything else here is mediorcre at best. If you dont happen to be facing this when you wake up then the light basically doesnt wake you up. The nature sounds are mostly white noise spunds for going to sleep other than 1 pretty quiet bird chirping sound. I have had the Alarm for 5 days and it has only woken me up once before my phone alarm. Wish I could find that old alarm from 2018

This is my backup alarm clock. I wake up before 6am every day. Even if I don't hear my phone, the brightness of the sun itself harnessed within this device rips me peacefully out of my slumber so I can get to work. It has audio alarm features, but you won't need them.