In 2017, Apple acquired Beddit, which makes a sleep tracking strip that is attached to a mattress. While the Apple Watch has a Beddit app for the trackers, they are certainly not among Apple’s most popular products. However, patents and research data show that the tech giant is still invested. Previously, industry experts had expressed doubt about the accuracy of non-wearable sleep trackers. However, Apple partnered with UCLA in the summer of 2020 for a three-year study on detecting and treating depression using Beddit and the Apple Watch. A new study, presented at SLEEP 2021 in July 2021, concluded that results from “newer versions” of the Beddit tracker significantly outperformed clinical-grade actigraphy, which uses a wrist wearable.
A look at Apple’s patent portfolio confirms that the company is indeed developing more mattress technologies. Its most recent filings include applications for haptic cells in a mattress, an on-bed piezoelectric, and layered mattress sensors, all filed in the second half of 2020. This area is distinct from what other large tech companies are working on, and Patent Forecast® predicts that it’s only a matter of time before Apple brings these technologies to market. You can be the first to know what a company is working on by following the patent data with Patent Forecast®.
