Apple’s Next Health and Wellness Innovation Could Help You in Bed

Apple has officially received Federal Communications Commission approval for a new sleep monitor product in the U.S.

The product’s FCC filing description simply reads “sleep monitor” and most of the documentation is hidden for confidentiality reasons. But one application figure reads that the sleep monitor is “Designed by Beddit in California.”

Unfortunately for users wanting an Apple Watch-Based sleep monitoring solution, this doesn’t seem to be it. Instead, it appears to be a new version or an updated version of the current Beddit sleep monitor that Apple sells in its store.

It also carries a model number of 3.5. For context’s sake, the current Beddit sleep monitor that Apple sells is the Beddit 3.

Presumably, Beddit 3.5 could simply be an upgraded version of the existent Beddit 3 platform — albeit with new features or added Apple compatibility. Alternatively, it could be an all-new Apple-designed sleep monitor under the Beddit brand.

Apple acquired Beddit back in May 2017 but continued to sell the Beddit 3 sleep monitor on its online storefront for $149.99.

The sleep monitoring device itself slides in between the mattress and sheets of a bed. When a user lies down, it automatically begins to collect various sleep-related data.

That includes time slept, sleep quality, heart rate, respiration, body temperature, movement, snoring, ambient temperature and room humidity. Users can easily view all of that data on the Beddit app for iOS.

But while Beddit is technically an Apple product now, users have been hoping that the Cupertino tech giant would take the startup’s technology and apply it on a broader scale.

There is no first-party sleep tracking solution for the Apple Watch, for example. That has led many users to opt for third-party apps — but battery life and charging often stand in the way of those apps working efficiently.

But there are signs that Apple has broader ambitions in the sleep monitoring sphere. For one, the company has increasingly focused on health and wellness products and platforms.

In addition, Apple even has a patent for a “next-generation” sleep monitoring system (which was granted after Beddit’s acquisition).

While nothing’s set in stone yet, that patent suggests a full-sized mattress mat or “smart sheets” could monitor sleep-related metrics much more accurately than current devices.