Progressive Alarm Clock

Progressive Alarm Clock is for people who want an alarm that starts gently instead of jolting them awake at full blast. By our assessment, its real appeal is the gradual build-up of sound, which is a simple feature but useful if a hard alarm leaves you irritated in the morning. The downside is obvious: a softer wake-up can be too soft for heavy sleepers, and then the app does the one job it was meant to do poorly. In practice this kind of clock is all about setup and routine, since the result depends on volume, timing and whether the phone is placed where you will hear it. It sits in the same lane as other alarm apps, only with a narrower idea of comfort. The health category makes sense here, because the point is waking more calmly rather than adding extras.