Four years after it was first announced, Pokémon Sleep — the Pokémon Company’s sleep-tracking app — is finally emerging from its slumber, with a release date of summer 2023 planned.
The app will attempt to gamify sleep by letting you collect various Pokémon and unlock their unique sleeping styles while you dream.
While predominantly a smartphone application, the Pokémon Company is also releasing an enhanced version of its physical Pokémon Go companion device, with new additions to both, to make sleep tracking easier, and to unlock additional features.
What is Pokémon Sleep?
Essentially, it’s another sleep-tracking app for your phone. There is no shortage of those already available, but this one gamifies the experience and, in the Pokémon Company’s own words, will “make you look forward to getting up in the morning”.
Simply by sleeping, you’ll attract different kinds of Pokémon in the app by the way in which you sleep, with styles divided into three different types: dozing, snoozing, and slumbering.
The data captured looked pretty basic — the kind most sleep tracking apps can capture already — but it might be a helpful aid to get kids to adhere to bedtime (as well as being fun for adults, too).
How does Pokémon Sleep’s tracking work?
This hasn’t been explained, but we can hazard a guess. The video above suggests the phone is placed “by your pillow when you go to bed”, which indicates it’ll be using the accelerometer and/or the microphone to capture data.
That’s how most existing sleep trackers work, too. The microphone can pick up sounds (snoring and respiratory speed) while an accelerometer can detect how and when you’re moving.
While it’s not as accurate as wearables, which can capture additional heart-rate data to form a fuller picture, you can still get a pretty good view of your overall sleep patterns from these sensors when combined with the right algorithms.
Will I just need my smartphone for Pokémon Sleep?
Yes indeed. But if you want to take Pokémon Sleep to the next level, the Pokémon Company will sell an additional accessory.
Introducing Pokémon Go Plus+ (yes, that’s pronounced “plus plus”).
It’s an enhanced version of the Pokémon Go Plus add-on which allows Pokémon Go players to play the game without getting their phone out.
Here, it’s been improved with additional features for Pokémon Sleep, seemingly replacing your phone as the tracker. Just press the button on top to start tracking and press it again to stop. You can even get it to sing Pokémon lullabies via a built-in speaker, if you wish.
When is Pokémon Sleep coming and how much will it cost?
Pokémon Sleep is coming this summer. No pricing has been announced, but given Pokémon Go saw great success as a free app monetised by microtransactions, a similar approach seems likely here.
As for the Pokémon Go Plus+ accessory, that will come with an as-yet-unannounced fee when it arrives on July 14. The existing Pokémon Go Plus device goes for around £20, seven years after its initial release.
