Apple has made a significant stride in health technology with the introduction of innovative features in its newly launched Apple Watch Series 10 and AirPods Pro 2. The announcement was made at Apple's Its Glowtime event held at Apple Park in Cupertino, California. These new features are set to revolutionize the way users monitor their health, with the Apple Watch now capable of delivering sleep apnoea notifications and the AirPods Pro 2 offering the world's first all-in-one hearing health experience.
Sleep apnoea is a serious sleep disorder where breathing repeatedly stops and starts. It is estimated to impact more than 1 billion people worldwide, and in most cases, goes undiagnosed. The introduction of this feature is a significant step towards addressing this global health concern. The sleep apnoea detection feature uses advanced machine learning and an extensive data set of clinical-grade sleep apnoea tests.
The innovative breathing disturbances metric will track users' sleep, analyse sleep patterns and notify them in the event of an apnoea. The breathing disturbances metric uses the accelerometer to detect small movements at the wrist associated with interruptions to normal respiratory patterns during sleep, and then notify users if it shows consistent signs of moderate to severe sleep apnoea.
Apple noted that the sleep apnoea feature will roll out in 150 countries once it receives approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the next few months. Other standard health features like the Afib alerts, cardio fitness, and the ECG app, from the previous Apple Watch models are also present in the latest model.
The newly launched smartwatch is slimmer than its predecessor and features a larger display. The larger display and slimmer design are part of Apple's ongoing commitment to improving user experience. The new design allows for extra text, a larger keyboard, and easier input.
In addition to the sleep apnoea detection feature, Apple's AirPods Pro comes with active Loud Sound Reduction -- a clinically validated hearing test feature -- and an over-the-counter hearing aid feature. The first-of-its-kind software-based hearing aid feature helps make access to hearing assistance easier than ever at an approachable price point. The hearing test and hearing aid features are expected to receive marketing authorisation from global health authorities soon and will be available this year in more than 100 countries and regions.
Since launching the Health app in 2014, Apple has introduced meaningful features that focus on 18 areas of health and fitness across Apple Watch, AirPods, iPhone, and iPad. The introduction of sleep apnoea detection and hearing health features is a testament to Apple's commitment to advancing health and fitness technology.
