Big Fitbit sleep update adds snoring detection and some crazy new analysis

Fitbit is set to add snoring detection to its devices, in a massive update to its fitness tracker range.

9to5Google has spotted the addition to the Google APK for Android, and it seems the new feature will soon roll out across its devices.

The report claims that Fitbit will use the microphone on its trackers to detect episodes of snoring.

When sleep is detected Fitbit will turn on the microphone, which will listen out for snoring. It will then monitor two things: snoring events and snoring intensity. This will be tracked among the rest of your sleep stats.

The Fitbit app will then rate the severity of your nightly snoring. “Mild” would be snoring for up to 10% of the night, while “frequent” would be in excess of 40% of the night.

It’s not clear whether Fitbit would augment this with other data, including blood oxygen data which it uses to measure the likelihood of sleep conditions such as sleep apnea. It’s also unclear whether Fitbit would provide any insights into reducing snoring, or mapping it to other factors such as alcohol consumption.

New Fitbit update adds snoring detection

And then there’s the added question of who is snoring. The microphone will have trouble detecting snoring between you or a bed partner. We’d have thought there was some way of mapping blood oxygen and breathing tracking to the audio of a snore. Apparently not, according to the report.

And there’s more. The Fitbit app will also monitor the ambient sound as you sleep and rate your environment from “very quiet” to “very loud.” This would help point out any sleep hygiene issues. Potentially, taking action to make your bedroom quieter would improve sleep quality – although this is likely to be the hardest aspect to control.

And there’s one more…odd…revelation from the APK trawl.

Apparently, Fitbit is lining up some sleep analysis that likens your sleep habits to an animal. The report shows:

  • Restless sleeper: Bear
  • Segmented sleeper: Dolphin
  • Shallow sleeper: Giraffe
  • Shoirt sleeper: Hummingbird
  • Slow to fall asleep sleeper: Kangaroo
  • Solid sleeper: Tortoise

We have to say that makes zero sense to us, but there’s almost no detail on the implementation. We like the idea of Fitbit adding a bit more context to the reams of data it produces around sleep. But is it wrong we want to be the bear?

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