September 9, 2024
PRESS RELEASE
Apple introduces groundbreaking well being options to help circumstances impacting billions of individuals
Apple Watch delivers new sleep apnea notifications, and AirPods Professional 2 present the world’s first all-in-one listening to well being expertise together with a clinical-grade, over-the-counter Listening to Help characteristic
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA Apple at the moment unveiled breakthrough sleep and listening to well being options coming to Apple Watch and AirPods Professional 2 that additional ship on Apple’s dedication to well being with experiences that enrich customers’ lives. These new options broaden throughout merchandise, bringing informative and highly effective methods to help customers of their sleep and listening to well being for circumstances that influence billions globally.
Utilizing an revolutionary new Respiration Disturbances metric, sleep apnea notifications come to Apple Watch, including to the various methods Apple Watch acts as an clever guardian for customers’ well being. The sleep apnea notifications are anticipated to obtain advertising authorization from the Meals and Drug Administration (FDA) and different international well being authorities quickly, with availability this month in additional than 150 nations and areas, together with the U.S., the EU, and Japan.1
Apple is offering the world’s first all-in-one listening to well being expertise with AirPods Professional with energetic Listening to Safety,2 a clinically validated Listening to Check characteristic, and an over-the-counter Listening to Help characteristic. The primary-of-its-kind software-based Listening to Help characteristic helps make entry to listening to help simpler than ever at an approachable value level. The Listening to Check and Listening to Help options are anticipated to obtain advertising authorization from international well being authorities quickly, and shall be accessible this fall in additional than 100 nations and areas, together with the U.S., Germany, and Japan.3
“At Apple, we imagine that expertise may also help you reside a more healthy life, and we’re excited to allow unimaginable new well being capabilities for critical circumstances that have an effect on billions of individuals all over the world, whereas persevering with to maintain consumer knowledge personal,” mentioned Sumbul Desai, M.D., Apple’s vice chairman of Well being. “With Apple Watch, we proceed to supply our customers the power to uncover vital well being circumstances with new sleep apnea notifications. And on AirPods Professional, highly effective options put customers’ listening to well being entrance and heart, bringing new methods to assist take a look at for and obtain help for listening to loss.”
A Highly effective Technique to Detect Indicators of Sleep Apnea
Sleep is a crucial space of well being because it impacts an individual’s total bodily and psychological wellbeing. Sleep apnea is a prevalent dysfunction by which respiratory momentarily stops throughout sleep, stopping the physique from getting sufficient oxygen. The situation is estimated to influence greater than 1 billion individuals worldwide, and typically, goes undiagnosed. If left untreated, it may have vital well being penalties over time, together with elevated threat of hypertension, kind 2 diabetes, and cardiac points.
Respiration Disturbances is an revolutionary new Apple Watch metric that makes use of the accelerometer to detect small actions on the wrist related to interruptions to regular respiratory patterns throughout sleep. Each 30 days, Apple Watch will analyze respiratory disturbance knowledge and notify customers if it exhibits constant indicators of average to extreme sleep apnea to allow them to communicate to their physician about subsequent steps, together with potential prognosis and therapy.
As a result of total high quality of sleep is vital, Respiration Disturbances can be used to evaluate restfulness of sleep. Respiration Disturbances will be influenced by alcohol, medicines, sleep place, and extra. Customers can view their nightly Respiration Disturbances within the Well being app, the place they’re categorised as elevated or not elevated, and will be seen over a one-month, six-month, or one-year interval.
For extra knowledgeable conversations with their healthcare suppliers, customers can export a PDF that exhibits when sleep apnea might have occurred, three months of respiratory disturbance knowledge, and extra data. Academic articles are additionally accessible throughout the Well being app to assist customers be taught extra about sleep apnea.
The sleep apnea notification algorithm was developed utilizing superior machine studying and an intensive knowledge set of clinical-grade sleep apnea exams. The characteristic was then validated in a scientific research — unprecedented in measurement for sleep apnea expertise. Within the scientific validation research, each participant recognized by the algorithm had at the least delicate sleep apnea.
“Empowering shoppers in every single place to have the power to reliably determine the presence of irregular respiratory patterns throughout sleep may also help uncover a woefully underdiagnosed and critical medical situation comparable to sleep apnea,” mentioned Sairam Parthasarathy, M.D., College of Arizona Well being Sciences Heart for Sleep, Circadian, and Neurosciences’s professor and director in Tucson, Arizona. “This can be a main step ahead in bettering public well being.”
Sleep apnea notifications and Respiration Disturbances add to a variety of sleep well being options for Apple Watch customers. Along with monitoring vital in a single day well being metrics like coronary heart fee and respiratory fee, Apple Watch additionally helps customers meet their sleep objectives and observe their sleep over time.
The World’s First All-in-One Listening to Well being Expertise
Roughly 1.5 billion individuals all over the world live with listening to loss, in response to the World Well being Group. Analysis has additionally recognized hyperlinks between listening to loss and influence on an individual’s total wellbeing, together with dementia and social isolation.
To assist customers higher perceive their listening to well being, Apple is introducing an end-to-end expertise centered on prevention, consciousness, and help.
Prevention
In keeping with the Apple Listening to Examine — a longitudinal, digital public analysis research carried out in collaboration with the College of Michigan College of Public Well being and the World Well being Group — one in three persons are commonly uncovered to loud environmental noise ranges that may influence their listening to. That may embody frequent situations like taking the subway whereas commuting, mowing the garden at residence, attending a sporting occasion, and plenty of extra.
With a view to assist customers stop publicity to loud environmental noise whereas preserving the sound signature of what they’re listening to, Listening to Safety involves AirPods Professional. The ear suggestions assist to supply passive noise discount, whereas the H2 chip helps to actively scale back louder, extra intermittent noise at 48,000 occasions per second. On by default throughout all listening modes, Listening to Safety is useful in a wide range of loud settings. Plus, with an all-new multiband excessive dynamic vary algorithm, sounds at dwell occasions like live shows stay pure and vibrant.
Consciousness
Listening to loss usually worsens step by step, leaving many individuals unaware that they might be residing with the situation. Eighty % of adults within the U.S. haven’t had their listening to checked within the final 5 years, in response to the American Speech-Language-Listening to Affiliation. To present customers much more insights into listening to well being, Apple is introducing an intuitive, clinical-grade listening to take a look at primarily based on the usual scientific strategy known as pure-tone audiometry that customers can take themselves with their AirPods Professional and a suitable iPhone or iPad.
Customers can take the handy take a look at in about 5 minutes from the consolation of their very own residence. The Listening to Check characteristic leverages superior acoustic science and gives customers with an interactive expertise. When a consumer completes the take a look at, they are going to see an easy-to-understand abstract of their outcomes, together with a quantity representing listening to loss in every ear, a classification, and proposals. The outcomes, which embody an audiogram, are saved privately and securely within the Well being app, and will be shared with a healthcare supplier to have extra knowledgeable conversations.
The Listening to Check builds on learnings from the Apple Listening to Examine and was developed utilizing large-scale, real-world knowledge. The characteristic was then validated towards the scientific gold commonplace of pure-tone audiometry.
“Listening to well being is a cornerstone of total wellbeing. Defending and preserving our listening to enhances our high quality of life each within the short-term and long-term,” mentioned Rick Neitzel, College of Michigan College of Public Well being’s professor of Environmental Well being Sciences and principal investigator of the Apple Listening to Examine. “I’m thrilled Apple is introducing vital instruments to help individuals’s listening to well being. These instruments will assist individuals defend their ears from noise air pollution, pay attention to adjustments of their listening to over time, and have vital conversations with their healthcare suppliers after they want further help.”
Help
Studying about listening to loss is a crucial step to getting needed help, which may usually be difficult as a consequence of value and entry. World analysis exhibits listening to loss usually goes untreated. Actually, the Apple Listening to Examine revealed that 75 % of individuals identified with listening to loss haven’t acquired the assistive help that they want.
AirPods Professional add an revolutionary over-the-counter Listening to Help functionality for customers with delicate to average listening to loss. Utilizing the personalised listening to profile from the Listening to Check, this new characteristic seamlessly transforms AirPods Professional right into a clinical-grade listening to assist. After setup, the characteristic allows personalised dynamic changes so customers have the sounds round them boosted in actual time. This helps them higher have interaction in dialog, and retains them related to the individuals and atmosphere round them. With the unimaginable audio high quality of AirPods Professional, the consumer’s personalised listening to profile is mechanically utilized to music, motion pictures, video games, and telephone calls throughout their gadgets, with no need to regulate any settings. Customers can even arrange the Listening to Help characteristic with an audiogram created by a listening to well being skilled.
The Listening to Help characteristic was clinically validated in a managed, randomized research that evaluated the perceived advantage of the characteristic and its customized settings in comparison with an audiologist-assisted setup.
After taking the Listening to Check, the consumer’s listening to profile can even assist to personalize the AirPods Professional listening expertise for much more individuals, together with these with little to no listening to loss who can nonetheless profit from particular changes at particular person frequencies. To assist present the most effective listening expertise, Media Help is an all-new characteristic that helps increase sure components of speech on a telephone name or devices inside a soundtrack to assist a good broader inhabitants.
These options construct on the listening to well being instruments Apple at present provides its customers. For instance, with the Noise app, Apple Watch customers can allow notifications for when environmental noise ranges would possibly have an effect on their listening to well being. On iPhone, customers can set a headphone quantity restrict the place they will activate Cut back Loud Audio and drag a slider to a most popular decibel stage. Apple additionally provides further accessibility options for customers to customise settings to satisfy their listening to wants.
“For many years, Apple has led the best way in designing merchandise for everybody and supporting customers with a broad spectrum of listening to talents,” mentioned Sarah Herrlinger, Apple’s senior director of World Accessibility Coverage and Initiatives. “These options on AirPods Professional will make an influence on so many individuals by driving extra consciousness round listening to well being and empowering people with new customizable instruments to assist them keep related.”
Further options coming to Apple Watch, iPhone, and iPad embody:
- The brand new Vitals app on Apple Watch offers customers a approach to test in on their every day well being standing and examine key in a single day well being metrics, like coronary heart fee and respiratory fee, and acquire higher context in the case of their well being.
- The Well being app provides further help for pregnant customers to replicate adjustments of their bodily and psychological well being throughout this vital time. Customers can view the present gestational age and log signs in Cycle Monitoring. Apple Watch customers can even obtain suggestions to overview options like excessive coronary heart fee notifications.
- Time spent journaling will be saved as conscious minutes within the Well being app, and customers can log their mind-set proper in Journal.
Since launching the Well being app in 2014, Apple has launched significant options that target 18 areas of well being and health throughout Apple Watch, AirPods, iPhone, and iPad. Apple is dedicated to empowering customers on their well being journey by constructing actionable options into the merchandise they use day by day which might be grounded in science, and have privateness on the core.
Constructed with Privateness on the Core
Privateness is prime within the design and growth throughout all of Apple’s well being options. When a consumer’s machine is locked with a passcode, Contact ID, or Face ID, all of their well being and health knowledge within the Well being app — aside from Medical ID — is encrypted. Any Well being knowledge backed as much as iCloud is encrypted each in transit and on Apple servers. When utilizing iOS, iPadOS, and watchOS with the default two-factor authentication and a passcode, Well being app knowledge synced to iCloud is encrypted end-to-end, which means that Apple doesn’t have the important thing to decrypt the information and due to this fact can’t learn it.
Availability
- Some options will not be accessible in all areas or all languages, or with all makes and fashions.
- The sleep apnea notifications are anticipated to obtain advertising authorization from the FDA and different international well being authorities quickly, with availability this month in additional than 150 nations and areas, together with the U.S., the EU, and Japan. The characteristic shall be supported on Apple Watch Collection 9, Apple Watch Collection 10, and Apple Watch Extremely 2.
- The Listening to Check and Help options are anticipated to obtain advertising authorization from international well being authorities quickly and shall be supported with AirPods Professional 2 with the most recent firmware when paired with a suitable iPhone or iPad, and shall be accessible this fall in additional than 100 nations and areas, together with the U.S., Germany, and Japan.
- The Listening to Safety characteristic is predicted to be accessible in fall 2024 and can work with AirPods Professional 2 with the most recent firmware when paired with a suitable iPhone, iPad, or Mac operating the most recent working system. The characteristic shall be accessible within the U.S. and Canada.
About Apple
Apple revolutionized private expertise with the introduction of the Macintosh in 1984. As we speak, Apple leads the world in innovation with iPhone, iPad, Mac, AirPods, Apple Watch, and Apple Imaginative and prescient Professional. Apple’s six software program platforms — iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, visionOS, and tvOS — present seamless experiences throughout all Apple gadgets and empower individuals with breakthrough companies together with the App Retailer, Apple Music, Apple Pay, iCloud, and Apple TV+. Apple’s greater than 150,000 staff are devoted to creating the most effective merchandise on earth and to leaving the world higher than we discovered it.
- The sleep apnea notification characteristic is pending FDA clearance and is predicted to be accessible later this month. The characteristic shall be supported on Apple Watch Collection 9, Apple Watch Collection 10, and Apple Watch Extremely 2. It’s meant to detect indicators of average to extreme sleep apnea for individuals 18 years or older and not using a prognosis of sleep apnea.
- The Listening to Safety characteristic works with AirPods Professional 2 with the most recent firmware when paired with a suitable iPhone, iPad, or Mac operating the most recent working system. The characteristic shall be accessible within the U.S. and Canada. See help.apple.com/120850 for whole attenuation and extra data.
- The Listening to Check and Listening to Help options are anticipated to be accessible fall 2024. The Listening to Help characteristic is pending advertising authorization from the FDA and different international well being authorities. The Listening to Check and Listening to Help options shall be supported on AirPods Professional 2 with the most recent firmware paired with a suitable iPhone or iPad with iOS 18 or iPadOS 18 and later, and is meant for individuals 18 years or older. The Listening to Help characteristic is meant for individuals with perceived delicate to average listening to loss.
Press Contacts
Zaina Khachadourian
Apple
Lance Lin
Apple
Apple Media Helpline
