Apple Watches Get Approved for Tracking Sleep Apnea

• The FDA has approved Apple Watch Series 9, Series 10, and Watch Ultra 2 to carry out sleep apnea detection.
• The sleep apnea detection feature will track the user's sleep for 10 nights over a period of 30 days and then share its insights.
• The approval comes right at the heels of another approval by the FDA that allows Apple to market its AirPods Pro 2 as hearing aids.

Apple Watch Series 9, Series 10, and Watch Ultra 2 have been approved by the FDA to carry out sleep apnea detection. This good news for Apple comes just four days before the launch of Series 10, which is scheduled for September 20.

The feature was first announced at Apple's Glowtime' event last week.As part of the upcoming watchOS 11, it uses an on-board accelerometer to share its insights.

It will need 10 nights of sleep tracking over a period of 30 days to determine whether the user is struggling with sleep apnea or not.During this period, it'll also share information about other nightly sleep disturbances that the user might experience.

It's important to note that this feature is not a replacement for medical care. The FDA categorized it as an over-the-counter device to assess risk of sleep apnea."

Apple itself has said that it's not a diagnostic tool and that it will simply tell you whether you should think about consulting a licensed medical practitioner.

Apple's AirPods Pro 2 Are Now Hearing Aids

Just a few days ago, the FDA also approved Apple's hearing aid software, allowing it to market the AirPods Pro 2 as over-the-counter hearing aids.

It wouldn't be wrong to conclude that Apple currently seems to be bullish on features that are medically helpful - or will simply enhance the quality of lives of those with a select few troubles.

The new AirPods come with a Hearing Aid feature (HAF) that can be turned on or off from the settings page on iOS 18. As per the company, it's best-suited for users aged 18 and above with mild to moderate hearing loss.

Using the feature is pretty simple: you can either directly upload your hearing test results or let it test the level of hearing loss firsthand. Depending on the extent of damage, it'll amplify the volume of the surrounding noises to make up for the loss.

The best thing about this decision is that hearing aids will become much more affordable and accessible. A regular good quality hearing aid can cost up to $5,000, whereas AirPods Pro 2 is available at just $249.

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