Apple Watch Series 6 to Feature Blood Oxygen Monitoring Sensor

The Apple Watch Series 6 will add blood oxygen monitoring to its features list when it's launched later this year, according to a new report from DigiTimes.

applewatchs5designheartrate

Apple Watch 6 will feature biosensors that can monitor sleeping conditions, detect blood oxygen and measure pulse rates, heartbeats and atrial fibrillation, and will also incorporate MEMS-based accelerometer and gyroscope, all allowing the new device to continue to lead in measurement precision among wearable devices, the sources said.

The Taiwan-based website's sources say that the next-generation Apple Watch has undergone "smooth development" thanks to close collaboration between Apple and Taiwanese company ASE Technology, which has obtained major backend orders for the device.

Leaked code found in iOS 14 has previously suggested Apple is working on an Apple Watch that can detect blood oxygen levels.

Based on the discovered code, Apple will provide notifications when blood oxygen levels drop below a healthy threshold, which is right around 95 to 100 percent saturation. A drop in blood oxygen level can suggest a serious respiratory or cardiac problem.

It was not clear from the code if the feature would be limited to new Apple Watch Series 6 devices or if it would come as a software update in watchOS 7, but today's report suggests it may be exclusive to the Series 6.

When the original ‌‌Apple Watch‌‌ was released back in 2015, iFixit actually discovered that Apple's heart sensors have the capability to monitor blood oxygen levels, but Apple has never activated it.

Other smartwatch and fitness tracker makers including Google-owned Fitbit already offer blood oxygen monitoring features in some of their wearable devices, so Apple is playing catch-up in the area, but that could mean the company has a more advanced implementation of the feature in the works.

Apple Watch Series 6 models, which are in development for a fall launch, are rumored to feature faster performance, better water resistance and improved wireless transmission for faster Wi-Fi and cellular speeds.

These improvements will be made in part through a rumored swap to liquid crystal polymer or LCP material for the flexible circuit boards expected to be included in the Apple Watch Series 6, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

Related Roundup: Apple Watch 10
Buyer's Guide: Apple Watch (Buy Now)

Popular Stories

best buy holiday

Best Buy Reveals Black Friday Plans With Sitewide Sales Available Now

Friday November 8, 2024 10:05 am PST by
Black Friday sales are continuing today with Best Buy kicking off early Black Friday deals that will last for the next few days. Similar to other retailers, Best Buy's early Black Friday event includes sitewide savings on Apple products, headphones, TVs, monitors, video games, and more. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Best Buy. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may...
mac mini thermal architecture feature

New Mac Mini Has Modular Storage, 256GB Model Will Have Faster SSD

Friday November 8, 2024 7:06 am PST by
Apple has returned to using two 128GB storage chips in the new Mac mini with 256GB of storage, according to a partial teardown video shared on social media today. This means the base-model Mac mini with the M4 chip will not have significantly slower SSD speeds compared to higher-end configurations of the computer with 512GB, 1TB, or 2TB of storage, as multiple NAND chips allows for faster SSD...
iphone passcode green

Cops Suspect iOS 18 iPhones Are Communicating to Force Reboots, Making Unlocking Harder

Thursday November 7, 2024 2:20 pm PST by
Law enforcement officials in Detroit, Michigan are warning other police officers about an alleged iPhone change that causes Apple devices stored for forensic examination to spontaneously restart, reports 404 Media. iPhones that are undergoing examination have apparently been rebooting, which makes them harder to unlock with brute force methods, and Michigan police think that it's due to a...
Generic iOS 18

Everything New in iOS 18.2 Beta 2

Monday November 4, 2024 12:34 pm PST by
Apple today seeded the second betas of upcoming iOS 18.2 and iPadOS 18.2 updates to developers, and Apple is continuing to refine the Apple Intelligence capabilities. There are also a handful of smaller features that are worth knowing about. Find My Find My has a new option to Share Item Location with an "airline or trusted person" that can help you locate something that you've misplaced....
maxresdefault

Hands On With Apple's New M4 Mac Mini

Friday November 8, 2024 12:21 pm PST by
Apple launched the new Mac mini, iMac, and MacBook Pro models with M4 chips today, and because the Mac mini is the only one of the machines that got a design update, we thought we'd check it out to see how it compares to the prior version. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. The 2024 version of the Mac mini is much smaller than the previous M2 model, so it takes up...
High Power Mode Feature 2

Apple Expands High Power Mode to MacBook Pro and Mac Mini Models With M4 Pro Chip

Thursday November 7, 2024 12:15 pm PST by
High Power Mode is available on the 14-inch MacBook Pro, 16-inch MacBook Pro, and Mac mini models with the M4 Pro chip, according to Ars Technica's Andrew Cunningham. The feature was previously limited to Macs with Apple's highest-end "Max" chip, so this is the first time it is available on Macs with a "Pro" chip. This is the second time that Apple has expanded availability of High Power...
next generation carplay multi display

Here's the Latest on Next-Generation CarPlay After 2.5 Years of Waiting

Wednesday November 6, 2024 8:33 am PST by
It has been nearly two and a half years since Apple first previewed next-generation CarPlay at WWDC 2022, and it has still yet to become available in any vehicles. Below, we recap the latest information about next-generation CarPlay. Launch Timing Apple's website continues to say that the first vehicles with next-generation CarPlay support will "arrive in 2024," but it has yet to provide ...
Apple MacBook Pro M4 hero

Skipping the New MacBook Pro? Here Are the Rumors About M5 Models

Friday November 8, 2024 9:35 am PST by
The new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with M4, M4 Pro, and M4 Max chips launched in stores today. If you are not planning to upgrade this year, be aware that there are already rumors about next year's MacBook Pro models with M5 series chips. It appears the MacBook Pro will remain on an annual upgrade cycle next year. Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo today said camera module...

Top Rated Comments

smythey Avatar
56 months ago
This addition is quite a big deal, especially in the context of COVID. A good Sp02 monitor costs around half the price of an Apple watch itself.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
johannnn Avatar
56 months ago

Wait, does that mean sleep monitoring feature will be removed from all apple watches except series 6?
No? The article doesn't state that.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bryn0076 Avatar
56 months ago
I'll bet 2 coffees that it won't launch in Australia !
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Dulcimer Avatar
56 months ago

Wait, does that mean sleep monitoring feature will be removed from all apple watches except series 6?
My guess is that basic sleep tracking functionality will be provided in all watchOS 7 AWs but the AW6 will probably support some advanced sleep tracking as a headline feature. Specifically:

* Use of the new blood oxygen sensor to do a simple form of sleep apnea tracking (akin to the simple EKG feature in AW4/5).
* Dedicated circuitry to ensure low-power modes of heartbeat/other sensors during sleep mode, which enables better data collection for advanced sleep tracking.
* Faster charging to make morning top-offs quick while getting ready for the day ahead.
* Apple will probably tout their magic algorithms developed by their health team to be best-in-industry.


These are just guesses because otherwise I don’t really know what else AW6 could offer other than standard speed and battery improvements. AW5 was already a sleeper update. Two years like that would be disappointing.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ChromeCloud Avatar
56 months ago
I'm also hoping for the integration of the U1 Ultra Wideband chip found in the iPhone 11.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
michiemme Avatar
56 months ago
Thanks Apple... you're giving me a reason to spend (once more) some money...
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)