Developers noted in late May 2021 that Fitbit is planning on releasing a software update that will allow the wearables to track snoring. The features include noise detection and categorization to aid in the assessment of sleep. In rolling out this feature, Fitbit is joining popular apps such as Sleep Cycle (created by Northcube), which uses audio input to a smartphone’s microphone to determine sleep stages. Fitbit is also pulling ahead of Apple, which has patent assets directed to sound detection for sleep analysis as covered previously by Patent Forecast® but which does not have any native Apple Watch implementations. Fitbit also has the patents to back up these new features. The company’s earliest assets for detecting snoring were filed in 2016, and its most recent application filed in June of 2020, preceding market activity. Market watchers are always trying to predict what comes next using insider information, but patents are a publicly available resource that give a clear look at what companies are planning. Stay ahead of developments in Consumer Sleep with Patent Forecast®.
