Apple Watch's Sleep Apnea Feature Continues to Roll Out Around World - MacRumors
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Apple Watch's Sleep Apnea Feature Continues to Roll Out Around World

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Apple this month received approval to launch the Apple Watch's sleep apnea notifications feature in Malaysia, as noted by local resident Xavier Naxa. It is unclear when the feature will actually become available in the country.

sleep apnea detection apple watch
This development comes less than a month after the feature became available in Brazil, as part of Apple's efforts to roll it out globally. As of September, the notifications were already available in more than 150 countries and territories.

Sleep apnea is a potentially serious disorder in which a person's breathing repeatedly stops and starts while they sleep. The built-in accelerometer on the Apple Watch Series 10, Apple Watch Series 9, and Apple Watch Ultra 2 running watchOS 11 can "monitor small movements at the wrist" that may be associated with breathing disturbances, and notify you if you show consistent signs of moderate to severe sleep apnea.

Apple says the feature was developed using "advanced machine learning" and an "extensive data set of clinical-grade sleep apnea tests," and then validated in a clinical study. It is designed for use by adults without a prior sleep apnea diagnosis.

A log of nightly breathing disturbances can be viewed in the Health app on the iPhone, with each disturbance classified as "elevated" or "not elevated."

Related Roundups: Apple Watch 11, Apple Watch Ultra 3
Buyer's Guide: Apple Watch (Neutral), Apple Watch Ultra (Neutral)
Related Forum: Apple Watch

Top Rated Comments

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Ash Pole
17 months ago
Still waiting for the Oxygen sensor to be re-enabled. Im not buy another watch till they do.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ericg301 Avatar
ericg301
17 months ago
I was recently diagnosed with apnea via an at-home sleep study and yet my Apple Watch has to detect any disturbances. So clearly, it's not perfect.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
SFjohn Avatar
SFjohn
17 months ago

Anybody that snores has Apnea to some degree.
That’s not really true, many people snore with no stops in their breathing. When a person is snoring & their breathing stops for a little while & is followed by a bigger snore or a gasp for air… that is classic sleep apnea. I was once told that sleep apnea affects roughly 40% of men over 40.

If you have a home test that tells you that you are having apneas, I would strongly suggest you get an overnight test in a professional sleep clinic. I found out in addition to sleep apnea, I also have periodic leg movements (it’s similar to restless leg syndrome but without feeling ants crawling on my skin). I know periodic leg movement doesn’t sound bad, but in reality I’m playing soccer in my sleep. After getting treated for both I started feeling better in a month or so. I’d not really been sleeping for over a decade. 💤
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Momof2.1107 Avatar
Momof2.1107
17 months ago

Is this detection only for the Applewatch 10 or does this also work on earlier versions? Hope applewatch 11 will have at least a 24 hour battery capacity.
The S9 and Ultra 2 also work with it.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Momof2.1107 Avatar
Momof2.1107
17 months ago

Have you checked into inspire? I got denied by the sleep doctor for smoking medical weed.
I looked into it, but don’t want anything implanted under my skin, so I’ll deal with the CPAP machine. I am going to ask for another sleep study and see if I still have sleep apnea, since I lost 47lbs in a year. I’m hoping that has helped.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Momof2.1107 Avatar
Momof2.1107
17 months ago

It normally takes people years to find out they have sleep apnea. If you're in a particular hurry maybe go see a doctor.
It took me a year to find out I had sleep apnea because I never paid attention to the signs. I had a traumatic accident with some symptoms that prompted my pcp to have a sleep study done and I was diagnosed then. I would’ve never asked for a sleep study if not for that accident.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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