As a mattress tester with back pain, I often tout the importance of targeted support. However, after just one night on the Bryte Balance Smart Bed, I can confidently say it offers a level of personalization I've never experienced before. Using air modules across 16 ergonomic zones, it discreetly adapts to your movements within seconds, offering optimal comfort and support no matter how you sleep.
Although the Bryte Balance Smart Bed is available from $6,299 at Bryte, it’s also a fixture at a number of luxury hotels and resorts in North America, catering to weary travelers who want to use their free time to fully recharge. As someone who's fascinated by the evolution of sleep tech and the growing trend of sleep tourism, as well as understanding how important it is to choose the best mattress for your sleep needs, I made it a priority to try this sophisticated smart bed and see if it makes good on its promise of uninterrupted restorative sleep. (Spoiler alert: it does.)
Bryte hosted me for a one-night stay at the Park Terrace Hotel at Bryant Park in New York City, where I went hands-on with a king Bryte Balance Smart Bed. Keep reading to find out why I think it's worth the investment for anyone seeking a truly custom sleep experience, and learn what other fun tricks this AI-powered smart bed has up its sleeve. With Bryte Balance's Black Friday mattress sales action, offering a discount of $750 for purchases made through December 2, you can save a significant chunk off the retail price. Head below for all the details...
What is the Bryte Balance Smart Bed?
Released in 2022, the Bryte Balance Smart Bed is the successor to the Bryte Restorative Bed. The highlight here is its personalized, targeted support. Instead of a single air chamber, there are up to 90 foam-wrapped air modules that individually respond to and redistribute pressure as you move across 16 zones. Users can further customize these settings in the Bryte App.
Other key features include Silent Wake Assist (which gently vibrates the bed surface to wake you up gradually), BryteWaves (a library of sound and motion experiences designed to help you fall asleep), and an AI-powered Sleep Concierge (for deeper insights into your sleep quality).
The Bryte Balance Smart Bed comes in three sizes (queen, king, California king) and retails from $6,299 plus shipping at Bryte. It's also available to try at various luxury hotels and wellness resorts throughout North America, from New York to Florida, California and more.
Bryte Balance Smart Bed: Price
- Retails from $6,299 (queen) to $6,999 (king)
- A $750 Black Friday sale discount is applicable until December 2
- Discounts for FSA/FHA and hotel guests
- Comes with 100 nights to try it at home
The Bryte Balance Smart Bed is available exclusively from Bryte. Like the majority of this year's best smart beds, it comes with a high price tag. It retails for $6,299 for queen and $6,999 for a king and California king. White glove delivery is required and costs $250; it includes assembly and setup in the room of your choice.
As an added incentive, Bryte is offering a $750 Black Friday discount, which is applied at check out, on all sizes until December 2.
If you have a Flexible Spending Account (FSA) or a Health Savings Account (HSA), you could save up to 30% off the full price of a Bryte Balance Smart Bed. (Eligibility is determined by a brief survey.) Alternatively, guests who try a Bryte Balance at a hotel may receive an exclusive offer of $1,250 off and free delivery.
Compared to other luxury beds, the 100-night sleep trial doesn't seem that generous, and a return shipping fee may apply if you send it back. A 10-year limited warranty covers the foams and fabrics, while a 4-year prorated warranty applies to the technological components.
Bryte Balance Smart Bed: Design
- Air modules individually respond to pressure and movement
- CertiPUR-US certified foam adds relief and comfort
- Works with any standard base and most adjustable frames
The 14" Bryte Balance Smart Bed features up to 90 foam-wrapped air modules that either respond to or release pressure to create an optimal level of comfort and support for your body. These modules also play any of the BryteWaves soundscapes to help fall asleep, and gently vibrate when you activate the silent alarm to wake up.
The modules are split down the middle to accommodate each side of the bed and further arranged into eight zones each side, making subtle, targeted adjustments throughout the night. They're powered by a series of silent pneumatics, which are located in a box at the base of the bed. This box also houses the computer and sensors that allow the bed to track the duration and quality of your sleep and beam that data to the app.
Above the air modules is a layer of CertiPUR-US-certified comfort foam for additional pressure relief. It's topped by a non-removable polyester cover. A bed frame isn't included but it's compatible with any standard base and most adjustable frames.
Bryte Balance Smart Bed: Setup
- Easy setup for hotel guests – scan a QR code for in-browser controls
- Personalized firmness through the Bryte App for home users
- No subscription is needed for full app functionality
Before sleeping on the Bryte Balance Smart Bed, I had to complete a brief setup process on my phone. Since I was only staying one night as a guest at the Park Terrace, I didn't have to download the Bryte App. Instead, I scanned a QR code, which sent me to a setup page in my phone's browser.
I selected my side of the bed (I chose 'both' since I was traveling solo), recorded the length of my stay, and entered an email address to receive my sleep report the next morning. I set up a silent alarm, too.
Next, I played around with the firmness settings, ultimately settling on medium-firm (80%). The bed takes up to 30 seconds to make adjustments, depending on how significant the change is. I couldn't hear it, though, because the mechanisms are very quiet.
The setup process is more involved for the home version and requires downloading the Bryte App. You'll have to provide more detailed information regarding your sleep preferences, which will allow the app to suggest a firmness setting that you can tweak as needed. (According to Bryte CEO Luke Kelly, about 85% of Bryte users choose to stick with the app's recommended comfort level.)
Bryte Balance Smart Bed: Support & comfort
- Micro-adjustments are made as you move throughout the night
- Fall asleep to soothing sounds and gentle massaging
- Wake up to a gradually-vibrating silent alarm
Before settling in for the night, I opened the Bryte App and selected one of its BryteWave audio tracks. The app features over 20 sound profiles, including guided meditations, nature sounds, and instrumentals.
Since I enjoy falling asleep to music, I donned my wireless earbuds and drifted off to Guitar Dreams. It was an immersive experience, with the air modules gently pulsating in sync with soft strumming from Gloria Mwarage. According to my sleep data, it was certainly effective, as I fell asleep in about 20 minutes.
What truly fascinated me was how much the Bryte Balance adjusted to my movements throughout the night. My Sleep Insights report revealed that there were 26 recalibrations to support my back and hips, nine adjustments for my shoulders and upper back, four for my head and neck, and five for my legs.
These adjustments happened so discreetly that I didn't notice – which I suppose is the goal. These minor shifts ensured I remained well supported all night without disruption. Despite not getting enough sleep that evening (my fault, due to the time I got into bed for the night), I still felt rested and pain-free come morning.
Such seamless transitions made the silent alarm more effective. When it was time to wake up, I could feel the air modules vibrating, which was a pleasant change from the blare of an alarm. It took me a moment to realize what was happening, but once I did, I appreciated the gentle nudge to get up rather than feeling tempted to hit 'snooze' repeatedly on my phone.
Bryte Balance Smart Bed: Performance
- Barely any movement transfer
- Sturdy edges for sitting and sleeping against
- Lacks internal temperature controls
Being the sleep nerd that I am, I wanted to see how well the Bryte Balance Smart Bed performed in other key areas according to our mattress methodology. Here's what went down...
Motion isolation
With dual-zoned air modules and a silent alarm, the Bryte Balance Smart Bed is made to be couple-friendly. Of course, I was still curious to test its motion isolation capabilities – but since I was traveling alone and didn’t have my usual weights with me, I improvised with two complimentary bottles of water from the hotel.
I kept one bottle upright while I tossed the other onto the bed at various distances and intensities. Regardless of how soft or firm I made the surface, the upright bottle barely wobbled, even when I jumped on the bed myself. (Yes, my job is fun!) Naturally, the firmer settings provided more stability, making the bottle less likely to move.
If you share a bed with a partner who fidgets a lot or operates on a different schedule than you do, you'll barely notice their movements with the Bryte Balance.
Edge support
I generally sit on the side of my bed when I get up in the morning, a habit from dealing with flare-ups of my lower back pain. To test the edge support of the Bryte Balance, I sat on the edge and the corner at its softest and firmest settings.
In both cases I felt steady – and although I sank deeper when the mattress was at its softest, it remained comfortable and supportive. This also bodes well for sleepers who like to sprawl out or tend to cozy up towards the edge during the night.
Temperature regulation
While the previous Bryte Restorative Bed featured built-in temperature controls, the Bryte Balance does not. Instead, it has cooling fibers woven into the cover.
Granted, I was sleeping in a climate-controlled hotel room with luxurious cotton sheets, but I didn’t wake up feeling overheated. However, the cooling fibers may not be enough for sleepers with regular hot flashes or night sweats.
If you want to enhance the Bryte Balance's cooling capabilities at home or don’t mind traveling with a smart bed cover, you could pair it with an Eight Sleep Pod – but that option will cost at least an extra $2,300 plus the monthly Eight Sleep subscription fee. Alternatively, you might want to try adding a Sleep Number DualTemp Layer to one-half of the bed, which costs less and doesn't feature any subscription fees.
Sleep tracking
The Bryte Balance Smart Bed has embedded sensors that monitor your heart rate, breathing rate, and movements. This data is delivered to the Bryte App each morning as part of its Sleep Insights.
Since I only had one night with the bed, I didn’t place much weight on these metrics aside from the frequency of mattress adjustments. I wear an Oura Ring and a Whoop Watch, so I was mainly curious to see if the readings aligned. Unsurprisingly, the wearables I've been wearing for months were more consistent. (That said, smart mattresses are generally more accurate than wearables for tracking sleep.)
For home use, the Bryte App offers more detailed sleep stats along with a Sleep Score and access to an AI-powered Sleep Concierge that helps users interpret their data and suggests ways to improve sleep quality. No subscription is required to access the app’s full features.
Bryte Balance Smart Bed: Final thoughts
I had lofty expectations for the Bryte Balance Smart Bed, and it met (or even exceeded) all of them. It's set the standard for every hotel mattress and smart bed I sleep on thereafter. The mechanisms operate smoothly and silently, while the gentle alarm is something I wish I could recreate on my home mattress.
My one reservation is the lack of active temperature controls, although there are workarounds if that's a priority for you. It also doesn't have a high weight limit with a total capacity of 600lbs (300lbs per side), so it may not be a suitable for heavier people. Check out our best mattress for heavier people guide if you want to find a more suitable option..
If you can't fathom dropping nearly seven thousand dollars on a mattress, you can plan sleep tourism trips around properties with a Bryte Balance Smart Bed. However, if you have the funds available in your FSA or HSA and qualify for a discount, the splurge could be worth it for a smart bed that gives you the comfort you need at all times.
And don't forget, up until December 2, there's $750 off all sizes of the Bryte Balance Smart Bed as part of the brand's Black Friday sale.
Where can you try the Bryte Balance Smart Bed?
If you want to try a Bryte smart bed before committing to a purchase, your best bet is to go on vacation first and visit a luxury property that has one on the premises.
As of writing, there are nearly 80 participating hotels and resorts across the United States and Canada that feature a Bryte Balance or Bryte Restore, including the Park Terrace on Bryant Park, Park Hyatt New York, Fairmont Toronto, Carillon Miami, and London West Hollywood.
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