Apple is—at last—getting into the sleep tracking business. 9to5Mac reported that Apple purchased Beddit, a firm that makes sleep-tracking hardware and apps for Apple’s iPhone and Apple Watch.
Sleep tracking is one area of health data that Apple has heretofore shied away from. Apple Watch, for instance, doesn’t track your sleep out of the box. That’s in keeping with Apple’s position that Apple Watch is designed to be charged at night.
There are third party products that track sleep through using your iPhones various sensors, and there are third party hardware companies like Beddit.
Beddit 3
Beddit’s current flagship product is Beddit 3, a sensor that sits on your bed and reports to your iPhone through HealthKit. The iPhone app will also feed data to an optional Apple Watch app. The hardware sensor is $149.95, while the apps are free.
As of this writing, Beddit hasn’t made an announcement on its website, but 9to5Mac noted that the app’s privacy statement was changed to read:
Beddit has been acquired by Apple. Your personal data will be collected, used and disclosed in accordance with the Apple Privacy Policy.
What Next for Apple Sleep Tracking?
I’m delighted by this acquisition. Our own Jeff Gamet has used an earlier iteration of Beddit’s hardware sensor for some time and loves it. But what delights me is that Apple is getting into this industry. With the company’s focus on health tracking, sleep tracking has been a frankly curious omission.
The question is what will Apple do with this acquisition? Will it continue to sell a standalone hardware sensor or integrate Beddit’s technology in existing products like (an improved) Apple Watch? The acquisition could also be an acquihire where Apple wanted the people to work on something tangential.
My gut instinct is that Apple will both continue to sell a standalone sensor and incorporate sleep tracking in iPhone and Apple Watch.