Samsung’s Galaxy smartwatches are undoubtedly some of the best wearables you can buy. They come with a wide range of health and fitness tracking capabilities that the company continues to improve them overtime. Now, another vital feature called sleep apnea is confirmed coming to the Galaxy Watch 6 (review) and Galaxy Watch 5 (review).
According to Samsung, they have recently received an approval from the Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) for the use of its new sleep apnea feature. The tool allows a Galaxy Watch to detect symptoms of obstructive apnea in users. This is planned to be rolled out first in Korea via the Samsung Health Monitor app by early 2024.
Given how most tracking features like blood pressure monitoring and irregular heart rate notifications require approval from local regulatory bodies, Samsung might have been developing and testing the feature for a considerable amount of time. It remains unclear if how long will it take for Samsung to expand and release the sleep apnea detection in other countries.
Which Samsung Galaxy Watch models are compatible to sleep apnea feature
And in this case, it will be compatible with the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 (Classic) and last year’s Galaxy Watch 5 (Pro), which is probably due to the models sharing the same Bioactive sensors. Hence, it may not be released to older Galaxy Watch models like the Watch 4 series.
It was also described that Samsung will utilize the Bioactive sensor on the supported watches where the blood oxygen levels will be analyzed and imposed to create Apnea-Hypopnea Index (AHI). Furthermore, the watch is required to track the user’s sleep twice with a minimum of 4-hour period for each and in the span of 10 days.
As with the sleep apnea, it’s a common condition for many people with their breathing stopped while asleep. This is primarily caused by the upper airway becoming partially or fully blocked in a given period, which is diagnosed as obstructive sleep apnea and more common than the central apnea. The latter is rather rare and caused by brain dysfunctions that subsequently affect motor control of breathing.
While sleep apnea largely results in lower sleep quality and shortness of oxygen supply during sleep, there are more serious concerns the condition brings over the longer period of time. This includes complications of the heart, hypertension, and cognitive related problems, among others. The detection of symptoms in users will allow doctors to diagnose the condition properly and avoid additional complications.
Do you think the sleep apnea feature will be useful in your case? What other health and fitness tracking tools would you like to be added to Samsung’s smartwatches and wearables?
