Apple has filed a patent that suggests it is investigating the possibility of a "tactile" bed. The U.S. patent was filed on September 14, 2020, but was not published until March 25. The patent details a kind of high-tech mattress topper that fits under the upper body and uses a pneumatic system. The patent also mentions the importance of control. These air or liquid-filled bladders must operate completely independently of each other. This in itself can be a major technical challenge for compact devices that are designed to sleep on top of each other.

In 2017, Apple acquired Finnish company Beddit, which at the time used mattress sensors to detect sleep patterns. As technology developed, Apple included sleep tracking capabilities in the Apple Watch.

Perhaps Apple could create a mattress that can stop you from snoring by gently moving you minute amounts while you sleep.

It is also interesting to note that Apple is not targeting the entire mattress. Rather, it is a system that works with what you already have, and is likely to be an easier sell for those who have already invested in a great mattress.

None of this is guaranteed, of course. Filing for patents is par for the course for a company like Apple, which does a lot of research in a variety of fields. But it will be interesting to see how this develops over time.