Fitbit will soon call you out for snoring, but won't kick you out of bed

Google-owned Fitbit is reportedly adding snoring detection to wearable devices, according to hints spied within the company’s mobile app.

A 9to5Google teardown has found new evidence Fitbit will seek permission from users to use the wearable’s microphone to detect snoring. Enabling the feature will grant the watch permission to listen in for “ambient noise including your potential snoring.”

Evidence within the app says the feature will be called Snore & Noise Detect, which could also detect whether a partner is snoring. As well as looking out for “noise including snores from you or someone next to you,” the feature will also listen for “snore specific” sounds.

Naturally, this might be quite taxing for the watch’s battery life as it listens in throughout the night. Given what else can often go on in the bedroom at night, it remains to be seen how many Fitbit users will want the microphones listening in throughout the night. Fitbit does say it’ll only turn the mic on when you fall asleep, so there is that.

However, as well as being quite annoying for a partner, there are many health conditions that snoring can be a symptom of, including sleep apnea. Snoring could also be a hint of weight issues or excessive smoking or alcohol consumption

Here’s how Fitbit describes the feature within the new app.

How does Snore & Noise Detect work?

During sleep, the microphone on your Fitbit device can monitor noise, including snores from you or someone next to you. Throughout the night, we look for:

• Sound intensity: We analyze noise level (how loud or quiet it is) to determine the baseline noise level.
• Snoring events: We look for snore-specific noises. When our algorithm detects an event that’s louder than the baseline noise level, it performs a calculation to decide if it’s snoring or something else. If the noise level in your room is louder than the snoring, this feature may not be able to pick up the snoring.

Fitbit app via 9to5Google

As well as appearing on the best fitness trackers and Fitbit smartwatches, it’s also possible the tech could come to the new Wear OS, which will integrate Fitbit skills.

Would you be ok with Fitbit listening into your sleep activity? Let us know @trustedreviews on Twitter.

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