Andi Moore, Senior Director of Product at Owlet, shares a behind the scenes look at the new Smart Sock Gen 3.
The best products always start with the why. For the Smart Sock team, our why is because for every baby and parent to have the full promise of the Smart Sock it must work on every baby.
The first and second versions of the Smart Sock were innovative and revolutionary. Parents tell us every day how much they love their Smart Sock and why they can’t imagine life without it.
But even the most innovative products can be improved upon. Using invaluable feedback from parents everywhere we completely redesigned the 3rd generation Smart Sock to work for every baby and empower every parent to track their baby’s heart rate and oxygen level while they sleep.
Parents told us getting the Smart Sock 2 to fit just right took some practice; it was too big for some babies, and too small for others. The Smart Sock 3 now fits more newborns than ever as soon as they come home from the hospital, and for longer as they grow into toddlers. As always, safety is our top priority.
Sometimes the Smart Sock 2 sensor struggled to track depending on the baby’s foot shape and skin tone, and when there was any motion present all you see is wiggling footprints in the app. Our Smart Sock 3 fabric socks and sensor are designed to flex to the foot so you get more readings and less yellow notifications. And the Sock now tracks through gentle motion, which means a lot less wiggling feet and more live numbers.
Having only one fabric sock in each size meant a blowout could lead to a night without the Smart Sock 2 and precious sleep lost for already tired parents. There are now two socks in each size with the Smart Sock 3 so you always have a spare while you wash one. And yes, you can (and should!) wash the sensor. Inserting the sensor into the Sock couldn’t be easier.
The Smart Sock 2 Base Station and sensor sometimes struggled to connect throughout some homes, and plugging a micro-USB cord into the sensor to charge it while juggling an infant in the morning was tough. With the Smart Sock 3 we’ve improved our connectivity to work in more homes so you can put the Base Station where you want it. Plus, one-handed wireless charging means you simply drop the sensor in the Base Station in the morning and move on.
If you forgot to charge the Smart Sock 2 sensor it took hours to have enough battery to monitor through the night. Forgot to charge the sensor with Smart Sock 3? You’ll get 8 hours of battery life in just 20 minutes with our quick charge, and a full charge in 90 minutes.
This is just the start. We’re constantly working to make the Sock better and will continue rolling out more improvements and new features.
We are so excited to hear what you think of the 3rd generation Smart Sock.
