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"Calm" rarely describes CES. Instead, it's the opposite: a draining, sensory-overloaded extravaganza in the chaotic energy of Las Vegas. Yet, an early preview of Ambient's bedside gadget, Dreamie, before its showcase at the CES-linked Pepcom event left me relaxed and eager to return to sleep. This intelligent sunrise alarm and evening relaxation tool includes an integrated podcast player, libraries of green, pink, and brown noise options, breathing guidance sessions, non-contact sensors for tracking sleep patterns, adjustable illumination mimicking dawn awakenings, and Bluetooth support for wireless earpieces.
Crucially, for those aiming to ditch phone use right before sleep, Dreamie operates independently, handling all operations, functions, timers, and data locally without any ongoing fees.
The purpose of Dreamie is to encourage disconnection from smartphones while delivering many typical conveniences, according to CEO and co-founder Adrian Canoso. Users can program various alarms on custom timetables, select calming audio for bedtime, and tailor the sunrise simulation's progression. Built-in monitors track room humidity, temperature, and light levels throughout the night, offering clues on their impact on rest quality.
Compared to typical sunrise alarms, Dreamie is compact, featuring a shortened oval form and a smooth round interface screen. A concealed ring around the screen adjusts volume smoothly with ideal tactile feedback. A linear touch area on the top allows simple light intensity changes via finger swipes. The screen also lets users redirect the glow to avoid direct eye exposure, aiming it rearward to spare yourself or a bedmate during early morning.
Its array of 20 LEDs shifts from gentle, amber tones to crisp, white-blue hues, and specific scenes like the northern lights audio will display vibrant spectrum shades such as green, blue, and purple for a calming effect. Notably, the 50mm speaker delivers full-bodied audio. A 360-degree vent at the base disperses sound evenly, enhancing the enveloping atmosphere.
Directing sound straight at the listener feels like an intrusive spotlight, which can disrupt relaxation, noted Canoso, who has experience in product design, automation, and audio engineering in studios. "Dreamie spreads audio omnidirectionally... Placed on a bedside surface, it creates a broader, less focused effect. It prioritizes depth over maximum volume, excelling in tonal richness at moderate levels without needing high decibels."
The audio quality truly impresses, prompting me to consider it as a successor to my decade-old Philips Wake-Up Light, which offers solid visuals but poor acoustics.
Priced at $250, Dreamie began deliveries following a strong Kickstarter push, with some capabilities like podcast access and sleep analytics still pending (though the podcast selection was demoed, confirming its existence, with a launch anticipated soon). Upcoming additions will come through complimentary software updates.