Travel Tuesday: Fitnexa SomniPods 3 Review

A few years ago, I did something kind of crazy: I spent $250 on sleep earbuds that essentially just play white noise. This purchase was mostly fueled by a desire to sleep through thunder-filled, Midwest nights — but I quickly found that the Bose Sleepbuds I purchased were perfect for travel and have been on my packing list ever since. Unfortunately, the Sleepbuds were discontinued, and the app has now been removed from the App Store (although it’s still installed on my phone). That’s why I was excited when Fitnexa reached out regarding their SomniPods 3 sleep earbuds.

So, what do the SomniPods offer, and how do they compare to my beloved Bose? Let’s get into the details as well as my experience with them so far.

In the interest of transparency, please note that the Fitnexa SomniPods 3 were provided to me for the purpose of review. However, the opinions in this article are my own and there are no limitations on what I can say.

Fitnexa SomniPods 3: What You Need to Know

Pricing

On the Fitnexa website, the SomniPods retail for $189.99. Although as of this writing, they are on sale for $169.99 — and I’ve personally seen them as low as $159.99. They also offer a Sleep Pack that includes an eye mask or you can select a Couple Pack, featuring two sets of earbuds at a discounted price.

While the earbuds include all of the main features, Fitnexa also offers a Plus subscription. This membership includes several AI-powered features, such as sleep insights and recommendations. Admittedly, I didn’t really bother checking those out. However, where the subscription came into play for me was in terms of access to sounds. Regular users can access a decent number of Sleep Library sounds, but several are exclusive to paid members. When looking at the library, you’ll notice an icon in the upper right for sounds that are paywalled.

You can currently add a 1-year Plus subscription for $49.99 at the time of your Somnipods purchase. But, if you want to sign up in the app, you’ll have the option to do a $2.99 per week or $9.99 per month plan.

The Earbuds and Case

Since the Fitnexa Somnipods 3 are made for sleeping, they are remarkably small and low-profile. They also utilize two types of silicon tips: one that wraps around the bulb of the earbud and then a separate tip. Fitnexa also sends along plenty of extras of both, including alternative sizes, so you can find the ones that work best for you.

Despite their small size, the Somnipods manage to fit in touch controls. You can tap twice or three times to perform such activities as switching modes, adjusting the volume, advancing the track, and more. What’s nice is that you can customize these controls in the Fitnexa app, selecting two commands (triggered by a double or triple tap) for each earbud.

As for the case, I was honestly surprised by how small it was. I also love that it supports wireless charging in addition to having a USB-C charging port. Plus, the earbuds have small magnets on the bottom, which help ensure that they stay put and charge properly.

Listening Modes

The Somnipods offer a few different modes you can use as you see fit. First, you can use the Somnipods as you would any other Bluetooth earbuds, meaning you can stream any audio from your phone. Building on top of that, you can select an option to have the Fitnexas sense when you fall asleep and automatically switch over from Bluetooth to Sleep Mode.

Another option is to create a custom Sleep Mix. In the Fitnexa app, you’ll find a variety of sleep sounds, including cityscapes, nature sounds, color noises, and more. You can select one of these to listen to — or you can layer them into a mix, and even adjust the volume of each. Additionally, you can either set a timer to have the sounds stop playing or keep them going all night long.

Also of note, the Somnipods offer active noise cancellation. This feature can be toggled on in any mode. However, be aware that doing so can reduce the battery life of the earbuds, so you may want to limit usage.

My Experience So Far

In the time that I’ve had and used the Fitnexa Somnipods 3, I’ve come across some pros and cons.

Starting with the good, I do appreciate how small the charging case is and do find the earbuds themselves to be comfortable. Moreover, I love the customizable tap controls — mainly because it means that I can adjust the volume without having to grab my phone again. On that note, though, I’ve also been impressed that, despite sleeping on my side, I have yet to accidentally trigger a touch control when I didn’t mean to. Considering that was a concern for me before trying them, I’m glad to see my worries weren’t founded.

Another positive is that the Somnipods can stream anything via Bluetooth. That’s great for those who may want to fall asleep to a podcast or audiobook. This is also where the ability to auto-detect when you fall asleep could come in clutch. Meanwhile, the idea of making a sleep sound mix is clever and I’ve had fun exploring that feature.

Turning to the downsides, my biggest disappointment is with Sleep Mode. I was excited about the prospect of having on-bud sounds that I could access without needing my phone. That’s why I’m so sad to report that the noises included in Sleep Mode are short and don’t loop well. Instead, there are frequent pauses in the audio, which make them next to useless for me.

Similarly, I have noticed some slight volume issues with some of the Sleep Mix sounds. In this case, however, the imperfections are less pronounced when the sounds are layered into a mix.

Of course, a good workaround is that I can use the Somnipods to stream a white noise playlist on Spotify. Still, this does mean having to use my phone, which isn’t very convenient if I’m looking to put in my earbuds in the middle of the night. Then again, if I use the Somnipods all night, then this is less of a problem — and perhaps I’m an edge case.

With all of that taken into account, I do like the Somnipods overall and think there are some really interesting ideas presented. But, I wish they’d focus more on the basics, like having a quality sleep sound library. With a few fixes, I think they could be great.

Fitnexa Somnipods 3 vs Sleepbuds

Lastly, I want to do some specific comparisons between the Fitnexa Somnipods 3, the Bose Sleepbuds II, and the Ozlo Sleepbuds — although I don’t actually have the lattermost option at this time.

First, even if the Fitnexa case isn’t quite as cool as the Bose one, it is smaller. I assume this is true of the Ozlos as well. Plus, my Somnipods case holds a charge well, whereas I often need to “jump start” my Sleepbuds if it’s been a few days since I last used them. Once again, I also appreciate the wireless charging capabilities of the Fitnexa case.

Next, as someone who is a big fan of the Bose wingtip design, I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about the Somnipods’ design. Luckily, I find them to be quite comfortable. In fact, I’ve had no issues with them, even as someone who sleeps on his side. Do I still like the Bose buds better? Maybe just a tad, but I have no good reason for that.

One area where the Bose definitely will out is with the sleep sounds available. As I mentioned in the above section, I have had some issues with the Fitnexa sleep sounds library — not to mention the fact that several are paywalled. Although I do like the Sleep Mix concept of the Fitnexas, I think Bose’s base sounds are just better overall. Also, Bose’s on-bud sounds are continuous, whereas the Somnipods’ ones are distractingly short.

Something I should note is that, although my Bose Sleepbuds only offered sounds via the Bose app, the Ozlo Sleepbuds do allow you to stream anything just like the Somnipods do. However, one feature exclusive to the Fitnexas is active noise cancellation, since the Sleepbuds offer just passive noise cancellation and sound masking.

Lastly, let’s talk price. When I bought my Bose Sleepbuds II, they were $250. Meanwhile, the Ozlos retail for $350 (but have recently been on sale for $250). Therefore, if you can get the Fitnexa Somnipods for around $170 on sale, you could be saving $90 to $190 when compared to Ozlo. That’s quite significant, so I could see why some — especially those who have never purchased sleep earbuds before — might choose the Fitnexas over the competition.

Final Thoughts on the Fitnexa SomniPods 3

All things considered, I found the Fitnexa Somnipods 3s to be a mixed bag. For those coming to the Somnipods from the Bose Sleepbuds, like I was, I think the sleep sound library will be disappointing. That’s especially true of the Sleep Mode.

On the other hand, I imagine that most people buying the Somnipods will simply want to stream their own audio content — which, by the way, is something the Bose Sleepbuds couldn’t do (although the Ozlos do). For those people, the issues I have with the sleep sounds would be moot. Plus, with the Fitnexas, you get ANC, touch controls, and other features that I think are quite useful as well as a small, packable case perfect for travel.

So, while I may have some gripes overall, I do think that the savings offered by the Fitnexa Somipods 3 make them worthwhile. Therefore, even if I might pick a different sleep earbud if given the choice, these would definitely still qualify as a travel essential.