CUPERTINO, Calif. — Apple on Monday announced a new Apple Watch feature that will warn users they may have sleep apnea. It’s the latest advance in the company’s decade-long effort to sell its wearable as a tool that can help people live healthier lives.
Additionally, the company announced more hearing health features for its wireless earbuds. The company’s AirPods will be able to conduct a hearing test and later this fall will be able to be used as a “clinical grade over-the-counter hearing aid,” Apple’s vice president of health Sumbul Desai said in a prerecorded announcement video.
The new sleep apnea feature will use the watch’s accelerometer to detect the dangerous sleep disorder in which people have interrupted breathing. At least 25 million Americans suffer from the condition that can result in daytime tiredness and increases the risk of cardiovascular disease and other negative health outcomes. However, it remains unclear how this new feature will fit into or modify the clinical practice of sleep medicine — an ongoing challenge for the data generated by wearables.
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