While we know about many of the new features that will be coming to the Apple Watch Series 6 through WatchOS 7, it has been relatively quiet about the hardware changes Apple could make. However, it now appears that the 6 Series could be the first Apple Watch to include a blood oxygen sensor.
The report on the blood oxygen sensor comes through Digitimes, which also noted that Apple has entered into an agreement with ASE Technology, a Taiwan-based provider, to build the Series 6. This aligns perfectly with Mac 9to5 discovering blood oxygen detection features in iOS 14 code snippets a few months back. That being said, Apple didn’t mention blood oxygen monitoring when it previewed. WatchOS 7 at WWDC, though it wouldn’t be a surprise if he was saving hardware revelations for his annual September event. After all, he didn’t hint at the LTPO display and always-on display for Series 5 at WWDC last year, either.
Blood oxygen monitoring, or pulse oximetry, is a buzzword right now due to the global pandemic. In short, a healthy reading is generally between 95-100%, with values below 90% consideredlow normal. Low readings may be an indication of respiratory or cardiovascular problemsOne of the main reasons wearable manufacturers see SpO2 sensors as a potential way to diagnose sleep apnea. (However, any diagnostic function would require FDA approval.) That’s also why pulse oximeters have flown off the shelves as people see them as a way to predict if they can have covid-19. (TI mean, the American Lung Association does not support this behavior.)
If this rumor works, a big question will be if blood oxygen monitoring is exclusive to Series 6. When the original Apple Watch was released in 2015, takedowns revealed the heart rate monitor could double as a pulse oximeterough Apple was silent on the subject. However, most other wearables choose to use SpO2 sensors for blood oxygen monitoring, not green light PPG sensors. That, in addition to the Digitimes report stating that a specific blood oxygen sensor can be added to the Series 6, hints that it could be an exclusive Series 6.
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Blood oxygen monitoring is not new in the wearable space. Fitbit first introduced SpO2 sensors in 2017 in the Ionic, although it took until this year to introduce its Estimated oxygen variation metric. Garmin has also had SpO2 sensors in several of its smart watches for years, so it’s not like Apple is leading the charge here. Furthermore, each portable device also had PPG sensors when Apple showed everyone with the Series 4 by adding FDA-approved ECG capability. There is a possibility that Apple is not catching up, but is running out of time to bring out a more advanced type of blood oxygen monitoring.
We’ll have to wait until Apple makes its big announcement later this fall for definitive answers. In the meantime, you’ll have to settle for the public beta of WatchOS 7 … whenever it crashes.
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