The Hatch Restore 3 is a sunrise alarm clock that doubles as a sound machine, with white, pink and other color-noise tracks, fan and water sounds and guided content controlled from the Hatch app. Wired scored it 8/10, Tom's Guide 4.5/5 and T3 4/5; Wired said no other option matches it for varied soundscapes. All three flag the Hatch+ subscription that gates part of the library, and it needs a phone and Wi-Fi to set up.
Full review
A sound machine first
Wired's Nena Farrell writes that the Hatch Restore has always shone as a sound machine over all else, and that this is still true of the third generation. Hatch told Wired that without a subscription buyers get more than 20 alarm sounds, 12 color-noise sleep sounds such as white and pink noise, 11 home sounds like a bedside fan or laundry machine, 10 water sounds and five ambient nature sounds.
The Sleep step of a routine can run for a set time or all night, which is how it works as a white noise machine. Tom's Guide calls it a proficient sound machine and counts more than 60 sleep sounds in the Hatch library, including music, sleep stories and guided mindfulness sessions.
Physical controls
The main change from the Restore 2 is on the outside. Wired describes three buttons on top, for pausing, swapping between saved Unwind routines and starting or advancing the bedtime routine, plus a bedside-light button and an alarm toggle on the sides.
Farrell's favorite was the light button, which turns on a reading light while the chosen sound keeps playing. She found that light more of a personal reading light than a full bedside lamp. T3's reviewer called the half-moon design cute and functional and found both the app and the on-device controls easy.
Light and alarm
Wired found the Restore 2 too dim to wake its reviewer and the Restore 3 plenty bright at 75 percent brightness. Farrell's complaints were that the sunset mode is not as gradual as on other sunrise alarms and that some soundscapes rotate through tracks the user cannot choose.
Tom's Guide lists the dimensions as 7.24 by 2.43 by 5.31 inches and the warranty as one year.
App and subscription
All three reviews name the subscription as a drawback. Tom's Guide and T3 give the Hatch+ price as $4.99 a month or $49.99 a year; Wired says the Restore 3 does not need the membership to get the most out of it, but that some audio content sits behind it.
Tom's Guide adds that setup requires Wi-Fi and a smartphone and that the Bluetooth connection sometimes glitches. T3 found the app a bit glitchy and said there is a bit too much going on in it.
Strengths
- +Large sound library: Wired lists 12 color-noise, 11 home, 10 water and 5 nature sleep sounds available without a subscription
- +Bright enough to wake Wired's reviewer at 75 percent brightness
- +Tom's Guide lists good value for money among its reasons to buy
Watch-outs
- −Hatch+ subscription ($4.99 a month or $49.99 a year) is needed for the full audio library
- −Setup requires Wi-Fi and a smartphone, per Tom's Guide
- −Tom's Guide found the Bluetooth connection sometimes glitches; T3 found the app a bit glitchy
- −Wired found the sunset mode less gradual than other sunrise alarms and the bedside light dimmer than a lamp
How it compares
The Hatch Restore 3 is the only device on this page that is also a sunrise alarm clock and bedside light. Its sounds are a digital library chosen in an app, where the Snooz and Yogasleep Dohm Classic make their sound with a real fan and the LectroFan EVO offers a fixed set of 22 sounds with no app. Part of the Hatch library sits behind a paid Hatch+ subscription; none of the other three machines has one.
Rating sources
Counts as 4.34/5 in our score — this publisher's 31 scores on the site average 3.77, so its scores are adjusted up to compare fairly with other publishers.
Counts as 4.52/5 in our score — this publisher's 156 scores on the site average 4.15, so its scores are adjusted up to compare fairly with other publishers.
Counts as 3.84/5 in our score — this publisher's 13 scores on the site average 4.38, so its scores are adjusted down to compare fairly with other publishers.
Our 4.2 score is the average of these published ratings, each adjusted for how strictly its publisher scores. More about methodology.
