When can you start using the feature?
In the US, Samsung expects to flip the sleep apnea detection switch in its proprietary Health Monitor app at some point in the “third quarter”, which sounds like a pretty distant deadline but it should still beat Apple to the punch.
As with other potentially therapeutic functionalities, Samsung is very careful to add a bunch of asterisks to today’s announcement, highlighting that your Galaxy Watch should in no way replace a “traditional method of diagnosis and treatment by a qualified clinician.”
It’s equally important to note that the sleep apnea feature in the Samsung Health Monitor app is only recommended for folks over the age of 22 with no pre-existing diagnosis for this very serious medical condition, which apparently affects no less than 25 percent of all men and 10 percent of women in the US.
The ball is now in Apple’s court
At its very core, the idea here is to detect possible indications of moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) that can then be “traditionally” confirmed (or debunked) by a medical professional and treated accordingly.
While getting authorization from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for any feature of this sort is obviously a big thing, the agency’s De Novo label granted to Samsung’s sleep apnea detection doesn’t automatically mean the technology is verified as reliable and accurate in any and all scenarios.
