One minute review
The Kokoon Nightbuds may look like regular wireless earbuds, but they're really a one-stop shop filled with any and all sleep aids you could ask for. They offer ambient rumble to mask background distractions, soothing sound stories, guided meditation sessions, nightly sleep tracking, and (unlike the Amazfit Zenbuds and Bose Sleepbuds) let you stream your choice of music or podcasts from your phone.
They're also well-designed, fitting snugly on your head and staying securely in place throughout the night thanks to the soft "hooks" on the silicone eartips. Even if you have a restless night, they won't budge and are thin enough to be comfortable no matter your sleeping situation.
The Kokoon app is also well developed and easy to use. Connecting the buttons and choosing your preferred ambient sound is incredibly simple, and the sound of soft rain, white noise, or crackling fire can be paired with a relaxing guided meditation, coaching session, or "narrative landscape." to help you fall asleep.
In the morning, you'll wake up to an analysis of your sleep, divided into light, deep, REM, and awake periods. Unfortunately, there isn't much analysis here; there's no timeline to track when each sleep stage occurred, and the app doesn't tell you if you've spent enough of the night in each and every stage.
You also don't get much advice on progressing your dream, though that may be a feature that will come to subscribers later. At €XNUMX / €XNUMX (about AU$XNUMX), this optional annual fee is a huge commitment, so we hope that Kokoon will add more information for members soon.
Price and launch date
The Kokoon Nightbuds were launched in the last month of the year XNUMX then from a successful crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter and can be purchased directly from Kokoon. You can make a one-time payment of €XNUMX/€XNUMX (plus or minus AU$XNUMX) for access to the Nightbuds and Kokoon app, which today is discounted from the total cost of €XNUMX. ninety-nine / € twenty-two thousand nine hundred ninety-nine (plus or minus AU € three hundred and forty). AU€).
Alternatively, you can pay an annual subscription fee of €XNUMX / €XNUMX (around AU$XNUMX), which also gives you a lifetime warranty on the device.
At full cost, this is akin to the Bose Sleepbuds II, which retails for €XNUMX / €XNUMX / AU$XNUMX. However, Sleepbuds only offer ambient sounds to help you fall asleep; there's no sleep tracking and you can't use them as Bluetooth headphones to listen to your music or podcasts at night.
Integrated
The Kokoon Nightbuds look like running headphones, with a pair of earphones connected by a cable with a small control unit in the middle. The cord is accordion-shaped and flexible, fitting comfortably around the back of your head at night (Kokoon warns against pulling it straight to avoid damaging it). The ends wrap around your ears, helping to hold the headphones firmly in place.
The control unit (measuring XNUMXmm x XNUMXmm) is located near the back of your neck, where you won't feel it even if you're lying on your back. The side that rests against the skin is covered in soft-touch silicone, while the side that rests against the pillow is covered in canvas. This unit houses the Bluetooth receiver, battery, and other components of the headset, and is where you'll find the volume and power buttons.
The Nightbuds charge via USB-C and come with a power cable. It's quite short, but the Nightbuds are so light that they won't pull on the cord if you leave them hanging in the air while charging.
You have a choice of silicone tips in different sizes so you can get the right fit; we find that the standards are perfect. They have a subtly unusual design, with a XNUMXmm soft silicone tip that helps prevent dislodging if you sleep on your side.
In our tests it worked very well; in fact, we had to be careful when removing the headphones in the morning to prevent the silicone tips from getting stuck in our ears.
Comfort and ease of use
Before you can start using Kokoon Nightbuds, you must first install the companion app (free for iOS or iPhone) and create an account. By the time you're done and the earbuds are charged, press and hold the power button on the control unit to enter pairing mode, and they should automatically warn you. In our tests, pairing was simple and worked flawlessly. We have also had no issues with the Nightbuds connecting at subsequent times.
They're comfortable to sleep in, whether you like to lay on your back or on your side, and unlike other devices of its kind, the Nightbuds didn't loosen up and become dislodged when we tossed and turned at night, something that can surely be attributed to the ear tips. earphone silicone
However, unlike the Bose Sleepbuds or Amazfit Zenbuds, the Kokoon Nightbuds don't come with a charging case so you can keep them powered up, so you'll need to plug them in for regular charging. However, you can help them hold a charge for longer by activating the perfect battery saving mode, which stops the sound and turns off the headphones when you take them off. It's easy to forget to press the button after taking them out in the morning, so activating it is a wise precaution.
If you just want to know more about your sleep, the Withings Sleep Analyzer might be a better choice. It's a thin rug that slides under your mattress and automatically tracks your sleep patterns each night without the need to set up or use anything; Set it once, then forget it and your sleep stats will automatically sync with your phone each and every morning.
Similarly, if you just want sound, it might be worth considering a white rumble machine or a speaker under your pillow.
Performance
The Kokoon app gives you an incredible array of ambient sounds to select from, and since everything is streamed from your phone instead of being uploaded to the earbuds (as with the Amazfit Zenbuds), you don't have to decide what you want to hear. beforehand. Simply browse through the various options until you find something that interests you.
There is nothing as esoteric as Amazfit's snoring cat sound effect, but there are many alterations on the theme of rain (crackling on an umbrella, sidewalk, lake, window, etc.), such as a crackling bonfire, hissing wind and breaking waves. You can also opt for the pink, white or copper rumble, for which we tend to lean. Whichever sound you choose, you can choose to let it play continuously until morning, or fade gently when the buttons warn you've fallen asleep.
The app also offers an incredible library of music (smooth, abstract synth scores that won't distract you with identifiable rhythms or patterns), meditation sessions, and storyscape; the latter are very similar to the dream stories that are at peace. application, but without the subscription fees. These can be paired with your preferred ambient sound for an extra relaxing effect, and meditation sessions give the Kokoon Nightbuds a compelling aid throughout the day.
They can't tell you if you're actually controlling your breathing or maintaining good posture like the Muse XNUMX headband, but when you spend so much on one device, it's refreshing to see that it has multiple uses. We also liked the ability to hear sounds and meditation sessions through regular headphones or your phone's speaker, which can be useful if ambient noise helps you focus at work.
There are also short training sessions that help you understand the biology of sleep, but they are more like short podcasts and also informative and are not intended to help you relax.
All the narrators are British, and it's worth noting that some of the content is decidedly British as well. To take an example, a script is an imaginary version of the shipping forecast that is broadcast every night on BBC Radio four. It will be relaxing and familiar to many listeners in the UK, but in other territories it will be very confusing to perceive the weather forecast for the seas around the UK.
Like most sleep trackers, the Kokoon Nightbuds are going to give you a sleep score each morning, but that's simply based on how long you were awake after going to sleep, compared to how long you slept. Sleep stages are not present, although they are shown in a pie chart now.
Tapping sections of this chart will bring up a short sentence explaining the purpose of that particular sleep phase (light, deep, REM, and awake), but you won't get a detailed breakdown. There is no guidance on whether you spent a suitable amount of time on each and every stage or how you can improve it in the future.
Sleep analysis isn't very detailed and you won't get as much data as you would with a fitness tracker or running watch, but we liked the ability to track trends over time, letting you see the impact to change your dream. habits You'll also get some generic tips in the "Insights" section that can help you improve your sleep hygiene (for example, going to bed on time, which can have a tragic effect on how long you sleep).
Overall, the lack of depth in sleep tracking is our only real gripe with the Kokoon Nightbuds. Designing a pair of headphones that can be worn comfortably at night and stay put is no small feat, and along with the extensive range of soothing noises, stories, and tutorials, it's an incredible package.
Nothing has been confirmed, but we have a hunch that Kokoon may be planning to add more detailed sleep analysis for subscribers, who today get a lifetime guarantee plus other benefits in exchange for their annual payments. We will update this notice as it happens.
buy them yes
Don't buy them if
This article is part of LaComparacion's XNUMX Sleep Week (Sunday, March XNUMX to Saturday, March XNUMX), a week...