In an era where quality sleep is becoming more elusive, Philips has partnered with Kokoon, a pioneer in sleep technology, to launch an innovative product on Indiegogo and Kickstarter – the Philips Sleep Headphone with Kokoon.

The product touts itself as the ultimate sleep earbuds, designed to help users embark on a journey towards better nightly rest. The campaign is being funded through crowdfunding platforms and it has already garnered significant attention. This, no doubt, reflects the growing demand for effective sleep solutions.

A comfortable sleep experience

If you’ve ever tried wearing earbuds to bed, you know this can be a challenging experience. Tossing and turning might dislodge them, not to mention that they can just be plain uncomfortable.

Philips and Kokoon have designed the Sleep Headphone to provide a seamless sleep experience, regardless of the user’s sleeping position. They have carefully crafted the earbuds to sit snug within the ear, making them suitable for all sleeping positions, including side sleepers. This design consideration allows users to enjoy the benefits of the headphones without any discomfort or disruption to their sleep.

Essential reading: Top fitness trackers and health gadgets

One standout feature of the Philips Sleep Headphone with Kokoon is its adjustable audio output. The device comes equipped with a ‘smart fade out’ feature that senses when the user drifts off to sleep and gradually fades the audio output. This feature works in tandem with the headphones’ ability to mask external disturbances with white noise, ensuring an uninterrupted sleep experience.

The headphones are also designed to play soothing audio to help users sleep. The selection of specialist audio includes a range of sounds and frequencies known to promote relaxation and sleep. This feature, coupled with the headphones’ noise-isolating capabilities, aims to create an optimal sleep environment for the user.

In addition to providing a conducive sleep environment, the Philips Sleep Headphone with Kokoon is also equipped with built-in sensors that detect when the user is asleep. These sensors include an optical sensor and a proximity sensor. They work in conjunction with AI technology to track the user’s nightly rest. The data gathered is used to optimize the user’s sleep experience, providing personalized feedback and adjustments to enhance sleep quality.

As you’ve already guessed, there is a smartphone app that comes with the product. This is where you can customise your sleep experience, and sift through the data gathered.

Popular item on the crowdfunding platform

The Philips Sleep Headphone with Kokoon is more than just a pair of headphones. It is a comprehensive sleep solution that combines comfort, audio technology, and sleep tracking to help users achieve better, more restful sleep. It is no wonder the campaign to make the product a reality has already raised more than $650,000 on the two crowdfunding platforms. If all goes well with production, those who participate in the project should expect to receive the device in October.

Price:$235 and up

Funding total:
$674,040 raised

Estimated delivery: October 2023

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The post Journey to better sleep: Philips & Kokoon’s new sleep headphones appeared first on Gadgets & Wearables.

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The company has a number of devices in its portfolio of sleep aids. This includes the SmartSleep headband which is designed to improve the quality of deep sleep, and Somneo – a the sleep and wake-up light. We can now add a third device to its range.

As its name implies, the Philips Snoring Relief Band is designed to help reduce snoring. Statistics show that 40% of adult men in the US and 24% of adult women are habitual snorers. This disrupts not just their sleep, but also the sleep of their partner.

It all sounds like a pretty simple solution. To use you’ll need to strap the band just below your chest when you climb into bed. The gizmo houses a small sensor that tracks your sleep to determine when you are on your back. It then gently vibrates encouraging you to move to your side. This helps because snoring gets worse when you’re sleeping on your back.

The vibration intensity and pattern automatically adjust to your snoring needs, and the whole thing is very discreet so won’t wake up you or your partner. With regular use, Philips says, your habits will gradually change making you less likely to sleep on your back.

The company is also debuting a couple of software based solutions. The first is an advanced coaching system in the form of the SmartSleep Analyzer to help users learn more about their sleep challenges. The second is the SmartSleep Better Sleep Program, which re-trains people to be able to fall asleep and stay asleep using a mobile app.

The Philips shop price for the band is $199.99. According to the website it ships in 3-9 business days.

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Essential reading: Top fitness trackers and health gadgets for 2017

Wearables are one of the most talked about technologies in the run-up to the gathering. The actual event opens to the public on September 1st, but there will be a string of press conferences starting from August 30th.

We will be on the ground in Berlin to report on all the news. Last year we witnessed a number of launches including the Fitbit Charge 2 and Flex 2, Withings Steel HR, Tom Tom Touch, Samsung Gear S3 Frontier and Asus Zen Watch 2.

Here is a preview of wearables we expect to see this year.

Samsung

Samsung is kicking things of early with a press conference at 18:00 CET on Wednesday the 30th. We now know that its new Gear Fit 2 Pro will make an appearance. The main novelty here is the 5 ATM water resistance and ability to track swim sessions. You’ll also get offline Spotify music playback. The design is slightly tweaked, but its other features are pretty much unchanged from the predecessor device.

The next smartwatch in the Gear series will also make its debut at the IFA trade show. Recent leaks point to the likely launch of the Gear Sport, a hybrid smartwatch that features a round screen, a heart rate sensor and the Tinzen 3.0 operating system onboard.

In an interview with CNBC earlier this week, the president of Samsung’s mobile division DJ Koh commented that the current crop of smartwatches leave a lot to be desired in terms of health sensors.

“If we can put in place properly a smartwatch that can monitor everything for your health and provide the information, then the market will grow. Today’s sensors do not look like enough.” Koh told CNBC.

Lets hope we also see something new on that front. Its been a while since we’ve seen something truly different in terms of sensor technology.

Fitbit

Fitbit has been losing market share over the past year. All eyes are now on Ionic, which is set to launch in October.

James Park, the company’s CEO, will be holding a keynote speech between 17:00 and 17:45 CET September 1st. He will be discussing the evolution of wearables, their long-term potential and highlighting some exciting new areas that Fitbit is exploring.

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Now that we have details of the upcoming smartwatch, the device is likely to make a showing at the event. This is a fully featured timepiece with GPS, contactless payments, on-board storage and much more. It packs 8 sensors inside including a relative SpO2 sensor that measures blood oxygen levels. Will all this be enough to to reverse the company’s flagging fortunes remains to be seen.

Garmin

Garmin has been rather quiet in recent months but we are expecting the successor to the Vivoactive HR to land soon. There is a distinct possibility the company may use the Berlin gathering to launch the wearable. This would certainly make the news and has the potential to be the show-stealer.

Dubbed Vivoactive 3, images show a classy looking device that closely resembles Garmin’s Fenix and Forerunner line. The Vivoactive 3 even sports the same charger and heart rate sensor. The inclusion of only two physical buttons, though, indicates that it may sport a touch screen.

Unfortunately, no details have emerged about actual specs. Its predecessor was a Swiss knife of activity trackers, so its safe to expect Vivoactive 3 will inherit all of this and build with vitals statistics such as VO2 Max and perhaps stress monitoring. It will probably also incorporate some more advanced running metrics.

Fossil

Its a safe bet that Fossil will be showing off new touchscreen and hybrid smartwatch collections at the event. At the start of the year, the company promised an unprecedented 300 new connected devices this year.

This includes hybrid and smartwatches across 14 brands including Misfit, Diesel, Emporio Armani, Michael Kors and Fossil. New Fossil Group brands entering the wearables space in 2017 include DKNY, Marc Jacobs, MICHELE, Relic and Tory Burch. The company has recently revealed its Q Venture and Q Explorist watches.

Misfit, which now falls on the Fossil brand, will also have a display area. Vapor, its first smartwatch, is expected to hit the market soon for $199 so perhaps it may make an appearance. With this watch, the California band outfit has decided to forgo simplicity that its well known for, in favour of a fully souped up gadget.

Others

Many other companies will be showcasing trackers for sports, outdoor activities and sleeping, along with smartwatches, smart clothes, smart helmets and much more.

Philips and Microsoft are holding keynote speeches on September the 1st. We are not expecting much on the wearable front from these two though. Philips has recently launched a suite of connected medical grade devices, while Microsoft seems to have shelved its wearables plans for now.

Acer will be holding a press event at 10:30am CET on Wednesday the 3oth. Its new Leap Ware fitness smartwatch is expected to launch any time now so there is a good possibility we may see it at the event. This is a watch that packs some decent specs and looks classy enough for everyday use, not just fitness activities.

Sony has an event scheduled for 13:00 CET on Thursday the 31st, LG at 17:00 CET on the same day and Huawei at 14:00 CET on Saturday the 2nd. Difficult to say what, if anything new, will be announced on the wearable front from any of these but we will keep a close watch.

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The company says, the health suite is the first in a larger product line of smart medical-grade devices to come. The five gadgets are listed with the FDA and include a health watch (view on Amazon), a body analysis scale (view on Amazon), an ear thermometer (view on Amazon), an upper arm blood pressure monitor (view on Amazon) and a wrist blood pressure monitor.

They all sync with the Philips smartphone mobile app allowing users to monitor all their metrics from a central dashboard and hub. According to Philips, the devices were developed with leading doctors and behavioural psychologists to create long-term changes in health.

“Philips is not in the world of fitness,” said Eline de Graaf, Director for Philips Personal Health Solutions.

“That’s not our mission, and as a healthcare company, we don’t think that’s where we can add value. We’re in the connected health space, and target consumer who are at risk of chronic diseases.”

Based on specs and design, none of these devices are particularly special. The rather plain looking Philips health watch sports a black and white display covered in Gorilla Glass, and features auto-tracking for running, walking, biking and sleep. There is also Philips’ own proprietary optical heart rate sensor which tracks your ticker 24/7. While these are fairly standard metrics we are accustomed to seeing these days, don’t look for SMS and email notification or third-party app support – you won’t find it.

A somewhat unique feature is the resting respiration rate. The watch will provide you with the number of breaths you take per minute. This is usually measured at rest. Resting respiration rates can increase with fever, illness and other medical conditions.

It will also provide you with the VO2 max value – that is the highest rate of oxygen consumption with maximum physical exercise. This is something that is a standard feature of any self-respecting running watch. VO2 max reflects one’s aerobic physical fitness.

Its a similar story with the other devices. The two blood pressure monitors seem pretty decent, but they do not do anything more than other connected blood pressure monitors. The thermometer takes body temperature and does so within two seconds. Finally, the smart scale looks very similar to scales we’ve seen from a host of other manufacturers such as Fitbit, Withings and Garmin.

“When you begin talking with health systems and physician groups, that medical-device part of the equation becomes more important—knowing that it’s been designed with the right clinical validation and protocols in place,” de Graaf added.

It is clear that Philips is not targeting fitness enthusiasts with the suite of new devices. These are gadgets that are targeted for consumers who are at risk of chronic, lifestyle-related conditions such as high blood pressure or heart disease, and who may not have considered a health wearable in the past.

“This approach encourages small and sustainable behavior changes through a combination of connected, medical-grade health measurement devices, app-based health programs and cloud-based data analysis,” Philips says.

By taking the extra step and listing with the FDA, Philips is hoping to instil confidence in the quality of its devices. This also opens up the potential for these gadgets to be recommended by doctors and even employers.

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