Google offers improved sleep tracking tools for Android apps
It's offering up its low-power API to improve sleep monitoring.
Chances are, if you don't own a smartwatch, you probably rely on your phone to monitor your sleeping habits. While there's no shortage of apps that claim to do the job, not all of them are up to the task. And Android, in particular, has been caught lagging in the snooze-tracking department. Thankfully, Droid-Life points out how Google is looking to change that by making its low-power Sleep API publicly available.
That means developers can now (theoretically) use the toolkit to upgrade existing services and create new Android apps that offer more data, while conserving your phone's battery life. With the API in use, you'll be able to see a regular "sleep confidence" report every 10 minutes and a broader sleep segment report after wakeup is detected.
Whereas the multiple sensor signals used by activity tracking apps can play havoc with your phone's battery, Google says the Sleep API centralizes the sleep detection process to boost performance. The software stems from a collaboration with the Sleep as Android app, which also offers features such as smart scores and a sonar to track your sleep from a distance. To keep things fresh, Google is constantly tinkering with its sleep and wellness software suite, including Fit and Bedtime. But the Sleep API expansion is geared toward increasing (and hopefully improving) the options in its Play Store.
