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

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 Forum: Apple Watch

Popular Stories

streaming black friday 2025

Black Friday Streaming Deals Include Big Savings on Disney+, Hulu, Apple TV, and More

Monday November 24, 2025 8:03 am PST by
We've been focusing on deals on physical products over the past few weeks, but Black Friday is also a great time of year to purchase a streaming membership. Some of the biggest services have great discounts for new and select returning members this week, including Disney+, Hulu, Paramount+, Peacock, and more. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a...
iOS 26

iOS 26.2 Adds These New Features to Your iPhone

Thursday November 20, 2025 10:50 am PST by
iOS 26.2 is currently in beta testing. The upcoming update includes a handful of new features and changes on the iPhone, including a new Liquid Glass slider for the Lock Screen's clock, offline lyrics for Apple Music, and more. In a recent press release, Apple confirmed that iOS 26.2 will be released to all users in December, but it did not provide a specific release date. Keep reading...
iOS 26 on Three iPhones

iOS 27 Will Reportedly Have Two Key Upgrades

Sunday November 23, 2025 8:48 am PST by
iOS 27 will reportedly have two major elements: quality improvements and new AI features. In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that iOS 27 will be similar to Mac OS X Snow Leopard, in the sense that Apple is focused on improving "quality and underlying performance" over adding new features. Gurman said there is one exception to this rule, though, as he expects...
maxresdefault

The MacRumors Show: iPhone 18 Pro Looks Like a Huge Upgrade

Friday November 21, 2025 9:10 am PST by
On this week's episode of The MacRumors Show, we talk through all of the new features and improvements expected to come to next year's iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max models. Subscribe to The MacRumors Show YouTube channel for more videos Apple's next-generation iPhones are less than ten months away and we already have a good idea about what to expect based on corroborated leaks, rumors,...
General Black Friday Deals 25 Red

Apple Black Friday Deals Available Now on AirPods, iPads, Accessories, and More

Friday November 21, 2025 8:48 am PST by
We're only a few days away from Black Friday, which will take place on Friday, November 28 in 2025. As always, this will be the best time of the year to shop for great deals, including popular Apple products like AirPods, iPad, Apple Watch, and more. In this article, the majority of the discounts will be found on Amazon. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When...
Apple Shopping Event 2025

Apple Announces 2025 Black Friday Event, Here's What You Can Get

Thursday November 20, 2025 6:28 am PST by
Apple's annual four-day Black Friday through Cyber Monday shopping event is returning on Friday, November 28 through Monday, December 1 in many countries, including the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden, Thailand, and others. During the shopping event, customers can get an Apple gift card with...
hikawa phone grip stand apple%402x

Apple Launches Second Limited-Edition iPhone Accessory in a Month

Friday November 21, 2025 3:53 am PST by
Apple has begun selling the Hikawa Phone Grip and Stand, a new limited-edition iPhone accessory designed with accessibility in mind. Designed by LA-based Bailey Hikawa to celebrate the 40th anniversary of accessibility at Apple, the grip uses magnets to securely snap onto any iPhone with MagSafe. Apple says it can be removed with ease, and doubles as a stand with two different viewing...
Apple Foldable Thumb

Foldable iPhone to Debut These Two Breakthrough Features

Wednesday November 19, 2025 7:26 am PST by
Apple's first foldable iPhone is expected to launch alongside the iPhone 18 Pro models in fall 2026, and it's shaping up to include two standout features that could set it apart from the competition. The book-style foldable will reportedly feature an industry-first 24-megapixel under-display camera built into the inner display, according to a recent JP Morgan equity research report. That...
apple news banner

Apple News Loses CNN

Monday November 24, 2025 7:56 am PST by
American multinational news company CNN has abruptly pulled its content from Apple News, Semafor reports. CNN quietly removed its stories from Apple News over the weekend and there is no longer a feed from the network to subscribe to in the app. This effectively ends its distribution agreement with Apple while the two sides negotiate new terms. Discussions are apparently ongoing and CNN's...

Top Rated Comments

ericg301 Avatar
12 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)
Ash Pole Avatar
12 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)
SFjohn Avatar
12 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
12 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
12 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
12 months ago

Hang in there with the CPAP machine. I didn’t like mine at first; I doubt anyone does. But the health benefits are enormous. It’s worth it.

I barely notice it now.
I was doing really well the first year. Once December rolled around my mental health tanked and I started struggling with my CPAP. I’m trying harder now to start using it again. I’m scared of the consequences of not using it, so I’m making an effort to using it every night again.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)