Withings Sleep review: same hardware, better software

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When the Withings Sleep was known as the Nokia Sleep, I first tried it out. At a time when most consumer sleep trackers were expensive or wrist-worn, it was a neat idea. It wasn't perfect, but in the intervening years since Withings left theNokia umbrella, there have been enough changes issued to the Sleep that I wanted to re-test.

The design hasn't changed much. It is a 7.5 inch device that you plug into an outlet and slip under your mattress. The gray fabric cover is the same as before, but now reads Withings. The appeal here is that you don't have to wear a device to track your sleep, you can just lie on your mattress.

The setup is not different. You have to connect your phone to the internet via wi-fi as well as pair it to your phone. You can still control your lights and thermostat using smart home integration. Many of the features of the physical product haven't changed.

The metrics it tracks are still the same. Withings can give you a PDF Sleep Diary that shows you a bird's-eye view of your sleeping patterns over the course of a year. Breathing disruptions are defined by Withings as "interruptions in breathing patterns." That doesn't mean it can diagnose sleep disorders. The Withings Sleep Analyzer claims to have medical- grade sleep apnea detection. It is not available for purchase in the US as it does not have FDA clearance. The Analyzer is only for Europe.

This distinction felt like a matter of fact when testing the sleep. A sleep disorder characterized by repeated starts and stops in breathing is called sleep apnea. Although there are warnings that this isn't meant to be a diagnostic device, Withings is skirting very close to the line. Snoring is a possible sign of sleep apnea and the Sleep tracks snoring.

In testing, the breathing interruption and snoring detection were accurate. Even though my roommate said she heard me snore multiple times, the Sleep never detected it. I use the Sleep Cycle app to record my snoring, because I don't snore as loudly anymore. The Withings Sleep was able to catch a few nights where I snored. It is an improvement from the last time.

It takes about a month to get a clear view of your sleep patterns, so be warned. The diary can be set to report a custom time period. Average heart rate during sleep, average sleep duration for weekdays and weekends, latency, efficiency, and wake-up times are some of the statistics found in the report. There is a representation of how long you spent in bed, how long you spent asleep, and how long you stayed out of bed.

Even though I can get this data from a number of sleep trackers, they don't allow you to view your patterns over a long period of time. You have to look at the individual menus in a different way. There is no issue with advanced sleep data being behind a pay wall. I didn't like how long it took to make the Sleep Diary. Sometimes I had to try again because it wouldn't work out. The longer the time period, the more time it will take to generate.

I liked the changes withings were made here. There were a few things that were annoying. You should be able to sync your data in the morning. I would leave my phone on the bed while I went to work. There were two instances where I had to re-pair the device after my data loaded. My dog knocked the plug out of the sockets. I don't know why the device just wasn't working again. It takes 10 minutes to calibrate the device to the thickness of the mattress. If you decide to take this device on a trip, you need to keep in mind that.

I was testing both the Oura Ring and the Sleep at the same time, and they were 888-609- 888-609- 888-609- 888-609- There were variations in my sleep scores but they weren't off base. I think the Oura Ring was better at napping. The Sleep always said my naps were an hour long, but when I tapped to see more info, it gave me data for the whole night. I wouldn't put a lot of faith in those reports. I saw a big improvement in detecting when you wake up in the middle of the night and when you don't sleep at all.

This is an excellent option for people who don't like wearing rings or trackers to sleep. If you want to view your sleeping patterns in one easy report, you're getting a good feature set. New features and updates are what Withings is known for. There are a few quirks to the device, but they are not bad.

Victoria Song is a photographer.

Every smart device has a set of terms and conditions that you have to agree to before you can use it. It is not possible for us to read and analyze all of them. We started counting the number of times you have to agree to use devices when we review them, since these are agreements most people can't negotiate.

You have to pair the Withings Sleep with a phone. The phone's privacy policy and terms of service are included. Permissions can be granted to the health mate app, including voice assistants, notifications, background app refresh, and cellular data.

You agree to this by setting up the Withings Sleep.

• Terms of Service
• Privacy Policy

There are two mandatory agreements and a lot of optional permission.