Braun BC21GEU digital alarm clock with wireless charging

Your bedside table does not need to be a tangle of cables. The Braun BC21GEU is a digital alarm clock that doubles as a 10W Qi wireless charging pad, so you can set your phone down on top of it at night and wake up to a full battery without a single extra cable in sight. It suits anyone who wants a clean, uncluttered bedroom setup without giving up the convenience of overnight charging. The design is calm and considered, with a black front, silver-coloured sides and a lime green accent strip along the top edge that gives it a quietly modern look.

Braun has been shaping functional, no-fuss product design since the mid-twentieth century, and the BC21 fits right into that tradition. The VA LCD display shows the time in white and adjusts its brightness automatically based on the light in the room, so it will not blast you in the face at 2 am. You can switch between 12 and 24-hour formats, and the alarm uses a gradual crescendo approach, starting softly and building up, which is a noticeably gentler way to wake than a sudden blare. Snooze is included, naturally. The slightly angled face means you can read the time from a lying position without lifting your head off the pillow. At 140 x 140 x 63.5 mm it is compact enough to sit comfortably on a small nightstand, and the body is made from plastic and aluminium, keeping the weight low. The clock itself runs on a CR2032 battery, so it keeps accurate time even if you forget to plug the USB-C cable into the wall.

Details

• Model: Braun BC21GEU
• Display: VA LCD with automatic brightness adjustment
• Wireless charging: 10W, Qi-compatible
• Alarm: Crescendo alarm with snooze function
• Time format: 12/24-hour selectable
• Power: USB-C (mains) and CR2032 battery backup
• Dimensions: 140 x 140 x 63.5 mm
• Material: Plastic and aluminium, black front with silver-coloured sides and lime green accent

If you have a Qi-compatible smartphone, you already have everything you need to make full use of this clock. Just rest your phone on the top surface before you go to sleep, and the charging starts immediately without any fiddling. It is a straightforward product that quietly takes two jobs off your hands every single night, keeping time and keeping your phone topped up, with nothing more than a tidy square block sitting on your nightstand.