Great to fall asleep to
Better rest days before busy days
Phenomenal
Way too loud for sleeping
Doesn’t connect
Disappointed
Comfort / Fit
I’m mostly a side sleeper, and despite trying different tip sizes, these become uncomfortable after a while. Not “slightly annoying” uncomfortable. More like “why does it feel like there’s Legos in my ears?” uncomfortable.
Connection Issues
Getting both earbuds connected properly is weirdly frustrating. I’ll get the right side showing a good connection, leave it completely alone, adjust the left side, and suddenly the right side disconnects. Since you need both earbuds connected for full sleep tracking, it turns into a nightly mini-game I never wanted to play.
Soundscape Problems
When I first got them, the Soundscape feature worked pretty well. I’d play background noise and it would continue until I fell asleep, usually 20 minutes or so.
Now? It shuts off after about 5 minutes because the app says “sleep detected.” Apparently blinking too slowly now counts as REM sleep.
I restart it over and over, but same issue every time.
If I force the Soundscape to play all night instead of stopping when it incorrectly thinks I’m asleep, the batteries don’t even last 7 hours anyway.
Battery / Charging
Charging is also oddly finicky. You have to position the earbuds in the case just right or they don’t charge properly. More than once I’ve gone to bed assuming they were charged, only to find one dead halfway through the night even though the case showed full charge.
Sleep Tracking Accuracy
The tracking feels wildly inaccurate. I recently had a migraine and know for a fact I only slept around 3 to 4 hours. The app proudly informed me I got 7 hours and 3 minutes of sleep. If that’s true, I’d also like the app to explain why I felt like roadkill all day.
I’ve also gotten up in the middle of the night, walked to the bathroom, and the app still claimed I was asleep the whole time.
Customer Support
I contacted support, explained the issues, requested a refund, and so far… crickets.
Subscription Pricing
This part really annoyed me. They used to offer a monthly replacement/tip subscription around $15/month. Now they’ve “upgraded” it to:
* 3 months for $59.99
* 6 months for $99.99
* 12 months for $149.99
For silicone ear tips. Silicone ear tips.
I updated the app recently, so maybe something improves, but at this point I’m not optimistic. For the price, I expected something polished and reliable. Instead, I got uncomfortable earbuds, questionable sleep data, and an app that thinks I’m sleeping while walking around my house.
I had high hopes
Sending them back.
Meditation
Response from developer
Thank you so much — an extra hour of sleep is a real, meaningful difference, and we love hearing that you're seeing it in your boost numbers. That's exactly what we built Smartbuds to do. Keep it up, and don't hesitate to reach out to hello@nextsense.io if you ever need anything.
Disappointing
App doesn’t work
Exacerbates late night insomnia
The auto-start feature seems really flaky after the most recent firmware update.
I’m bullish on the tech’s possibilities, but there are a bunch of usability issues to work out.
Response from developer
Appreciate the honest feedback! We're actively improving the experience and take every comment to heart. Reach out to support@nextsense.io if there's anything specific we can help with.
No options to change
Response from developer
Sorry to hear this. Your feedback matters and we take it seriously. Please reach out to support@nextsense.io — we want to help.
Not ready
Response from developer
We're sorry this wasn't the experience you expected. We'd really like to make it right. Please contact support@nextsense.io so we can help directly.
Product helps with focus
Response from developer
Appreciate the kind words! We're hearing about more and more folks using Smartbuds for deep work and other daytime activities. Stay tuned for more developments on this front :)
Great soundscapes and align with my oura
Response from developer
We appreciate the feedback and are thrilled to hear that you're finding Smartbuds useful. And, yes, there are certainly improvements and exciting new features in the works. 🙂
Noticeably improved sleep!
love the masking audio selection
Response from developer
So glad the masking audio is working well for you! We put a lot of care into the soundscape library. If you have any favorites or suggestions for new sounds, we'd love to hear them at support@nextsense.io.
Slow wave count
Response from developer
This is wonderful to hear. Consistent nightly use is the best way to see results, and it sounds like you're doing exactly that. We're continuing to improve the sleep insights and features with every update — stay tuned, and thank you for being part of the NextSense community.
Failed to Receive Update
Response from developer
We're really sorry about this experience — a failed firmware update is frustrating, and we take it seriously. The good news is this is almost always recoverable. Please reach out to our support team at hello@nextsense.io and we'll walk you through the steps to get your Smartbuds back up and running. We've also improved the update process in our latest app version to prevent this from happening. We want to make this right for you.
Where is the sleep data? ERG should give us a percentage of the different brainwave?
Response from developer
Thank you for the feedback — we hear you. Smartbuds do measure real EEG brainwave activity, and we understand the desire to see more of that data surfaced directly in the app. Deeper sleep stage breakdowns and more detailed brainwave metrics are on our roadmap. We're a small team shipping fast, and your input helps us prioritize. If you'd like to share more about what you'd want to see, we'd love to hear from you at hello@nextsense.io.
