As rumored, Apple has added a sleep apnea detection feature to the Apple Watch Series 10, as well as the Apple Watch Ultra 2 and Apple Watch Series 9. While sleep apnea, a condition characterized by interruptions in breathing during the night, could be detected using the blood oxygen sensor, Apple took a different approach. Instead, Apple developed a method that uses the Apple Watch’s built-in accelerometer to track subtle movements during sleep that indicate interruptions in breathing.
An original technique for detecting sleep apnea
Part of iOS 18’s Health bundle and called “Breathing Disturbances,” the feature detects small wrist movements that occur when a person experiences breathing irregularities during the night. These disturbances can signal potential cases of sleep apnea. For 30 days, Apple Watch collects data on these movements and analyzes it to determine if there are regular patterns that suggest moderate to severe apnea. Once enough data is collected, users will receive a notification in the Health app, where the results will be categorized as “Elevated” or “Not Elevated.” These results can be shared with a healthcare professional for a medical diagnosis.
While it takes 30 days of data collection to generate sleep apnea notifications, users can already get nightly insights into their overall sleep quality through the Health app. This feature provides insight into sleep quality based on breathing disorders. Factors such as alcohol consumption, medications, and sleeping position can also affect these patterns, helping users understand how their lifestyle impacts their sleep.
Sleep apnea is a serious condition that causes breathing to temporarily stop, preventing the body from getting enough oxygen and often waking the person up. Apple estimates that more than a billion people worldwide may be affected by this condition, making this feature a major step forward for public health.
This detection was developed using advanced machine learning models, based on clinical sleep apnea detection tests, and validated in a clinical study. According to Apple, all participants identified by the algorithm had at least mild sleep apnea.
Apple expects this apnea detection feature to receive approval from health authorities, such as the FDA in the United States or the European Medicines Agency in our country, and for it to be available in more than 150 countries by the end of the month. And for once, Apple has added this new feature retroactively to last year’s models, such as the Series 9 and Ultra 2, in addition to the new Apple Watch 10. Bravo.