Apple WatchOS 11 Adds Sleep Apnea Detection: Here's How It Works

The new Apple Watch 10's big screen was the most dramatic new Apple Watch hardware upgrade at this year's annual iPhone launch event, but a new sleep apnea detection feature might be the most valuable addition. And it's not just for the latest and greatest Apple Watch; the new feature will work on existing Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 models as well via WatchOS 11. Now that the apnea detection feature has FDA approval, you'll be able to try it out for yourself. 

The sleep apnea detection feature uses the accelerometer to detect breathing interruptions at night, and will deliver the possible interruption results as watch notifications. The new feature is should be coming to 150 countries this month.

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Apple's move in sleep apnea mirrors Samsung, which already has its own apnea detection feature for its watches.

Not needing a new watch to diagnose possible sleep apnea is a pleasant plus, although I'm also curious how helpful and accurate the feature will be. As someone with sleep apnea who also uses a CPAP, I had to get a sleep study to determine the severity of my own apnea along with a pulmonologist. Apple's detection feature looks like a way to prod someone who might not have thought about apnea to go see a sleep doctor (I did it because of my high blood pressure). Apnea's not always a symptom you know you have, but it does require wearing the Apple Watch to bed -- something I don't often do, and many others don't either.

Still, it's one of the biggest new health features Apple has debuted in a while, and it could be just as impactful as atrial fibrillation and high heart rate notifications, but for a different class of medical concern. Stay tuned for CNET's deeper review and testing of the sleep apnea feature in the future.

For more, read up on everything your sleep tracker can reveal about your health and whether your smartwatch is as good as an at-home sleep test. 

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