Apple gadgets gain health screening powers
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Apple is giving its Apple Watch a tool to detect sleep apnea and its AirPods the ability to both test and treat hearing loss, the company announced this week.
Why it matters: With the new features, Apple is enabling its popular, readily obtainable devices to identify conditions that are widespread but often undetected.
The big picture: Apple is looking to build a case that its products can make users not just more productive, but also healthier.
Driving the news: Apple announced on Monday that its latest watch software will use data from the watch's accelerometer to automatically detect if a wearer appears to be suffering from moderate to severe sleep apnea.
- Meanwhile, a software update for the latest AirPods Pro 2 earbuds will allow them both to perform a hearing test and to act as over-the-counter medical-grade hearing aids for those with mild to moderate hearing loss.
- Apple says it expects clearance soon from the FDA and other global health authorities for the sleep apnea detection feature, and plans to make it available this month in more than 150 countries, including the U.S., EU and Japan.
- The company expects its hearing test and hearing aid features to receive marketing authorization from health authorities soon as well. It says they should be available this fall in more than 100 countries and regions, including the U.S., Germany and Japan.
Between the lines: Apple is making the new health features work not just on brand new hardware, but also on devices it has already sold.
- Sleep apnea detection will come to the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2, in addition to the Apple Watch Series 10 models announced on Monday.
- The hearing loss detection and hearing aid features, meanwhile, are being added to Apple's existing AirPods Pro 2 earbuds.
CEO Tim Cook has long touted health as one of the biggest areas where he thinks Apple can grow its business as well as make a positive impact on society.
- Apple Watch is already being used to discover and track heart conditions, and the company has long been exploring other areas where its devices could play a role, such as monitoring blood pressure or sugar levels.
Zoom in: Hearing loss is widespread, but many people put off dealing with it. Increasingly, device makers are trying to offer cooler alternatives to old-school hearing aids.
- Apple's approach takes things a step further by offering hearing assistance as a feature on a device that many people already have.
- Plus, because the AirPods are also for listening to music, other people won't know users are using them as hearing aids. And users will be able to test the benefit of hearing assistance without having to commit to an expensive new purchase.
- "Hearing health is an essential part of our overall well-being, yet it can often be overlooked — in fact, according to the Apple Hearing Study, a staggering 75% of people diagnosed with hearing loss go untreated," Apple VP of health Sumbul Desai said in a statement.
Sleep apnea is another common health problem that often goes undetected — and therefore untreated.
- In the past, diagnosing the condition often meant enduring a lengthy sleep study. Apple's method is far less intrusive.
How it works: Apple's system for detecting breathing disturbances during sleep uses the watch's accelerometer "to detect small movements at the wrist associated with interruptions to normal respiratory patterns during sleep."
- Apple says that every 30 days, the watch will analyze that data and notify people if it detects consistent signs of moderate to severe sleep apnea. Users can then download data that can be shared with a doctor to determine what treatment might be appropriate.
