Apple Watch's Sleep Apnea Detection Feature Now Available in More Than 150 Countries

[Henk Poley]

Thanks for your response. I wonder why? Is there some gadget that is not present in the Ultra 1 causing the Ultra 1 not to have apnea capability? Or is it Apple trying to force me to upgrade to Ultra 2?

Without Apple saying it, it is hard to really know this.

But.. just like BMW can't say "Hey, our other car type got through the crash test", Apple probably had to test exact models. And at the time the Ultra 2 and Series 9 were in production. Doing a study with more Apple Watch models, that they were not producing at the time, and would not sell, would cost more. So they did not have them in the test.

Sometimes it is possible, after proofing a principle of a concept, to then go "Hey, this very very similar system, it should also be allowed" with less elaborate testing. But don't ehm.. hold your breath.

 

[wigby]

This can work on the other watches, but no, they want money.

Apple's purpose is no mystery, it's too make as much money as possible without alerting/harming/losing customers. Is your purpose to remind us all of that fact we already know?

 

[BeatCrazy]

i didnt either.

i just went to the health app, and it was one of the first things offered.

so....humans can also just be...idk...self helping creatures sometimes.

Wasn’t displayed in my Health app, which is why I made my post.

 

[postobon]

Finally my wife get this feature, my Sam***g Ultra watch go this feature a couple months ago. It ID'd my apnea, but she refuses to wear my watch LOL.

 

[dmccombs]

Series 9 and Ultra 2 from last year yes?

ok, so how/where do you see this?

 

[JannisN]

Did today's beta update change anything about Sleep Apnea on 18.1? Still not seeing anything

 

[LlamaLarry]

https://www.apple.com/health/pdf/sleep-apnea/Sleep_Apnea_Notifications_on_Apple_Watch_September_2024.pdf

 

[BeatCrazy]

https://www.apple.com/health/pdf/sleep-apnea/Sleep_Apnea_Notifications_on_Apple_Watch_September_2024.pdf

Fascinating!

 

[Grayburn]

Wasn’t displayed in my Health app, which is why I made my post.

You need to tap on your pic in Health, then go to health checklist, turn it on there.

 

[BeatCrazy]

You need to tap on your pic in Health, then go to health checklist, turn it on there.

Thanks I found it. MR mods should add your info to the first post!!

 

[Macaholic868]

they didnt just put in different blood oxygen monitoring tech?

Nope. They kept it as is. There and working for users in other countries but disabled for those of us in the US.

 

[coolbreeze2]

Without Apple saying it, it is hard to really know this.

But.. just like BMW can't say "Hey, our other car type got through the crash test", Apple probably had to test exact models. And at the time the Ultra 2 and Series 9 were in production. Doing a study with more Apple Watch models, that they were not producing at the time, and would not sell, would cost more. So they did not have them in the test.

Sometimes it is possible, after proofing a principle of a concept, to then go "Hey, this very very similar system, it should also be allowed" with less elaborate testing. But don't ehm.. hold your breath.

Very true! However, Apple needs to consider loyal customers who invested in the Ultra at the beginning. If we had not purhase the Ultra, there would be no Ultra 2. Look at AirPods Max. There is no 2nd version because not enough people bought the AirPods Max is my guess. If Apple starts gaining a reputation for overlooking inaugural editions of expensive hardware, I will start waiting until 2.0 becomes available of new hardware.

 

[Silverado]

This can work on the other watches, but no, they want money.

Yeah, the nerve! A business that wants money in return for their R&D. What’s the world coming to?

 

[MichaelYYZ]

Not in Canada?!

 

[Beau10]

disregard

 

[RSmith2023]

Wasn’t displayed in my Health app, which is why I made my post.

It isn’t in 18.1 yet.. they were focusing on 18.0 since that was needed for the iphone 16 launch… we’ll probably get it in an update to 18.1 next week

 

[BeatCrazy]

It isn’t in 18.1 yet.. they were focusing on 18.0 since that was needed for the iphone 16 launch… we’ll probably get it in an update to 18.1 next week

I'm in the US and Sleep Apnea detection is available in 18.0. My comments were aimed at the fact that it was not obvious how to turn it on, and the MR made no mention of how to do that.

 

[Beau10]

Sleep Apnea is not available to turn on my health app in the sleep disturbances section (this was confirmed in another thread, the toggle for this feature others' have is simply missing on my phone)... I updated my phone/watch to the full releases of 18.0/11.0 while vacationing in Mexico and am wondering if it's region locked based on location tracking.

Using S9 GPS, both iPhone/watch purchased in US. I'll be here another 9 days, but am concerned. Anyone have an idea?

 

[ApplesAreSweet&Sour]

and you know that it ca work on other watches how?

and yes, it does work on S9 and on Ultra 2, both have the S9 chip which got neural cores last year, previous AW chips didn't have that

That's all well and good, and aligns with Apple's marketing.

But teardown show that there's been no additional sensors added between Series 8 and Series 9, and none of those found in Series 8 have been upgraded in Series 9.

And if you really read the official comparison charts and Apple's marketing of Series 9, you'd see that Apple doesn't even claim that sensors have been added or upgraded.

And just to be very clear, the SiP 9 is "just" a faster and more efficient at everything than Series 8. But the SiP has no physical sensors in it. The SiP "only" handles the data input from sensors, like the gyroscope, heart-rate sensor, etc.

With a little critical thinking, and considering that Series 8 is doing 1/1 the same fall-detection, sleep tracking, automatic biking and running and walking detection, swimming detection, Crash Detection, etc., as Series 9 is capable of, you just might be able to acknowledge that Sleep Apnea detection is a software-based algorithm that Series 8 could do but won't because Apple needs more reasons to get buyers to upgrade.

Yes, Apple can arbitrarily block any feature from older models that they want. It's their product and their (insanely profitable) business model for Watch.

But I will not listen to this nonsense of Apple upgrading Watch with every new SiP generation. It's just not happening.

And why would it?

-Apple has absolutely dominated the smartwatch/fitness tracker market for over a decade and barely has any competition.

No company in their right mind throws any substantial r&d at their products if consumers buy the newest generation regardless of whether anything substantial has changed or not.

Apple only makes an effort in product categories where there's substantial competition. Watch is not that.

Look no further than the actual specs of Series 10, the very few upgrades (really just the display and chassis), and then look at how Apple wants us to think of it as a complete overhaul.

 

[jz0309]

That's all well and good, and aligns with Apple's marketing.

But teardown show that there's been no additional sensors added between Series 8 and Series 9, and none of those found in Series 8 have been upgraded in Series 9.

And if you really read the official comparison charts and Apple's marketing of Series 9, you'd see that Apple doesn't even claim that sensors have been added or upgraded.

And just to be very clear, the SiP 9 is "just" a faster and more efficient at everything than Series 8. But the SiP has no physical sensors in it. The SiP "only" handles the data input from sensors, like the gyroscope, heart-rate sensor, etc.

With a little critical thinking, and considering that Series 8 is doing 1/1 the same fall-detection, sleep tracking, automatic biking and running and walking detection, swimming detection, Crash Detection, etc., as Series 9 is capable of, you just might be able to acknowledge that Sleep Apnea detection is a software-based algorithm that Series 8 could do but won't because Apple needs more reasons to get buyers to upgrade.

Yes, Apple can arbitrarily block any feature from older models that they want. It's their product and their (insanely profitable) business model for Watch.

But I will not listen to this nonsense of Apple upgrading Watch with every new SiP generation. It's just not happening.

And why would it?

-Apple has absolutely dominated the smartwatch/fitness tracker market for over a decade and barely has any competition.

No company in their right mind throws any substantial r&d at their products if consumers buy the newest generation regardless of whether anything substantial has changed or not.

Apple only makes an effort in product categories where there's substantial competition. Watch is not that.

Look no further than the actual specs of Series 10, the very few upgrades (really just the display and chassis), and then look at how Apple wants us to think of it as a complete overhaul.

4 core neural engine vs 2 core.