Every iteration of the Apple Watch has been a beacon towards the future of health tracking wearable and lately, Apple has been pushing the boundaries of what your smartwatch could do. From taking leaps in sensing any abnormalities in heart rate to calling out emergency services, Apple Watch has done quite a lot to save lives. With the 2024 Apple Watch pulling in next year, we have received some updates on the roadmap that Apple will follow giving its suite of health-centric features a leap beyond with tech such as sleep apnea and blood pressure monitoring.
The Roadmap for 2024: A Bright Future For Apple Watch Health Tracking Lurks Ahead
According to Bloomberg, Apple is already working on upping its game in the health domain when it comes to wearables i.e. Apple Watch. Slated for early 2025, Apple is working on a sensor that will measure systolic and diastolic blood pressure values. The Apple Watch should be able to keep you informed on your blood pressure and when you should consult a physician for caution.
The idea is to watch out for abnormalities in blood pressure and warn the users about it. It’s sensor is designed to detect trends in hypertension instead of offering a precise measurement of blood pressure. The feature would work along the lines of Apple Watch’s AFib detection which uses ECG to detect abnormalities in heart rate.
Sleep Apnea Monitoring On Your Watch
Another feature that is in the works is sleep apnea monitoring. The sensors built-in on the Apple Watch should be able to detect early signs of sleep apnea and similar conditions by analyzing the sleeping and breathing patterns. Of course, it is not an FDA-approved feature yet but gives a broad estimation enough for you to get your doctor involved.
According to the stats by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, 5.9 million American adults have obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), and almost four-fold of it at 23.5 million, are undiagnosed. It is estimated that the extrinsic cost of diagnosis runs around the lines of $2,100 per person.
Apple Watch has done a great job in bringing health tracking on the wrist such as accident and fall detection which could be fatal if there’s no emergency help immediately. Most of these health-tracking features are in their stages of development which means there’s still some time till these features can reach their full potential.