Here’s a much more detailed look at Nintendo’s eccentric Alarm

This week, Nintendo shocked the world with its latest hardware announcement. No, it wasn’t the Switch 2; it was an alarm clock.

Nintendo Sound Clock: Alarm is perhaps the craziest product Nintendo has released in recent years. It’s a $100 motion sensor watch that wakes fans up with scenes from different Nintendo games, from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild to Ring Tuning Adventure. We here at Digital Trends were curious to see more as soon as it was announced and we didn’t have to wait long. Nintendo quickly sent an Alarm to Digital Trends for testing purposes, which gave us a much more detailed look at the device.

Before even taking it out of the box, the packaging highlights several important features of the Alarmo. It comes pre-installed with five game-themed alarms, but there are 35 in total. Players can only get the rest by linking a Nintendo Account. He also notes that the alarm will get louder the longer you stay in bed, but you can move your arms to calm it or get out of bed to stop it altogether. It’s compatible with twin to king size beds, but it can’t be placed more than 8 inches above the bed if you’re planning on using its motion features.

The device itself is classically Nintendo in its design. It features a bright red plastic casing that matches Mario’s aesthetic. There are some slits on the sides that presumably double as speakers, and the Nintendo logo is emblazoned on the back. Black bumps on the bottom, as well as a thin rubber strip, help balance it but also serve an extra purpose. There is a USB-C cable at the bottom of the device. The legs elevate the watch just enough to ensure a cable can get there and exit neatly out the back. This is essential, because there does not appear to be an internal battery in the Alarm. It turns off the moment I unplug it. The package comes with a USB-C to USB-A cable, but does not include a power supply.

In short, it’s a pretty compact gadget. If you filled in your rounded design, you would basically have a perfect 4x4x4 inch cube. I can palm its back with one hand and it’s light enough to easily throw it across the room if you have an aggressive alarm (I don’t recommend this).

Although the Alarm is motion-controlled, it has a few buttons on the top. The main one is a large button that sits on the watch like a crown. This can be long-pressed to click, which opens a page of sleep records and dialed left and right. In setup I would use it to set my time zone, current date and time. When I joined my Wi-Fi network, I had to enter my password character by character, which is a bit complicated. Fortunately, logging into my Switch account was accomplished via a QR code scan. It also lights up in a variety of pastel colors, making it look a little like the plastic ball from PlayStation’s old Move controllers. Next to it, there is a back button and another with an email icon. The latter opens the Alarmo main menu, where the user can set their alarm, download more styles and much more.

The most important piece of the puzzle is the round screen, although its shape is a bit deceiving. It’s a little hard to tell in the photos, but the screen itself is rectangular. The watches I’ve played with have black edges, which masks the fact that nothing really shows through the rounded edges. It’s a bit of an odd design decision, but I get the feeling Nintendo intended to keep its price low. This isn’t a high-end display; it’s fairly low resolution, not unlike Nintendo’s recent Game and Watch revivals.

I still have a lot of tests to do. I’m not sold on the motion sensor working based on a complicated setup, but it’s a charming little device that looks great for kids. Stay tuned to find out if your gamified alarm system can help me form healthier morning habits.

Nintendo Sound Clock: Alarm will be released widely in 2025, but Nintendo Switch Online members can pre-order it right now.