(Credit: Nintendo)
Nintendo has a new hardware product, but it's not the Switch 2. Instead, the company is jumping into the smart devices market with a Nintendo-branded alarm clock.
The $99.99 Nintendo Sound Clock: Alarmo promises to wake you up by playing tunes and sound effects from your favorite Nintendo franchises, including Super Mario Bros.
The internet-connected clock sports a 2.8-inch digital screen that displays the time and various animations from Nintendo games throughout the day and once the alarm goes off.
(Credit: Nintendo)However, the device stands out from other clocks by featuring a motion sensor, which can detect your movements as you wake up. If the clock senses you’re still in bed, it’ll blast more music and sound effects. Once it detects you’re getting out of bed, the Sound Clock: Alarmo will play some celebratory music and bring the alarm to a close.
Importantly, Nintendo says Alarmo is smart enough to shut off the alarm automatically without the owner ever needing to touch it. If you refuse to get up, the “alarm will get more intense,” the company adds in a video.
The Sound Clock: Alarmo can play alarms inspired by five different Nintendo games, including Super Mario Odyssey, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Pikmin 4, Splatoon 3, and Ring Fit Adventure.
Each game will also feature “seven alarm varieties,” for a total of 35. In addition, Nintendo plans on delivering free updates to the device, and promises more content from games like Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Animal Crossing: New Horizons. To move through the different alarm varieties, users only need to reach for the clock’s top button and rotate it.
(Credit: Nintendo)Thanks to the motion sensor, the Sound Clock: Alarmo can also track your sleep patterns and keep a daily record, which can be displayed on its screen. The device’s alarm experience can also be configured between a “steady mode,” where the alarm grows more intense over time, or a “gentle mode,” which should keep the alarm ringing consistently.
On the downside, the alarm clock requires prospective buyers in the US and Canada to subscribe to Nintendo Switch Online, which starts at $3.99 per month. Only customers visiting the Nintendo New York store can buy the product without its online subscription service. The product is then slated to become available early 2025 to all customers, although Nintendo Switch Online members can order it today during the early access period.
Nintendo adds: "If there is more than one sleeper in the bed, we recommend using Button Mode for the best experience,” which turns the device into a more traditional alarm clock. However, the motion-sensing features will only work when Alarmo is not in Button Mode.
(Credit: Nintendo)