While both methods are based on the same SleepScore by ResMed algorithm, SleepScore Max utilizes dedicated hardware that sits on your nightstand to track your sleep, while the SleepScore app uses just your smartphone microphone and speaker capabilities to track and measure your sleep.
Another key difference between the two tracking abilities is the different technology each uses. SleepScore Max uses safe, ultra-low power radio waves (1/10 of Bluetooth®) to send and receive signals that measure your breathing and movements. The SleepScore app utilizes patented sonar technology which uses your phone speakers as a way to send silent signals into your bedroom environment, and those reflected waves are received back into the microphone.
Because the SleepScore app uses your microphone and speakers to send and receive sonar signals, it cannot give any details about your bedroom environment. This is where SleepScore Max’s dedicated hardware comes into play. SleepScore Max’s environmental sensors measure your light and temperature levels every night, allowing you to set your bedroom to the best settings for optimal sleep.
Both of these sleep tracking mechanisms are based on the same SleepScore by ResMed algorithm, based on over 12 years of world class software development, with the algorithm being constantly updated and advanced based on over 6 million nights of sleep data and sleep norms. There may be a two to three-point score variation when the two are compared side by side, but this should normalize and produce consistent trends over time. Rest assured, either method you choose to use is the most accurate non-contact way to measure your sleep outside of a sleep lab.