Samsung beats Apple to the FDA-cleared sleep apnea punch on Galaxy Watches

Samsung beats Apple to the FDA-cleared sleep apnea punch on Galaxy Watches،

As if Samsung's best smartwatches weren't already incredibly proficient at closely monitoring the health and well-being of their users, another potentially life-saving tool is officially set to further improve this aspect of select Galaxy Watch models at the moment. UNITED STATES.

When can you start using the feature?

Until the Apple Watch Series 10 sees the light of day (with or without a working, FDA-cleared sleep apnea detection tool), users of the Galaxy Watch Series 5 and Watch 6 in the United States will probably be able to take advantage of this same type of technology and try to get better rest.

Samsung beats Apple with FDA-approved sleep apnea punch on Galaxy Watches

In the United States, Samsung plans to turn on the sleep apnea detection switch in its proprietary Health Monitor app at some point during the “third trimester,” which seems like a pretty distant deadline, but it should still be ahead of Apple.

As with other potentially therapeutic features, Samsung is taking great pains to add a bunch of asterisks to today's announcement, emphasizing that your Galaxy Watch should in no way replace a “traditional method of diagnosis and treatment.” treatment by a qualified clinician.

It is equally important to note that the Samsung Health Monitor app's sleep apnea feature is only recommended for people over the age of 22 without a pre-existing diagnosis for this very serious condition, which apparently affects as many as 25% of all men. and 10 percent of women in the United States.

The ball is now in Apple's court

Basically, the idea here is to detect possible indications of moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) which can then be “traditionally” confirmed (or debunked) by a healthcare professional and treated accordingly.

Be careful, this condition can cause a person to stop breathing while sleeping, which naturally leads to “increased daytime fatigue” while increasing the risk of being diagnosed with even more serious illnesses like hypertension, coronary heart disease, heart failure, cardiac arrhythmia. , and strokes, especially when left unnoticed and untreated for a prolonged period of time.

While getting clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for any such functionality is obviously an important thing, the agency's De Novo label for the device's apnea detection system Samsung sleep does not automatically mean that the technology is verified to be reliable and accurate in all scenarios.

This the classification is rather generally used for “low to moderate risk” schemes that do not have a “substantial equivalent” on the market. It remains to be seen whether Apple will obtain the same FDA certification in the fall for its “substantially equivalent device”… if the recent rumors prove correct.