The US Food and Drug Administration has granted approval for a sleep apnea detection feature to be incorporated into Galaxy Watch devices in the United States. While this feature has already been approved in South Korea, Samsung has highlighted that this marks the first approval of its kind in the US.
According to the National Sleep Foundation, approximately 25 percent of men and a tenth of women in the US are affected by obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a condition with potentially serious health implications such as increased risks of heart attacks and strokes if left untreated.
The newly approved feature allows individuals over the age of 22, who have not been previously diagnosed with sleep apnea, to monitor for signs of the condition using their smartwatch and phone. It is designed to detect moderate-to-severe OSA over a two-night monitoring period. To utilize the feature, users must track their sleep for more than four hours on two separate occasions within a ten-day period.
Samsung has announced plans to integrate the sleep apnea monitoring tool into compatible Galaxy Watch wearables in the third quarter of 2024.
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