As part of its September ‘Glowtime’ event taking place on Monday, Apple will update all of its Apple Watch models, including the low-end Apple Watch SE, the mainstream Apple Watch Series 10 and the high-end Apple Watch Ultra 3.
While much attention will be on the Series 10’s redesigned thinner chassis and larger display, Bloomberg reports the other major new feature for the watches will be sleep apnea detection.
Sleep apnea detection for the Watch has been rumored to be in development for a while, but it wasn’t clear whether Apple was ready to release the feature this year.
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman today reports confidently that it will make the cut, probably as a headline feature for both the Series 10 and Ultra 3. The watch would be able to detect whether a user has sleep apnea, and then recommend them consult with a doctor for more assistance.
This is similar to how the watch can already prompt the user with alerts about irregular heart rate, low heart rate, low blood oxygen, and other health conditions.
Gurman says that while Apple is set to announce the feature on Monday, it may not actually be available immediately when the new products go on sale; although new hardware is required, the enabling of the functionality would come as part of a future watchOS software update, suggesting Apple is still doing last-minute work on the feature.
The sleep apnea feature is likely related to the new Vitals app in watchOS 11, which tracks a variety of body health metrics while the user sleeps.
Back in 2022, Bloomberg reported that Apple was also working on high blood pressure detection for the Apple Watch “as early as 2024”. Today, Gurman says that feature continues to be delayed and will not be ready for the Series 10 watch cycle.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
