 4/5
In a nutshell:Â The Owlet Baby Monitor offers parents peace of mind, as the device monitors children’s heart rates and oxygen levels during sleep. Babies wear the Smart Sock to sleep, which sends their vitals via Bluetooth to both a movable base station and a smartphone application so moms and dads can keep track of their kids’ well-being overnight.
The perks: The Owlet Baby Monitor provides families with a number of benefits. Not only is the instrument easy to use and durable, but the features are well-designed. The Smart Sock is comfortable for babies to wear overnight and uses pulse oximetry – a technology utilized in many hospitals – to measure heart rates and oxygen levels. The base station, which moms and dads usually keep by their beds, is portable and the sock itself is rechargeable.
The two objects interact well together, communicating any alterations overnight and setting off an appropriate alarm if so. For example, the base station’s edges will turn from green to red if the child’s vitals creep into dangerous territory. Owlet also throws in three different sizes to accommodate growing babies up to 18 months old.
The headaches: With Owlet’s forward-thinking technology, parents gain peace of mind knowing their child is being monitored overnight. However, with a price tag of around $250 dollars, the Owlet Baby Monitor won’t let moms and dads know if their baby wakes up at night, requiring families to use another instrument for that purpose. This feature, in addition to others, including sleep pattern tracking, would be nice to see in a product that comes at this cost.
Final verdict: SIDS is still a major concern for families across the country. The Owlet Baby Monitor can provide parents with the knowledge – including valuable vitals – that their child is sleeping safely through the night. The usability of the technology is as valuable as its durability. The price, however, may leave moms and dads wanting more. With the inclusion of features that let parents know when their baby has rolled onto his or her stomach or has woken up, the Owlet Baby Monitor would be more worthy of its price tag.
