What We’re Looking For
Performance: A good sleep tech gadget doesn’t try to do too much at once. It ought to be excellent at addressing the main issue it’s trying to solve. The rest is gravy.
Value: Sleep tech can be expensive. If you’re going to shell out, the gadget should make you think “Hell freakin’ yeah, this was totally worth it!”
Comfort: You can’t sleep well if you’re not comfy. Good sleep tech shouldn’t disturb your sleep. Is a tracker too bulky to be useful? Does a smart mattress cover feel lumpy?
Context: Data is useless without context. If it’s a sleep tracker, how well does it present your sleep data? Will you learn anything valuable, or is it a mess of graphs that don’t make sense?
Battery Life: A sleep gadget that can’t last through the night ain’t that helpful. You should be confident the device can last a whole night without dying. If it’s also a fitness gadget or wearable, it should be able to either last all day between charges or support fast charging so it doesn’t run out midday.
One question to ask yourself is how well a device fits your lifestyle. If you want to monitor your trends, the Oura Ring and Whoop 4.0 have some of the most in-depth sleep and recovery tracking around. But these are devices with a singular focus. Busy folks might want something that’s also useful during the day. Smartwatches like the Pixel Watch, Samsung Galaxy Watch 7, or Apple Watch will get you more utility for the price. On the other hand, there’s no point in wrist-based sleep trackers if you wake up in the middle of the night to take them off. If you can’t wear a watch, earbuds, or a ring to bed, you may want to look into non-invasive options like the Withings Sleep or the Google Nest Hub. And if you’re looking for earbuds to drown out noise, Anker’s Soundcore Sleep A20 buds are great for side sleepers and for folks who like to drift off to podcasts. Some more good news is three ex-Bose engineers have resurrected the Bose Sleepbuds — they’re Ozlo Sleepbuds now.
Sleep Tech Has Come a Long Way
Sleep tech has come a long way in just a few short years, but these aren’t medical devices, so take their sleep tracking data with a grain of salt. Gadgets like the Withings ScanWatch, Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 / Ultra, and Apple Watch Series 10 / Ultra 2 have FDA clearance for monitoring sleep disturbances. That doesn’t mean they can definitively diagnose you with sleep apnea. Nothing more.
Recommendations
Just keep in mind that these don’t have active noise canceling. (Which is why they can last 14 hours.) They can passively dampen sound simply by sitting in your ear, but they’re not going to completely block out snoring or noisy neighbors unless you have media playing. The A10 buds are quite similar but have slightly less battery life at 10 hours.
But if you’d really rather the Bose Sleepbuds — good news! They’ve been resurrected as the Ozlo Sleepbuds and are virtually the same product in every way with one key improvement: you can now play your own audio! Sometime in early 2025, Ozlo says they intend to add sleep tracking as well. The downside is that at $299, they’re double the price of the Soundcore A20s.
Read our review of the Anker Soundcore Sleep A20.
Update, February 10th: Adjusted pricing and availability.
FAQs
Q: What should I consider when choosing a sleep tech gadget?
A: You should consider performance, value, comfort, context, and battery life.
Q: Are smartwatches a good option for sleep tracking?
A: Yes, smartwatches like the Pixel Watch, Samsung Galaxy Watch 7, or Apple Watch can provide useful sleep tracking features, but may not be as in-depth as dedicated sleep trackers.
Q: Are there any earbuds that can help me fall asleep?
A: Yes, the Anker Soundcore Sleep A20 buds can help you fall asleep with their passive sound dampening feature.
Q: What is the difference between active noise canceling and passive sound dampening?
A: Active noise canceling actively blocks out sound, while passive sound dampening reduces the volume of external sounds without blocking them out.
