New Apple Watch Series 10 Designed to Help Identify Health Conditions

When smartwatches first came out, tracking your fitness and steps was a huge focus. Having the convenience of a fitness tracker that can double as a mini phone right on your wrist was next level in the tech and health space. In recent years, smart watches have become much more than a tool to count your steps and can now help identify health conditions.

Apple has made it even easier for users to track their overall health with the release of the Apple Watch series 10 next year.

This innovative watch could help detect sleep apnea and elevated blood pressure. This latest addition to what was once just a fitness tracker can help millions of people determine certain health problems, which they can confirm and treat with their doctor.

Blood Pressure Monitoring

One of the many benefits of wearing a smartwatch on a daily basis is to help track and monitor your heart rate. The new Apple Watch Series 10 will implement a basic blood pressure sensor by using near-infrared spectroscopy. That means changes in your blood pressure are tracked by monitoring blood flow with near-infrared light.

While this sensor is not expected to deliver spot-on numbers you would get in a doctor's office, it's capable of detecting changes, and more importantly increases in your blood pressure. These numbers can at least help identify possible hypertension in the user and encourage them to visit their doctor.

This innovative feature is just the first step in the plans Apple has for the sensor capability. Eventually, models in the future could be able to deliver accurate systolic and diastolic measurements - which are the numbers you get from a blood pressure cuff. In addition, a blood pressure journal feature could help users keep track of their numbers.

Detecting Sleep Apnea

The blood pressure sensor will also be able to do more than just read your blood flow. This new technology can also help identify sleep abnormalities, such as sleep apnea, in users. Just like with the blood pressure numbers, detection abnormalities aren't expected to be 100% exact, but it can again encourage users to visit their doctors.

Although the Apple Watch Series 10 won't have the ability to monitor your brain activity, it will be able to monitor your breathing patterns, movement, heart rate, and snoring - all of which are used in traditional sleep studies.

An initial requirements for testing for sleep apnea sometimes can deter patients from undergoing the test, thanks to an uncomfortable polysomnogram, and the anxiety of sleeping in a hospital room hooked up to multiple machines. However, this new feature offered in the Apple Watch could help users get an initial opinion.

What's Next For Apple?

More features are expected to come to future Apple products, including a blood glucose monitor that could help identify pre-diabetic users.

Fitness fanatics may be happy to hear the next feature Apple is working on, which would be a digital health coaching service. This feature would use AI and your device's data to create customized workouts and eating plans.

Along with their watches, Apple is also expected to create a new version of AirPods that could be used as hearing aids and an at-home hearing tests.