Update makes smartwatch immediately more useful

You don't always need the latest model of the Apple Watch to make the smartwatch more useful in one fell swoop. With the current update to watchOS 11, Apple is also giving last year's models a function that could ultimately save lives – from now on, Apple's smart watch can detect the silent killer in its sleep.

watchOS 11 detects sleep apnea: Also for previous models of the Apple Watch

Have you ever heard of sleep apnea? This is a serious disorder in which a person's breathing stops repeatedly during sleep. These pauses do not cause immediate suffocation, but they do disrupt deep sleep and cause severe tiredness during the day. Many of the microsleeps that follow are simply caused by sleep apnea.

But that's not all, sleep apnea increases the risk of high blood pressure and can promote heart attacks and strokes. In other words: An often undetected killer that haunts us at night.

With the update to watchOS 11 The Apple Watch can immediately detect this risky sleep breathing disorder. However, the latest Apple Watch Series 10 is not necessarily required for this feature. It is also capable of this, but Are the models from last year, Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2, also sufficient?The update already makes the function available in more than 150 countries. Germany is one of them, of course. Australians and Canadians, however, will have to wait a little longer, as they are still awaiting official approval.

To detect sleep apnea, the Apple Watch's accelerometer is used to monitor “small wrist movements that are associated with interruptions in normal breathing,” Apple said in a statement. If such interruptions occur over several nights, they could be related to sleep apnea. A time window of 30 days is used for the analysisIf disruptions occur for at least 10 nights, a notification will be sent.

Important to know: This is intended for people aged 18 and over who have not already been diagnosed with sleep apnea and show signs of moderate to severe sleep apnea. More information about the entire process can be found in a corresponding PDF read (Source: Apple).

If you want watchOS 11, you need an iPhone with iOS 18

The software update to watchOS 11 is of course free of charge and was made available at the same time as iOS 17.7, iOS 18 and macOS 15.6, among others. If you want to install watchOS 11, you need at least an iPhone XS or newer with iOS 18. Compatible models are Apple Watch Series 6 and above, including the second generation Apple Watch SE. However, as already mentioned, the sleep apnea feature requires an Apple Watch Series 9, 10 or an Apple Watch Ultra 2.

New, but not essential for detecting sleep apnea – the Apple Watch Series 10:

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