At IFA 2015, Philips was showing off its watch, blood pressure monitor, and scale as part of a whole-health system, HealthSuite. The idea is that you’re not going to be able to get a total picture of what’s going on with your body just from a wearable on your wrist.
Other companies have a similar outlook, including Health o meter, which launched its Nuyu line of products in September. These include its $50 Activity Tracker, a $50 Wireless Scale, and the newest (and by far most expensive) addition, a $500 Sleep System.
The tracker and scale work in tandem, sending information from the devices to the app (Android or iOS) about your calories burned and weight and BMI. While the tracker also monitors sleep, the Sleep System is supposed to help you fall asleep and improve the quality of your rest.
The Bluetooth-enabled system uses temperature to help you fall asleep and wake up. Place the mat under your sheets, fill the tank with water, and the app controls the rest. It warms up to help you fall asleep then cools down so you don’t wake up at night and kick the covers off. When your wake-up time approaches, it warms up again. (That seems like it would have the opposite effect of helping you get out of bed, but okay.) As the weeks go on, the system starts to personalize the temperature cycles to you, to between 69 and 105 degrees Fahrenheit.
You’ll still need the activity tracker to get a whole picture of how you’re sleeping, though. The system isn’t measuring your breathing or heart rate, for example. That’s a little surprising, considering the Withings Sleep Sensor Accessory is a mattress pad that delivers all kinds of data about your sleep.
Another piece of the wellness puzzle, Coaching Plans, which is supposed to suggest meal plans and exercises, has yet to be released. The goal seems to be that users will put everything together and start seeing positive feedback from the connected scale.
