Update 10/20/24: The New York City Nintendo Store is currently sold out of Alarmo.
On October 9, Nintendo announced a surprising addition to their hardware lineup—an alarm clock fittingly named Alarmo. While this isn’t Nintendo’s first foray into promoting healthy sleeping habits with apps such as Pokémon Sleep, this device marks an innovative departure from their usual gaming products.
Alarmo is far from being an ordinary alarm clock with a whimsical Nintendo-themed gimmick. Many smart alarm clocks on the market currently use cameras to sense your movement and allow limited privacy. Instead, Alarmo instead utilizes a highly advanced motion sensor that uses radio waves which can detect movement in dark environments and even through most obstacles such as your comforter. The sensor can even adapt the LED screen’s brightness to keep it from blinding you in the middle of the night if you turn over to check the time. The clock also offers a sleep tracker where you can check how much you move during your sleep and how long you’ve spent in bed. You can use hands-free motions to snooze the alarm, but they also included a “Button Mode” if you prefer a more physical approach to getting those precious extra few minutes of sleep in.
Naturally, the most important function of an alarm clock is its sound. The developers leaned into their expertise in game development to design sounds that would offer variety through music and sound effects that are adaptive to your movements. For example, once Alarmo senses that you’re moving around, sound effects will be added to the music as the volume gets louder until you eventually get out of bed. You can watch Nintendo’s announcement trailer for a deeper look at this functionality. “We thought it would be best to have as many tracks as possible because if you get used to the same alarm sound, it could get harder to wake up no matter how loud it is,” director Tetsuya Akama stated.
Alarmo offers 35 themes inspired by five different games: Super Mario Odyssey, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Pikmin 4, Ring Fit Adventure, and Splatoon 3. While the developers know that you’re likely to choose your favorite game as your initial theme, they encourage people to use a random theme which offers a fresh experience every time you wake up.
Both the hardware and software were created in-house by multiple teams and have been in the works since at least the beginning of 2020. The hardware was the most challenging aspect of the development process according to producer Youske Tamori as they “[tried] to find the best balance between design and functionality.” This idea guided the developers to design Alarmo to be maintenance-free, so the device must be plugged in to work instead of needing to be constantly recharged. In fact, Tamori stated that “you don’t have to touch it at all when using it daily, although from time to time you might feel like checking how long you slept, or if there are any updates. I want Alarmo to be a presence that gently supports you and accompanies you in your daily life, without you having to take care of it.”
Alarmo is currently available for preorder via the Nintendo Store and is set to officially release and ship some time in November 2024 for $99.99 USD. As of right now, this is a Nintendo Store exclusive and cannot be purchased from any other retailer. For a limited time, paid Nintendo Switch Online members in the US and Canada are able to purchase Alarmo before the general public.
