Apple intros sleep, hearing health features for AppleWatch, AirPods Pro 2

Apple is debuting sleep and hearing health features coming to Apple Watch and AirPods Pro 2. These new features expand across products, per the company.

Using a new Breathing Disturbances metric, sleep apnea notifications come to Apple Watch. The sleep apnea notifications are expected to receive marketing authorization from the Food and Drug Administration and other global health authorities soon, with availability this month in more than 150 countries and regions, including the U.S., the EU and Japan.

Apple's AirPods Pro will feature active Hearing Protection2, a clinically validated Hearing Test feature, and an over-the-counter Hearing Aid feature. The Hearing Test and Hearing Aid features are expected to receive marketing authorization from global health authorities soon, and will be available this fall in more than 100 countries and regions, including the United States, Germany and Japan.

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Breathing Disturbances is a new Apple Watch metric that uses the accelerometer to detect small movements at the wrist associated with interruptions to normal respiratory patterns during sleep. Every 30 days, Apple Watch will analyze breathing disturbance data and notify users if it shows consistent signs of moderate to severe sleep apnea so they can speak to their doctor about next steps, including potential diagnosis and treatment.

Because overall quality of sleep is important, Breathing Disturbances also can be used to assess restfulness of sleep. Breathing Disturbances can be influenced by alcohol, medications, sleep position and more. Users can view their nightly Breathing Disturbances in the Health app, where they are classified as elevated or not elevated, and can be viewed over a one-month, six-month or one-year period.

For more informed conversations with their healthcare providers, users can export a PDF that shows when sleep apnea may have occurred, three months of breathing disturbance data, and additional information. Educational articles also are available within the Health app to help users learn more about sleep apnea.

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The sleep apnea notification algorithm was developed using advanced machine learning and an extensive data set of clinical-grade sleep apnea tests. The feature was then validated in a clinical study—unprecedented in size for sleep apnea technology. In the clinical validation study, every participant identified by the algorithm had at least mild sleep apnea, the company said. 

In order to help users prevent exposure to loud environmental noises, Hearing Protection comes to AirPods Pro. The ear tips help to provide passive noise reduction, while the H2 chip helps to actively reduce louder, more intermittent noise at 48,000 times per second. On by default across all listening modes, Hearing Protection is helpful in a variety of loud settings. Plus, with an all-new multiband high dynamic range algorithm, sounds at live events like concerts remain natural and vibrant.

Apple is introducing a clinical-grade hearing test based on the standard clinical approach called pure-tone audiometry that users can take themselves with their AirPods Pro and a compatible iPhone or iPad.

Users can take the test in about five minutes from the comfort of their own home. The Hearing Test feature leverages advanced acoustic science and provides users with an interactive experience. When a user completes the test, they will see an easy-to-understand summary of their results, including a number representing hearing loss in each ear, a classification, and recommendations. The results, which include an audiogram, are stored privately and securely in the Health app, and can be shared with a healthcare provider to have more informed conversations.

AirPods Pro add an over-the-counter Hearing Aid capability for users with mild to moderate hearing loss. Using the personalized hearing profile from the Hearing Test, this new feature seamlessly transforms AirPods Pro into a clinical-grade hearing aid. After setup, the feature enables personalized dynamic adjustments so users have the sounds around them boosted in real time. The user’s personalized hearing profile is automatically applied to music, movies, games and phone calls across their devices, without needing to adjust any settings. Users also can set up the Hearing Aid feature with an audiogram created by a hearing health professional.

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After taking the Hearing Test, the user’s hearing profile can also help to personalize the AirPods Pro listening experience for even more people, including those with little to no hearing loss who can still benefit from specific adjustments at individual frequencies. Media Assist is a new feature that helps boost certain parts of speech on a phone call or instruments within a soundtrack to help an even broader population.

Additional features coming to Apple Watch, iPhone, and iPad include:

• The new Vitals app on Apple Watch gives users a way to check in on their daily health status and view key overnight health metrics, like heart rate and respiratory rate and gain better context when it comes to their health.
• The Health app offers additional support for pregnant users to reflect changes in their physical and mental health during this important time. Users can view the current gestational age and log symptoms in Cycle Tracking. Apple Watch users can also receive recommendations to review features like high heart rate notifications.
• Time spent journaling can be saved as mindful minutes in the Health app, and users can log their state of mind right in Journal.

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.