Apple SVP of Marketing, Greg Joswiak on X | Image by X
In a post on X, Apple SVP of Marketing, Greg Joswiak, officially announced that the company is expanding important Apple Health features globally. “Apple Health is integral to users’ lives, and we’re expanding important features globally. I’m thrilled we offer them in 160+ countries and regions,” wrote Joswiak.
Sleep apnea notifications
Your Apple Watch can notify you for potential breathing irregularities | Image by Apple
Sleep apnea is a condition where your breathing during sleep is disturbed. It can cause problems in some moderate to severe cases and is affected by alcohol intake, upper respiratory illnesses, sleeping position, and even some medications.
Apple Watch has algorithms on board that look for sudden changes in position via its accelerometer and associate them with breathing disturbances. You need to wear the watch for at least 10 nights over a 30-day period for the algorithm to adjust and give an analysis.
Hypertension notifications
Another useful feature most modern Apple Watch devices have is Hypertension notifications. The watch looks for specific patterns in your heartbeat using its optical heart-rate sensor and notifies you if it detects anything suspicious.This feature is supported on the Apple Watch Series 9, Series 10, Series 11, Apple Watch Ultra 2, and Apple Watch Ultra 3 running watchOS 26 or later.
Hearing test
Use your AirPods Pro to test your hearing | Image by Apple
This Apple Health feature requires AirPods Pro 2 or AirPods Pro 3 and can detect hearing loss. The system basically plays certain tones and frequencies at certain levels, and you need to tap on the screen if you hear those.
In the end, you get a result that shows your overall hearing loss (if any) in decibels of hearing level, as well as recommended next steps.
Hearing Aid
The AirPods Pro offer a clinical-grade Hearing Aid feature | Image by Apple
Tied to the Hearing test is the Hearing aid feature. It offers a “clinical-grade Hearing Aid feature for perceived mild to moderate hearing loss, as well as a Media Assist feature that enhances the clarity of music, video, and calls.”This feature is again available on the AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods Pro 3 models, and you can set it up from the Hearing Assistance menu.
The new features are rolling out as we type this, so check your Apple Health app for more details. Have these new features arrived in your region?
