The bluetooth clock radio

Best Bluetooth Clock Radios 2023

Bluetooth clock radios are very versatile and useful gadgets. They let you wirelessly stream music and audiobooks from your phone, listen to the radio and set alarms so you wake up in time.

The number of radios that have Bluetooth is growing all the time, so if you’re looking for a Bluetooth radio for your bedside table, you have a lot of choice.

We’ve researched the market and picked out 7 of the best available in the UK.

Best Bluetooth Clock Radios in the UK

1. AZATOM Horizon

The AZATOM Horizon is one of the most popular and highly rated Bluetooth clock radios available in the UK. It’s an affordable product that would be a good size for a bedside table and offers plenty of features.

Features

• FM/DAB/DAB+ radio
• Bluetooth with 66-foot range
• Dual alarm clock
• Sleep timer (15, 30, 45, 60, 90 minutes)
• Clock display with choice of 12- or 24-hour format
• Saves 60 preset stations
• Telescopic aerial
• USB port for charging a phone

Dimensions: 14 x 14 x 4.4 cm
Weight: 360 g

Pros

• Display can be dimmed very low so it won’t keep you awake at night
• Large snooze button is easy to find when you wake up
• Lowest volume is very quiet—good for listening to at night
• Ideal size for a bedside table

Cons

Summary

The AZATOM Horizon is ideal if you want something small and inexpensive with Bluetooth. Like with most DAB clock radios, some of the features are fiddly to use.

2. Pure Evoke H3

If you’re looking to invest a bit more money in a Bluetooth clock radio, the Pure Evoke H3 could be a good choice.

Pure were a pioneer brand in the world of DAB radios, and their products are highly regarded. All of their products come with a 3-year manufacturer’s warranty, which should give you some peace of mind.

This radio has a beautiful design with a wood effect finish and a colour display.

This radio is mains powered but can be also used as a portable radio if you buy the optional ChargePAK B1, which is a bespoke battery pack. You can only use the alarm feature when the radio is running off mains power, not when it’s using the battery.

Features

• FM/DAB/DAB+ radio
• Bluetooth
• Dual alarm clock with snooze
• Sleep timer
• Colour display
• Saves 40 preset stations
• Aux-in

Dimensions: 18 x 11.5 x 11 cm
Weight: 940 g

Pros

• 3-year warranty
• Attractive design
• Good sound quality
• Large, dimmable clock display

Cons

• Relatively expensive
• Battery pack not included (costs extra)
• Saving and accessing presets is quite fiddly

Summary

The Pure Evoke H3 is a quality radio that would look great on a bedside table. It has better sound quality than most clock radios, but seems slightly overpriced for what it is, especially since the battery pack isn’t included.

3. Pure Elan BT3

The Pure Elan BT3 is a stylish and compact DAB radio with Bluetooth and a dual alarm clock. Its small size makes it a good choice for a bedside table.

The Elan BT3 is one of the newest and most affordable additions to Pure’s range of digital radios, which are generally regarded as some of the highest quality radios on the market.

One of the unique things about the Elan BT3 is that is has a colour screen which displays things like album artwork as the time and radio station you’re listening to.

Features

• FM/DAB/DAB+ radio
• Bluetooth
• Colour screen
• Mains or battery powered (4 x AA)
• Sleep timer
• Headphone jack
• Saves 40 preset stations

Dimensions: 20 x 11.5 x 5.3 cm
Weight: 420 g

Pros

• Compact size—ideal for a bedside table
• Dedicated preset buttons for quickly accessing favourite stations
• Attractive design
• Easy to use with Bluetooth
• Screen can be dimmed completely

Cons

• Easy to knock over due to its lightness and the fact that the controls are on the front
• Doesn’t go very loud

Summary

With a dual alarm clock, a sleep timer and a headphone jack, this radio has all the features most people want in a Bluetooth clock radio. You can also dim the screen completely, so the light won’t keep you awake at night.

The biggest drawback to this radio is that the combination of being light and having the controls on the front mean it can be easy to knock over.

Read our full review of the Pure Elan BT3 here.

4. John Lewis & Partners Aria

The John Lewis Aria is an attractive clock radio that would fit easily on a bedside table. The Aria is heavier than the Pure Elan BT3 reviewed above and the controls are on the top, so unlike the Elan BT3 it’s unlikely to fall over when you press the buttons.

Features

• FM/DAB/DAB+ radio
• Bluetooth
• Dual alarm clock
• Sleep timer
• Headphone jack
• Saves 10 presets

Dimensions: 19 x 11.8 x 11.8 cm
Weight: 1.2 kg

Pros

• Stylish
• Compact vertical design
• Large snooze button on the top of the radio
• Good sound quality for its size
• Shows an analogue clock display

Cons

Summary

The John Lewis Aria has good sound quality for a small radio in this price range. It’s stylish and generally straightforward and easy to use. Read our full review of the John Lewis Aria here.

5. Majority Little Shelford

The Little Shelford from budget radio brand Majority, is a cute little radio that comes in a duck blue finish. It’s one of the cheapest Bluetooth clock radios on the market, and one of the most popular (at the time of writing).

Features

• FM/DAB/DAB+
• Bluetooth
• Dual alarm clock
• Mains or battery powered (4 x AA)
• Headphone jack
• Saves 20 preset stations
• Sleep timer

Dimensions: 17 x 13 x 10 cm
Weight: 762 g

Pros

• Good value for money
• Decent sound quality for the size and price
• Attractive design

Cons

Summary

The Majority Little Shelford is an attractive and affordable radio with a nice retro design. It has better sound quality than you might expect from something in its price range. Since it’s a budget product though, you can’t expect it to last forever.

Read our full review of the Majority Little Shelford here.

6. AZATOM Multiplex

The AZATOM Multiplex is a budget-priced DAB radio with Bluetooth and an alarm clock. Unlike the other radios reviewed here it has two speakers, offering stereo sound, though the speakers are very close together so you don’t get much sense of stereo separation.

Features

• FM/DAB/DAB+ radio
• Bluetooth
• Dual alarm clock
• Saves 60 preset stations
• Dimmable display
• Built-in rechargeable battery
• Adjustable bass and treble
• USB port for charging a phone

Dimensions: 27 x 14 x 13 cm
Weight: 1.9 kg

Pros

• Good value for money
• Useful built-in battery
• Decent sound quality with a good amount of bass
• Feels solidly made
• Easy to create a Bluetooth connection

Cons

Summary

The Multiplex is a bit bigger and more substantial than some of the other clock radios reviewed here, but still small enough for most bedside tables. It’s made by budget British audio brand AZATOM, and offers good value for money. Read our full review of the AZATOM Multiplex here.

7. VQ Retro Mini

If you want a radio that makes a style statement, you might want to consider this radio from Hampshire-based brand VQ, which is available in a floral Emma Bridgewater design. The VQ Retro Mini is a stylish and eye-catching DAB radio with Bluetooth and a dual alarm clock.

Features

• FM/DAB/DAB+ radio
• Bluetooth
• Dual alarm clock
• Saves 60 preset stations
• Aux-in
• Sleep timer
• 6 EQ presets
• Mains or battery powered (4 x AA)
• USB port for charging a phone

Dimensions: 22.4 x 14.7 x 10.5 cm
Weight: 1.3 kg

Pros

• Generally good DAB reception
• Clear sound with choice of equaliser settings
• Connects easily to Bluetooth
• Nice design

Cons

Summary

The main reason to buy the VQ Retro Mini is for the choice of unique designs it is available in. It’s a good radio all round, though there are better value options available.

It’s disappointing that you can’t set the alarm to sound on particular days, which means you can’t set one alarm for weekdays and one for weekends, for example. Read our full review of the VQ Retro Mini here.

What to Look for in a Bluetooth Clock Radio

Here are some useful features to look for when choosing a clock radio with Bluetooth:

• Dual alarm clock – If the product description says that the radio has a “dual alarm clock” this means that you can set two separate alarms.
  This could be useful if you find that one alarm isn’t enough to wake you up—you could set two alarms 10 minutes apart to make sure you don’t go back to sleep.
  You could also set one early alarm for weekdays and one later alarm for weekends when you want to have more of a lie-in.
• Sleep timer – A sleep timer lets you program the radio to switch itself off after a set period of time. Often you get to choose from between roughly 20 and 90 minutes.
  This is useful if you like to listen to the radio in bed while drifting off to sleep. A sleep timer will save energy and prevent the radio from waking you up during the night or disturbing other people in the house.
• Headphone jack – Not all radios have a headphone jack, so if it’s important for you to be able to listen through headphones, make sure the radio you choose has one.
  Bluetooth radios can’t be used with Bluetooth headphones as they only have a Bluetooth receiver, not a transmitter. This means that if you want to listen through headphones you will need a headphone jack.
• Dimmable display – If you’re choosing a radio for the bedroom, you will want one with a display that can be dimmed very low or turned off completely so it doesn’t keep you awake at night.
• USB charging port– Some radios now come with a USB port that you can use to charge a phone, Kindle or other device. This could be useful if you have the radio on your bedside table as it offers a convenient way to keep your devices charged up.
• Wireless charging– Some radios such as the AZATOM Homehub Clock Radio have Qi wireless charging which allows you to charge a phone wirelessly, just by placing it on top of the radio.

Alternatives to Buying a Bluetooth Clock Radio

Radio is still alive and kicking, but there are a few other technology products that offer similar features to a Bluetooth clock radio.

Bluetooth Speaker Alarm Clock

If listening to the radio isn’t that important to you, you could opt for a Bluetooth speaker with an alarm clock rather than a radio with Bluetooth.

There are some very cheap bedside Bluetooth speakers on the market, so this could be a good pocket-friendly option.

Echo Dot

The Amazon Echo Dot is a small smart speaker that would fit easily on a bedside table. You can use it to listen to the radio or other audio sources such as Spotify via the internet, and can connect it to Bluetooth speakers if you want to.

The Echo Dot has Alexa, which you can use as a personal assistant.

You can set an alarm just by saying “Alexa, wake me up at 7 a.m.”, for example. You can also set an alarm to wake you up to a particular radio station, song or artist.

Conclusion

If we had to pick just one of these Bluetooth clock radios to recommend it would be the AZATOM Horizon as it offers what most people are looking for in a bedside Bluetooth radio.

The AZATOM Horizon is compact and inexpensive, has a large dimmable clock display, lets you set two separate alarms and has a sleep timer.

For some more options, see our roundup of the best DAB clock radios.

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