Apple Watch Executive Kevin Lynch Discusses New Sleep Tracking and Hand Washing Features

[SAIRUS]

I plan on coding an Apple Watch app that tracks users that don’t wash their hands when they go into a bathroom.
Then the power of AR will face track and say “dirty”

 

[Tech198]

I'd be more worried of being forgetful and letting tech control what i do.

 

[vinnie1023]

I tend to be something of a pathological rule-follower, so hand washing is one of those things that I have never, ever considered not doing after going to the bathroom, handling meat, etc. It is as automatic as putting my seat belt on when I get into a car.

A few years ago, I read an article in the New York Times about how you're actually supposed to wash your hands, with suggested motions to go through in order to clean your hands better and actively work through the required 20 seconds. I adhered to that for a while, but found myself abbreviating steps and motions to speed things along. Once the pandemic hit, I reinstituted the whole routine and have tried to keep it up as the months have dragged on.

So, I am not the exact target market for the AW hand washing feature, being that I know what I'm supposed to do and for how long, but I can still benefit from its feedback and reminders, and if I don't like it, I can always turn it off. I don't really see the downside.

 

[nickgovier]

.

 

[Robert.Walter]

Nice features but I want a pulse oximetry feature. Until then I’m happy with my old watch.

 

[JosephAW]

Still using my Samsung Galaxy Fit with iOS on my iPhone 11. Been tracking my sleep for almost a year. Works pretty good. Sometimes records nothing or stops in the morning.

 

[xyz01]

I've waking to the vibration alarm for years, it is the best way to wake up.

I've missed vibration alarms since I moved from my Polar fitness watch to Apple watch. When I want to wake up extra early - e.g. to do a morning run before work - this is far, far less disturbing for my wife than an iPhone alarm.

 

[Morgenland]

Next: brushing your teeth detection

There are enough people who still do this with an app. Actually, I really think Watch-enhanced is a good idea!

 

[Thrutheroofnunderground]

Highly recommend Sleep++. I've used it for a year now, and it so accurate. So disappointed with Apple's iOS 14 Sleep feature.

I mostly just hope battery life is improved on AW6 because they're trying sleep tracking. Then at leas their is some benefit.

 

[spazzcat]

I use pillow right now as well but really how accurate are the REM vs Deep vs Light sleep readings? How can pillow figure that out from your watch?

Here is a hint, they can't its just a guess based on some magical algorithm they created.

 

[smallcoffee]

i turned it off in the settings because it kept on turning on while I was riding my bike

Cool. Thanks for that confirmation.

 

[RalfTheDog]

Highly recommend Sleep++. I've used it for a year now, and it so accurate. So disappointed with Apple's iOS 14 Sleep feature.

Object oriented sleep with classes and methods?

Or... what about when you're doing that... other thing... You know... 😇 I guess I'd better make sure my watch is on the other wrist, then.

You are holding it wrong.

Completely agree. I shudder when I see people in bathrooms who basically wet their fingertips and then leave - like they‘re ceremonially dipping them in holy water or something. And, yeah, food prep workers are pretty much one step behind healthcare workers in terms of how scrupulously clean their hands need to be, because they both have the potential to bring harm to many other people, if they're careless about this.

Me, I just developed an enjoyment for the ritual somewhere along the way. The warm water and bubbles. It can be relaxing if you let it, as well as keeping you and others safe.

I look forward to the new feature, if it can trigger fast enough - if it takes a minute for it to figure out that you’re washing your hands, it won’t be practical to use - if it’s fast and accurate, it’ll be helpful, by doing the counting for me.

COVID is not spread by touch. It is spread by water droplets in the air. Public bathrooms are probably the most dangerous place you can be right now. The important thing is to get out as quickly as you can. Washing your hands for 20 seconds could kill you.

 

[Juuro]

Can I turn off the hand washing feature?

In fact you have to turn it on to get it working in the first place.

If you leave the water running and brush your teeth the watch thinks you are washing your hands. I reported it as a bug in the beta but it’s prompted me to keep the tap off completely whilst brushing.

And that is a great advise! Why would you keep the water running for three minutes? 😳

"Years of work" to teach people how to wash their hands? My mother did that in 1 minute when I was a toddler. I learned and followed since.

But your mother is pobably a little bit more complex than an Apple S5 chip.

It’s very effective. I’d rather wake up to a gentle vibration than a blaring alarm.

I completely agree with that! ☺️

 

[CarlJ]

COVID is not spread by touch. It is spread by water droplets in the air. Public bathrooms are probably the most dangerous place you can be right now. The important thing is to get out as quickly as you can. Washing your hands for 20 seconds could kill you.

COVID is spread primarily by aerosolized droplets. I’ve not seen any studies which rule out transmission by touch (do you have links to any). Hand washing protects against a huge number of different diseases, which are borne by touch (which is what we were discussing). COVID isn’t the only reason to wash your hands (I didn’t just start paying attention to proper hand washing technique at the start of the current crisis). Also, not washing your hands properly is just gross. And I haven’t been in a public restroom in 3 months. I avoid aerosolized/droplet transmission by not being around other humans, including in restrooms.

 

[fhopper]

I have been an Apple Fan Boy since '86. I wear a Garmin VivoSmart 3 because the Apple Watch is an affectation for elites with low self esteem. My Garmin is a better product in almost every way. This sleep tracking issue is is the biggest failing of Apple. It never occurred to them that people would actually wear a watch as a watch instead of as a piece of jewelry in which charging over night was part and parcel. This announcement simply continues to prove Apple does not know how to put a 3 day battery in the Apple Watch even thought Fit Bit, Garmin and a slew of Chinese copies can do with no issue. Apple is just trying to spin their failure.

 

[C DM]

Apple is just trying to spin their failure.

I wonder how many would love to fail like Apple has.

 

[EvilMonk]

So anyone want to talk about that hand washing feature that seem pretty useless to me unless Apple change the way they do business and handle their warranties? I had to fight them to have my series 0 and 1 watches replaced while still under warranty (and I never had them under water, I always remove them to wash my hands)
I do 5 km runs everyday and use my watch to keep track of my routes and burnt calories... the only water that could have got in the watches is condensation... I got them both replaced after explaining to them in details what I do (both times, years apart) going up through half a dozen supervisors... this isn’t an isolated case for sure... just makes me worry for my series 5...

 

[tivoboy]

This is the dumbest and weakest implementation of sleep tracking of nearly any tracker, fitbit, oura, polar, other sleep trackers. I mean they bought beddit three+ years ago, shouldn't they have learned a bit more about elements like movement, hearrate, respiration, galvanic skin response to be able to put together better ACTUAL during sleep analysis. I mean pair the damb beddit thing WITH the apple watch and add a tiny bit more granular measurement and come in the to 2020's

 

[chucker23n1]

COVID is not spread by touch.

Yes it is.

It is spread by water droplets in the air.

Primarily, sure.

Public bathrooms are probably the most dangerous place you can be right now. The important thing is to get out as quickly as you can. Washing your hands for 20 seconds could kill you.

Sounds like you're trying to rationalize bad behavior.

 

[xyz01]

There's always something for next year, or the year after.

I'm only on watchOS 4 (because of my S0), but my understanding is the "Smart Move" goal is still pretty basic: it looks at an average or trend over the past week or two, then suggests raising the goal slightly. It doesn't actually look at what kinds of workouts you've been doing (or not doing) to reach those goals. There's a lot it could do with that data, even just basic stuff like "you need to lift x more pounds the next time to reach your new goal".

Indeed, it is kind of stupid that way. It just takes what you've done and suggest to increase it even more.

It tries to detect patterns, but that only ends up with it complaining about walking speed being slower than before in winter (ice, snow, slippery) - or stating that my rings are usually further along in the middle of the day on those days where my workout is after work and not before. Haven't seen anything useful from either trends or suggestions so far.

I use the Apple Watch because it's the best all around smart watch and integrates with many other things I've got - like my I-Pace, my Sonos system, my smart lighting etc - but many days I wish I could just get a real workout watch (Polar Vantage, Garmin Fenix Pro 6 etc) instead. And for my use, the problem is not the hardware but the lack of software and fitness focus on the watch. Even something so basic as HR zones is missing... adding "dance" to the fitness app just doesn't compare to adding real features: HR zones, zone training overview, recovery monitoring and training suggestions are just some of the low hanging fruits.