Best Alarm Clock App for Android

Posted on July 20, 2015 by resourcefulman

Your Android phone comes with a well-maintained alarm clock and timer, so you might not even think about downloading another one. That may be true, but if you need more features, more customization options, and more powerful alarms than your standard watch, then Gentle Alarm is here – and we think it’s the best option.

Gentle anxiety

Platform: Android Price: $ 2.21 ( Free trial available ) Download page

Functions

Set as many alarms as you like, any time of the day in 12- and 24-hour format.
Create pre-alarm, alarm and snooze “profiles” where you can adjust the alarm sound, volume, fade volume, alarm duration, and even display brightness. By default, it comes with three profiles: “workday”, “weekend” and “sleep”.
Can be configured to play music, playlists, or even stream internet radio as an alarm so you can wake up to your favorite song or playlist, and can even be configured to only play songs of specific genres or artists
Can be set to sound an alarm that slowly increases in volume or vibration intensity until you mute it, or after repeated repeats.
You can schedule multiple alarms, each with different songs or playlists, or play a random song or playlist
Can be configured to require you to solve security questions or simple math problems before snoozing or dismissing alarms
Allows you to flip the phone to snooze the alarm, or shake the phone to turn off the alarm.
Can be configured to launch a specific app when an alarm goes off
Can display a countdown timer on the screen until the alarm goes off, which makes the app useful for a timer as well as an alarm clock.
Has a built-in “dock mode” and “night mode” where the clock and alarm settings are displayed on the screen or the current time is shown on a dimmed display, making it useful as a desk or bedside clock, respectively.
Supports voice input for alarm, just like the default clock and alarm
Allows you to automatically turn off or snooze the alarm
Allows you to customize the color and background of the alarm display
Has a downloadable home screen widget and downloadable additional sounds if you don’t like the default choice
Has a built-in flashlight
Has full support for third-party apps like Tasker and Sleepbot, so you can even add additional customization features or use the app to track your sleep.

Where is it best

The era of dozens of alarm clock apps all over Google Play is over, but there are a few more that offer customization options and flexibility that you won’t get with the default watch on your phone. Gentle alarm clock has always been popular, but the reason it gets our approval is because there are countless ways to customize the way you wake up. Here’s an example: using the “Soft Alarm” function, you can specify that the screen should be lit up to 20% so as not to be dazzled when you pick up the phone and turn off the alarm. You can also tell Gentle Alarm to play your favorite internet radio stream at 7 a.m., but only at half volume, and fade out from that point on until you flip the phone over to put it off for exactly 20 minutes, after which it drops sharply. … turn the volume up to full and gradually increase the volume from 20% to full if you don’t turn it off.

It’s incredible flexibility and the fact that there are so many ways in the app to really dial in the details so that you wake up the way you want, or in a way that wakes you up, but no one else in the same bed or bedroom. how you – makes him a winner. All of these settings and customization features are also easy to understand and customize.

Other than that, Gentle Alarm has all the features you’d expect from a good alarm clock app. Multiple alarms, one-button all-off and night-time modes are a nice touch, as does the included dock mode, which (on a personal note) makes the watch really useful to leave it on while your Android phone is docked. station or charged on the table during operation. Third-party support is also a really nice addition, so Tasker fans can really sneak into the app and customize it even more, essentially without rewriting many of the things Gentle Alarm already does.

Where it fails

Gentle Alarm is great, but not perfect.

First, its interface looks like something straight out of the Gingerbread / Ice Cream Sandwich days, and that’s probably because the user interface hasn’t changed significantly since then. In all fairness, an alarm doesn’t have to be pretty to work, but in an era where every app is moving to Holo and Material Design, and a sleeker, more modern look, installing a Gentle Alarm is kind of a nasty look back. on Lollipop or Android M and you’ll see those big fat gray buttons with black text again from the ugly days of Android. Even the default font on the watch itself is reminiscent of those times. On the other hand, the developer actively listens to the user community and updates the app to fix bugs and add requested features almost monthly. I’m sure a UI overhaul is somewhere on the to-do list.

Secondly, all the features and tools that Gentle Alarm offers can actually get in the way of simply setting a quick nap time alarm or setting an egg timer or whatever. You can use the gentle alarm clock to create your ideal “wake up in the morning” scenario, but still use the built-in alarm clock for something simpler and easier to use when you just want a little nap or whenever you feel like it. remembering to check the roast in 45 minutes without delving into menus and buttons (and yes, even the “Quick Alarm” option in Gentle Alarm is too much if you can just click on the microphone or open Google Now and say “set the timer to 45 minutes “or” set the alarm for an hour from now “).

We should also note that some people have complained that Lollipop users have had some problems with notifications using Gentle Alarm. When we tested, we did not have such problems, but the developer has already acknowledged the problems and promises an update.

Competition

Clock (Free) is a built-in Android alarm and timer. It has since been separated from Android itself, so if for some reason you don’t have it, you can get it from Google Play. For a lot of people, this job will do a great job, and its integration with Google Search on your device means setting alarms and timers is as easy as a voice command or a few taps. You can set up multiple alarms, make some active and disable others, and the app doesn’t have to be in the foreground for it to wake you up when the time is right. It’s not particularly feature-rich, but if you just want something to wake you up or remind you of something, it will work fine and won’t cost you a cent.

Timely (Free) really should have been our top pick. It’s beautiful, customizable enough to get the job done, packed with features (albeit not the same as Gentle Alarm) that give you control over how your alarm goes off, when, how long you can snooze, and can even sync multiple devices. Android, so you don’t have to reset your alarms when you switch your phone or switch from one device to another. It’s a great app that gives you tons of visual control, looks as good on Android tablets as it does on phones, and like any alarm clock, it can be customized to challenge you with puzzles to make sure you are. ” really wake up before falling asleep. It also has a built-in timer and stopwatch, which is nice.

The reason we can’t make it our top pick is because the team behind it was acquired by Google back in February and users are massively reporting on Google Play that although the app was updated as recently as February , it is completely broken in Lollipop. due to changes to the notification system, and given that the development team is now part of Google (and that they have been completely silent on social media since the acquisition), the chances of an update are pretty slim. If you are using an ICS or KitKat device or want to play it, it is worth taking a look at, but otherwise stay away.

Alarm Droid (free, $ 1.68 with in-app purchase to remove ads) boasts a beautiful user interface with a focus on material design. You can set multiple alarms and the ability to put your phone down by simply flipping it over on your bedside table. You can set recurring alarms by date and time, and there are several large buttons on the snooze screen for different snooze duration. It even has a talking clock that can tell you the time at set intervals, as well as the ability to back up your alarm settings and restore them from a file. Local weather is displayed on the screen when the alarm goes off. Also, it’s not as much as other apps (or a standard alarm clock), but other developers can take the page from the design.

Alarm Clock Xtreme ($ 2, ad-supported free version available ) was our previous favorite, and it’s still a great app. If you have it and love it, there is no reason to switch here, and unlike our favorite, its design and user interface are up-to-date. However, one cannot ignore the fact that it simply does not have the same functionality as Gentle Alarm. It still has everything that made it great in the first place – as many alarms as you want to set, puzzles or tasks to snooze or turn off alarms, a tablet version and updated user interface, auto snooze and auto shut off, built-in timer, the ability to waking up to music instead of sounds, etc. However, we lowered it mainly because, while great, it’s actually nothing that was not yet in the default alarm app, but the functions it has such as Gentle Alarm don’t make it worth the ad or the price. compared to something more feature-rich for the same price. Although we really like the interface – maybe Gentle Alarm will understand us.

My Alarm Clock ($ 2, free ad-supported version available ) is a great alarm clock, especially if you’re looking for something to relax on your nightstand. Local weather is displayed when you wake up, along with dimmer, sleepy-pleasing text in blue-black font that’s easy to read in the dark. The app comes with its own built-in flashlight, clock widgets and home screen widgets that you can customize to keep the clock on your home screen if you like with customizable alarms, multiple alarms, background alarms, and more. The bedside mode is great, and in The app has a built-in sleep timer that will play white noise to help you fall asleep and then wake you up again when it’s time to get out of bed. Other than that, it doesn’t offer too many customization options, and many people report that they are released with Lollipop. Worse, the free version consumes massive amounts of data to retrieve and stream ads – enough to make some people say they are eaten up by their monthly mobile data, which is a huge hurdle.

Lightning Bug (free) is slightly different. Most people use it to fall asleep to the soothing sounds of nature, but the app can just as easily be set up to lull you to sleep with the sounds of falling rain, chanting monks or traffic on a city street outside the window, or wake you up. get up with an alarm in the morning. For $ 0.99, you can enjoy additional soundscapes such as forest sounds or ocean splash on a tropical beach.

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