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Apps Sleep tracking

O

olegunnar

macrumors member
Original poster
Oct 29, 2013
51
7
Hi,

Apologies if this has already been discussed to death. I did a quick search on recent topics and didn't find it.

I'm on the verge of purchasing an Apple watch for sleep tracking (and not much else, really). I've tried Pillow on my wife's watch and it appears to be just what I'm after - almost!

My criteria are (in no particular order)
- Correct and detailed sleep tracking
- No subscription / freemium schemes. I don't mind paying for the app, but I don't want subscriptions.
- Healthkit integration
- Privacy. I don't want my data floating around at various obscure companies, if I can avoid it. At least I'd like to think my data is private.

Are there any offers? I've duckduckgoed and went through a lot of "Best sleeptracking apps" pages, but they're all so general, and many don't mention any of my criteria (no, not even the top one). Pillow seems like a good app for accuracy, ease-of-use and healthkit integration, but alas: freemium hell.

Please tell me there's something out there that fits the bill so I can put money in Apple's pockets (which they clearly need) and buy an Apple watch.

Thanks.
 
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I use pillow. I paid for the premium (no further subscription required) after my release from hospital after being diagnosed with PTSD. It does everything and more I needed it to do as I needed to monitor my sleep with all the medication I was on. It does very thing on your tick list.

I would charge my watch before bed and then set it to automatic and forget about it. It integrates with Apple health etc and is secure. When I go for a shower I charge again and don’t run out of juice in the day.

Can’t rate this app enough. Good luck with your purchase.
 
Autosleep works good for me:
apps.apple.com

‎AutoSleep Schlaftracker

‎Zeichnen Sie Ihren Schlaf automatisch mit Ihrer Apple Watch* auf. Die Aufzeichnung Ihres Schlafs ist vollständig automatisch und beginnt sobald Sie schlafen. Es wird keine Watch App benötigt! AutoSleep berechnet ohne jegliches Hinzutun mit Hilfe umfangreicher heuristischer Verfahren, wie lange...
apps.apple.com apps.apple.com
 
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Thank you both.

Regarding Pillow, how can you see what the different payment methods give you? The developer page is useless as is the app store description. You can buy premium, or premium subscription. How can you tell the difference? If I don't need the subscription version, Pillow is the easy choice.
 
olegunnar said:
Thank you both.

Regarding Pillow, how can you see what the different payment methods give you? The developer page is useless as is the app store description. You can buy premium, or premium subscription. How can you tell the difference? If I don't need the subscription version, Pillow is the easy choice.
Click to expand...

I just went with premium tbh. I can’t remember whether it was in app purchase or not. I think it was free to download.

Edited to add pic or purchase options.

f3dcae52a7dfe529f3b02d27ea3197c2.jpg
 
Thank you. It doesn't really explain the difference between a one-off payment and the subscription service, though.
 
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aside from pillow and sleep++, what do others recommend? my little sister is having sleep issues so i'm thinking of seeing if we can learn anything with sleep tracking.
 
I doubt most would. It's pretty expensive to purchase two watches, just for that. Charge it before bedtime.

Thank you for the offers, guys. I'll purchase a watch and try the three apps suggested.
 
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pshady said:
Does anyone use one Apple Watch during the day and a different one at night just for sleep tracking?
Click to expand...
I am using it this way just because I have my old gen 2 watch and now I upgraded to gen 5. Gen 2 is slow and has scratches but still works pretty well so I decided to keep it just for sleep monitoring. I use AutoSleep and AutoWake. Previously I was using Sleep Cycle but they abandoned Apple Watch version because of “Due to increased restrictions within iOS on when you can and can’t launch phone apps from the Watch, we’ve found that Sleep Cycle on the watch combined with its patented microphone technique, needs to find new ways to work on the watch.”
 
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pshady said:
Does anyone use one Apple Watch during the day and a different one at night just for sleep tracking?
Click to expand...

After I got the S5 last week, I did that for a few nights, however switching back and forth kind of lost some Activity data a couple of times. Now I'm just trying to decide whether to put the S3 in the drawer as a backup or to sell it.
 
scmill said:
After I got the S5 last week, I did that for a few nights, however switching back and forth kind of lost some Activity data a couple of times. Now I'm just trying to decide whether to put the S3 in the drawer as a backup or to sell it.
Click to expand...

So you don’t recommend it?
 
I use SleepWatch. It's free. The data I collected was invaluable to my primary care physician and my sleep doctor. I continue to use it to look for patterns to improve my sleep. It's one of my favorite functions of my Watch.
 
ciemunio said:
I am using it this way just because I have my old gen 2 watch and now I upgraded to gen 5. Gen 2 is slow and has scratches but still works pretty well so I decided to keep it just for sleep monitoring. I use AutoSleep and AutoWake. Previously I was using Sleep Cycle but they abandoned Apple Watch version because of “Due to increased restrictions within iOS on when you can and can’t launch phone apps from the Watch, we’ve found that Sleep Cycle on the watch combined with its patented microphone technique, needs to find new ways to work on the watch.”
Click to expand...

Any issues using the two watches? Someone else reported lost data.
 
I use two watches since one year. Aw4 (and now 5 lte) during the day, aw2 in the night or when I want to charge the other one. Never lost anything. It’s only a bit difficult to update OS or mirror podcasts, because when one Watch is charging the other is connected, but it can be solved. Automatic detection works like a charm.
 
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Got my watch today and downloaded Pillow. It doesn't seem to allow for a one-off payment, despite the information in the app store. At least I can only choose between three different subscription options.

Off to try some of the other suggestions instead.
 
Can any of the watch sleep apps be used in airplane mode, if that's what it is called on the watch, or do they need to be connected to the iPhone while tracking?
 
pshady said:
Does anyone use one Apple Watch during the day and a different one at night just for sleep tracking?
Click to expand...

I have two watches, S2 and S4. I obviously didn't buy them specifically for this reason but when I saw the prices Apple would offer for a trade, it made much more sense to keep it when I purchased my S4.

Also, I like Autosleep and SleepWatch, there are aspects of both that I appreciate.
 
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staggerlee41 said:
I have two watches, S2 and S4. I obviously didn't buy them specifically for this reason but when I saw the prices Apple would offer for a trade, it made much more sense to keep it when I purchased my S4.

Also, I like Autosleep and SleepWatch, there are aspects of both that I appreciate.
Click to expand...

so you can use both apps to track sleep at the same time?
 
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