Wakey wakey: Uniqlo sets alarm bells singing

Japan – Japanese retailer Uniqlo has created a social alarm app called Uniqlo Wake Up that wakes people by playing a song with lyrics that automatically change to reveal the time, weather and day of the week, which can then be shared via social media.

When setting the alarm users can either enter their location or use GPS to enable the app to adapt the song’s lyrics and display screen automatically on wakening. Users can then share their personalised alarm songs by posting them to the app’s World Wake Up feature via Facebook, Twitter, RenRen and Weibo.

Co-written by Japanese musicians Cornelius and Yoko Kanno, the app offers a gentle yet informative way to wake up that facilitates people’s on-off lives, as noted in our New Sublimity macrotrend.