watchOS 11.1 Beta 4 Adds Sleep Apnea Detection

The fourth beta of watchOS 11.1, seeded to developers today, introduces support for Sleep Apnea detection. This means that users on the new iOS 18.1 beta 4 will be able to use the feature after updating.

To detect signs of sleep apnea, Apple Watch uses the accelerometer to monitor small movements at the wrist during sleep that are associated with interruptions in normal respiratory patterns, tracked by a new Apple Watch metric called Breathing Disturbances. Users can view their nightly Breathing Disturbances in the Health app, where they are classified as elevated or not elevated, and can be viewed over a one-month, six-month, or one-year period.

Following an onboarding for the feature, the new sleep apnea notifications algorithm analyzes breathing disturbance data every 30 days, so Apple Watch can notify a user if it identifies signs of sleep apnea. The notification includes the time period when potential sleep apnea occurred and educational materials on the importance of seeking treatment, along with a PDF providing three months of breathing disturbance data, notification details, and additional information to reference during a conversation with a healthcare provider.


Apple says that the feature was developed with advanced machine learning and training data from thousands of nights of clinical-grade sleep apnea tests, and validated in the largest study ever conducted for the FDA clearance of a sleep apnea device.

We're expecting iOS 18.1 to arrive on October 28th. Please download the iClarified app or follow iClarified on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and RSS to be notified when it becomes available!