The New Purple Mattress makes some pretty bold claims about comfort, durability, and a superior performance to every other type of mattress. It's quite a lot to take on (we're talking the entire mattress market, more or less), and we're particularly impressed by the confidence with which Purple are claiming their mattresses are better than memory foam. In fact, they're claiming their mattress is the only true innovation in mattress technology in the last 40 years. How do they work, and should you believe the hype?

At the heart of the innovative technology powering the New Purple Mattress is a top layer called the Smart Comfort Grid, which is made from a hyper-elastic polyethylene copolymer.

It really does look like a grid (see below – that's an egg nestling in the middle, in case you wondered), and more than a little like one of those flexible ice cube trays you'd put in your freezer. The way this grid works to support your body at night is completely different from the way memory foam works (there's plenty of testing and patenting that's been done to prove this).

(Image credit: New Purple Mattress)

Firstly, rather than sinking under your weight, the grid flexes underneath your body, ensuring that it responds only to the points that require pressure relief. As a result, there's no motion transfer at all: the other areas of the grid remain flat. It's also completely temperature neutral, which means it will keep you cooler than foam. Moreover, the company say that this material is much, much more durable than latex, which begins degrading from wear and tear after a few years.

Besides the science, there are loads of positive reviews from happy customers, praising not only the quality of the mattress, but also Purple's impeccable customer service. Sound tempting? The New Purple Mattress starts at $1299, but we'd love to hear from you if you've tried one (we've yet to get our hands on one for testing as our tester is UK based and this is currently a US-only buy). Is the New Purple mattress as good as the hype says? Let us know.