Apple Watch now includes a sleep apnoea function, and AirPods Pro 2 now have hearing health feature

On September 10 (IANS), Apple unveiled groundbreaking health features in its newly-launched Apple Watch and AirPods Pro 2, offering advanced sleep apnea notifications and the world’s first all-in-one hearing health experience.

The Apple Watch Series 10 and AirPods Pro 2 were introduced at Apple’s "Its Glowtime" event, held on Monday at Apple Park, California. "With Apple Watch, we continue to empower our users to discover critical health conditions with new sleep apnea notifications. On AirPods Pro, innovative features prioritize hearing health, offering new ways to test for and manage hearing loss," said Sumbul Desai, MD, Apple’s Vice President of Health, in a statement.

The sleep apnea detection tool, debuting on the Apple Watch Series 10, will also be supported on the Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2. Developed using advanced machine learning and data from clinical-grade sleep apnea tests, the tool uses a breathing disturbances metric to track users’ sleep patterns and provide notifications in the event of an apnea episode — a serious disorder where breathing repeatedly stops and starts during sleep.

The feature, which uses the Watch’s accelerometer to detect subtle wrist movements linked to respiratory interruptions, is expected to roll out in 150 countries following approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Other familiar health features, such as Afib alerts, cardio fitness monitoring, and the ECG app, remain in the latest model, which is also slimmer and features a larger display.

The new AirPods Pro 2 come with active Loud Sound Reduction, a clinically validated hearing test, and an over-the-counter hearing aid feature. This software-based hearing aid provides affordable access to hearing assistance. Both the hearing test and aid features are expected to receive global health authority approval soon, with availability in over 100 countries later this year.

Since launching the Health app in 2014, Apple has introduced significant health and fitness innovations across the Apple Watch, AirPods, iPhone, and iPad.