The alarm clock
The launch alarm
A countdown while the screen brightens, liftoff at your wake time, then the morning briefing. It’s the front door to Flight Day.
How it runs
- Ten minutes before your wake time, the count starts on the screens set to wake you. The screen brightens like a dawn; if you have smart lights, they rise too, always in their warmest colour.
- At T-0 the rocket lifts off and the alarm rings.
- The morning briefing takes over: the weather, your day and the news.
The alarm sound plays on a screen: in today’s setup, the bedroom TV, starting with a quiet morning sound and a low rumble at liftoff. If a speaker is set up, the alarm raises its volume up to the alarm maximum. The wall panel stays silent; its screen does the work.
The controls
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Snooze 10 min | Moves liftoff to 10 minutes from now, then runs a one-minute count. The screen goes quiet and shows “Snoozed · liftoff” with the new time. |
| I’m up | Ends the alarm and the night. The briefing stays. A tap on touch screens; on a TV remote, hold OK while it rings. |
| Scrub | Calls off the morning. Hold it for 1.2 seconds; a short touch does nothing. The screen says “Scrubbed · alarm off today” and goes back to night. |
| −1 min | During the count only: brings liftoff one minute closer, down to the last minute. |
| Launch now | Starts a ten-second final count instead of skipping the count. |
On a TV remote
- The first key only shows the controls. It never cancels the morning by itself.
- Back and Play/Pause snooze.
- Hold OK on I’m up while it rings. Right is −1 min during the count.
- The TV’s Home key never ends the alarm.
Snooze and “must be up by”
Each morning has an up-by time: the earliest of the day’s Up by, your first timed calendar event minus a ready lead (45 minutes to start with), and your wake time plus a snooze window (30 minutes to start with). The header shows it: “liftoff 6:50 AM · up by 7:20 AM · 1 snooze”.
- When the next liftoff would be less than 3 minutes before up-by, Snooze disappears and the screen says “No more snoozes — up by …”.
- At the deadline the header reads “Final launch”. I’m up then always needs a hold.
- If nobody answers, the alarm stops after 15 minutes and the header reads “Up … · no answer”.
Snooze length, the snooze window and the ready lead can be changed in the Apple apps (Night › Crew & snooze defaults). See What’s configurable.
Back to bed
After I’m up, until noon, the briefing offers Back to bed. It returns only the bedroom to night, with its sleep sound. It doesn’t set a new alarm or put the rest of the house to sleep.
On each device
| Device | During the alarm |
|---|---|
| Bedroom TV | The count, the sound and the controls. In today’s setup it’s the screen that plays the alarm. |
| Wall panel | The count and the controls; the backlight rises. No sound. |
| Other TVs | Stay out of it. |
| iPhone | A Live Activity and a notification with Snooze, I’m up and Scrub. |
| Apple Watch | A complication, with −1 min and Launch now. |
| Apple TV and iPad | Join only when set to Wake room · Bedroom screen. |
When only one person is launching, it’s a quiet launch on that person’s phone, if their phone is set up for it; otherwise the full alarm runs.
Try it safely. Night › Tonight › Try the alarm runs a 45-second local preview on that screen. A preview doesn’t prove the bedroom speaker or overnight delivery work.