Apple has acquired acquired a sleep-tracking app called Beddit, suggesting that tracking users’ hours of shut-eye could be incorporated into a future Apple Watch or iPhone.
Financial terms of the acquisition haven’t been disclosed, although the buyout is confirmed by Beddit in the small print on its webpage.
“Your personal data will be collected, used and disclosed in accordance with the Apple Privacy Policy,” the updated policy reads. In addition, it notes that information like heart rate and respiratory data can be shared with Apple’s Health app.
For now at least, Beddit’s webpage remains active, and it is still running its customer support contact on its website, making it appear that the customer experience is unlikely to alter.
Beddit first launched back in 2007, while its products have been carried in Apple stores since late 2015. It produces a $150 smart sensor strip which stays permanently wrapped around your mattress, ready to record your snoozes. In addition to sleep time, it also claims to be able to keep tabs on “heart rate, respiration, temperature, movement, snoring, room temperature, and room humidity.”
This data can then be sent to your iOS or watchOS device.
While it’s possible that Apple could produce a similar smart sensor under its own name, what seems more likely is that it is interested in the proprietary technology Beddit has developed for sleep tracking.
For this to be successfully incorporated into a future Apple Watch would require some major work from Apple (not least to improve battery life to the point you could wear your Watch in bed without having to recharge it overnight), but it would certainly an added bit of useful functionality.
Apple previously hired sleep researcher Rob Raymann to its health team, demonstrating its interest in this area.
Source: CNBC
