A queen-size mattress technically has the dimensions of a queen mattress, but in practice feels much smaller. When the head is raised even slightly, my 5’1″ ankles stick out from the end. I would recommend sizing up, but it means spending even more money. And also between two different firmness I create this weird no-man’s zone. . Have you ever tried to hug when one half of you is resting on a very hard surface and the other half of you is sinking into a very soft surface? It’s weird And it’s painful.
In addition, the sides of the mattress are soft and sloping. It looks like you might fall over in your sleep. After several close calls, my partner and I have developed a routine in which I reach out my hand and grab it to provide anchor when I need to catch a dropped remote. Otherwise, I might just jump into the abyss.
But most importantly, the clumsy software (and application, and appearance) is my biggest issue. The Sleep IQ companion app is the default way to control your smart bed, and it’s a mess. Several times, when I tried to adjust the temperature of my bed, the app would not pass those requests through. Same thing happened the first time I tried to switch from zero G to flat. The app completely froze and would not reopen after force-closing it. I had to restart my phone and wait for it to reconnect; It used to take about half an hour at a time when I just wanted to sleep.
There is a button on either side of the base of the mattress that can be configured to a “preferred” setting. I ended up making mine flat so I would have a way to physically override the app when it starts functioning. Partway through my testing, Sleep Number sent me an optional $49 remote control for the bed. I highly, highly recommend that you buy the remote. This solved my control issues and should be included automatically.
I also had some issues with the Sleep IQ app’s analytics. The Insights program tracks your sleep data, sharing tips on how to get better sleep. But insight is… kind of… bad, especially if you work from home. The bed can’t tell the difference between working on your phone for half an hour or trying to sleep in the afternoon or trying to sleep through the night. You have to manually edit all erroneous sleep sessions that are automatically recorded, and the process for doing so is clunky. I don’t want to open an app every time I sit on my bed for half an hour! Even if the app defaults to “Hey, did you sleep for half an hour?” will be great. Right now, SleepIQ thinks my circadian rhythm is nonexistent. According to my Apple Health data, my sleep schedule is doing fine.
And the app is invasive; It collects biometric data such as heart rate variability and breathing rate. It has a privacy mode in case you want to turn off data recording. But you can’t apply Privacy Mode to only half the bed, and furthermore the app openly recommends that you keep Privacy Mode off. Total. You know what’s an easy and accurate way to keep track of your sleep data? Any fitness tracker or smartwatch. It probably won’t even cost $10,000.
This leads on to my final point. All evidence suggests that for the best sleep hygiene, we need to put down our phones and leave behind their stressors, blue light and constant distractions. Battling bad blue-lit apps is the exact opposite. Plus, the smart base is pretty loud during sex, so there’s that.
I don’t Hatred this bed; I’m just disappointed. I was promised a revolutionary sleep experience, and it was only that. Sleep Number says an update to the app is coming later this month. But I really question whether the so-called smarts on this smart bed were really smart or even necessary. It’s 2023, and if I want to spend $10,000, I better be relaxing on a beach vacation. This time, i can only buy one foot warmer,
