Forget expensive sleepbuds. Buy this pillow instead
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- Thomas Ricker of The Verge recommends Blissbury's $55 Ear Pillow as a cheaper alternative to $200+ sleepbuds like Anker's Soundcore Sleep A30 for side-sleepers who already own earbuds such as AirPods Pro, Galaxy Buds, or Pixel Buds
- The Blissbury Ear Pillow features two ear cutouts originally meant to suspend freshly pierced ears, with the cutouts falling just below the pillow's centerline so they align naturally with the ears when tucked against the shoulder
- The memory foam Ear Pillow has adjustable thickness between 4 and 5 inches via a removable insert, a removable washable cover, dimensions of 26 x 15 inches (slightly narrower than a US Standard pillow), and ships with foam fillers for the earholes
- Ricker used Anker's Soundcore Sleep A30 sleepbuds for nearly a year and concluded that software updates can't overcome the inherent limits of miniature drivers and batteries
- The Soundcore Sleep A30 still wins on masking snoring — Ricker found its algorithms effective at canceling light to moderate snoring, something the pillow can't replicate
Why it matters: After a week testing the Blissbury pillow, Ricker said he felt 'silly' spending 4x the amount on sleepbuds he considers inferior to the AirPods Pro he already owned. For side-sleepers with existing earbuds, a $55 accessory designed for an unrelated purpose appears to deliver a comparable experience without the battery degradation, Bluetooth dropout issues, and multi-year replacement cycle of dedicated sleepbuds.
