ONE OF MY pet peeves as a professional mattress tester of more than six years is seeing the names “adjustable mattress,” “adjustable frame,” and “smart bed” used interchangeably. While they are related products that can rely on each other to maximize performance and your overall sleep experience, each offers distinct qualities. It doesn't help that these products consistently appear in the same search results for one another, often labeled interchangeably by the manufacturers. When that happens, of course, they will get mixed up. To make matters worse, you may think you have everything you need at checkout, only to find you're adding an extra product you didn't plan for.
It’s time to set the record straight and adjust your understanding of all things adjustable mattresses. Under my wing you go to begin this journey.
Updated March 2026: I've reworked this story to include information on smart beds, as well as a model I recommend.
What is an adjustable mattress? Simply put, it's designed to let users adjust how soft or firm they want their bed to be. Adjustable mattresses don’t follow the same layout as a normal mattress, because they involve internal air chambers or coil-adjusting mechanisms that help you accomplish the firmness you’re seeking. While a glorified air mattress may come to mind (and, arguably, that is basically what it is for many adjustable mattresses), there is a lot to the material makeup here. To pump up these air chambers, a lot of automation tech and tubing are involved. Hence, they aren’t budget buys.
