I finally caved and decided to upgrade my 44 mm Apple Watch Series 5 to the Apple Watch Ultra. There was nothing wrong with the Series 5. I probably could have gotten two more years out of it, but since I started doing some long-distance running, I wanted to ensure I was using the latest and greatest hardware for health tracking.
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How was your sleep last night? Sleep++ for Apple Watch is a great way to quantify your rest, and today the app is adding a new way to interpret your sleep quality. The new feature explains how last night’s sleep affects your day ahead.
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NapBot is a powerful third-party sleep tracking application for Apple Watch powered by CoreML. A new update for the app brings additional independent Apple Watch features, as well as a new deep sleep trend analysis option for users.
9to5Mac exclusively reported over the weekend that Apple Watch will gain the ability to detect blood oxygen saturation, a critical vital for maintaining heart and brain health. The new health feature isn’t the only change coming to Apple Watch Series 6 and watchOS 7.
Based on leaked iOS 14 code obtained by 9to5Mac, we can share many more details including new watch faces, sleep tracking, and parental control features in development for later this fall.
Yesterday 9to5Mac’s Gui Rambo presented exclusive first details on upcoming sleep tracking functionality for the Apple Watch. The new feature, which will require users to wear the Apple Watch while sleeping, could launch as early as next week during Apple’s ‘By Innovation Only’ event.
We’re curious to know what your thoughts are on Apple Watch sleep tracking, including whether or not you’d be willing to wear the Apple Watch to bed? Watch our video news report for more details.
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AutoSleep is my go-to app for tracking sleep quality with the Apple Watch (although the watch isn’t required), and today the sleep tracking app is receiving a major update. AutoSleep 6.0 introduces a new look including a darker dark mode, new ways to view your sleep data and suggestions for how to improve sleep quality, and a new Siri Dashboard feature that works with Siri Shortcuts on iOS 12.
Earlier this week, Apple received FCC clearance with a new sleep monitor product that looked like an updated version of the Beddit Sleep Monitor that it acquired in 2017. Today the updated Beddit Sleep Monitor 3.5 (replacing version 3.0) is now available through the Apple Store.
Apple has received FCC approval for a new ‘sleep monitor’ product today, but it’s likely not an Apple Watch-based solution. Instead, the product description suggests the Apple sleep monitor is either an existing version of the Beddit sleep monitor product acquired by Apple or a new version of the same product.
The Apple-owned sleep monitor app Beddit is out with an update today that makes good on a promise from the company a few months ago. With today’s update, the cloud syncing functionality of the app has been removed.
SleepScore Labs is today releasing its first consumer-grade sleep measuring mobile app, SleepScore.
Sleep Cycle for iPhone introduced snore detection a year ago to help sleep trackers discover whether or not snoring is affecting their sleep quality. Today Sleep Cycle is building on that feature with a brand new Apple Watch app that will silently nudge you when snoring is detected…
Apple’s Health app supports sleep tracking data on the iPhone, but populating the category with useful data can be a challenge.
You can capture some data using the Bedtime feature in the Clock app, but dedicated sleep trackers can be more reliable and offer more robust data and Apple hasn’t offered its own Apple Watch sleep tracking yet despite buying Beddit almost a year ago.
Sleep++ is a third-party app that lets you turn your Apple Watch into a dedicated sleep tracker, and today’s 3.0 release makes that much easier with automatic sleep tracking and new goal features.
Sleep Cycle’s alarm clock app is already one way to do sleep tracking from your iPhone and log the data into Apple’s Health app. Now the latest update adds a new feature to Sleep Cycle that may offer insight into sleep quality: snore detection.
A common Apple Watch question people ask me is when will Apple add built-in sleep tracking capabilities. My answer is always ‘soon I hope’, and watchOS 4 seems like the next opportunity to introduce it. But there are already third-party apps that let you try it now. The problem for me is finding the right time to recharge my Apple Watch when I wear it overnight.
IBM today announced that it’s launching the first app that will run on its new Watson Health Cloud for ResearchKit — SleepHealth — as it also makes that platform available to researchers building their own apps that work with Apple’s ResearchKit.
For anyone looking to get better tracking and a bird’s eye view of your sleep habits, be sure to check out Sleep++ 2.0 available today. This latest version brings in a major sleep analysis algorithm overhaul to help users get a better understanding of nightly sleep patterns.
For users who frequently forget to stop their sleep tracking, the app’s update also introduces the ability to trim time off any extra hours accidentally accrued.
Sleep tracking accessory maker Beddit is out with a new watchOS 2 app for Apple Watch today. Because Beddit offers a dedicated sensor for tracking your sleep duration and quality each night, Apple Watch is able to charge overnight as needed and still present sleep data in the morning. Thanks to hardware access granted to native software, Beddit’s watchOS 2 app lets Apple Watch double as a sleep tracker during the day for measuring naps and creating silent alarms. Just as Beddit’s watchOS 2 app is hitting the App Store, Beddit’s Smart Sleep Tracker is coming to Apple Stores around the world and apple.com for the first time starting today…
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Fitness device maker Misfit and swim-accessory expert Speedo are hitting the pool together this summer to create a special version of the fitness tracking Shine wearable made especially for swimmers. The Speedo Shine is enhanced for workouts in the pool thanks to “proprietary lap counting algorithms with industry-leading accuracy” that swimmers should appreciate. Data captured by Speedo Shine syncs up wirelessly with Misfit’s iPhone app over Bluetooth for evaluating workouts in the pool and hitting swim goals. And while the water resistant Apple Watch with non-leather bands plays nice with some water, Speedo Shine is made with swimmers in mind and waterproofed to 50 meters.
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We saw Misfit introduce a unique, luxury version of its Shine fitness and sleep tracking wearable with Swarovski at CES yesterday, and today Misfit is launching Bolt—its first smart bulb. Misfit describes Bolt as ” a wirelessly connected color-changing light bulb that lets users personalize their home lighting.” Misfit points out that its Bolt connected light bulbs won’t require a hub and actually integrate with the company’s existing sleep tracking devices (Shine, Flash, Beddit) to gently wake you up with lighting during light sleep.
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The Jawbone UP bracelet has been on the market for three years receiving improvements every year. The Jawbone UP 24 received a major update: Bluetooth LE. Initially to sync the data onto the phone, the user had to plug the band into the phone’s headphone jack and wait, typically about fifteen seconds, for the data to sync into the app.
Now, since the UP 24 has Bluetooth LE capabilities, it is compatible with the iPhone 4S and later, the fifth generation iPod Touch, the third generation iPad and newer as well as the iPad Minis. Jawbone has made the UP 24 to be compatible with Android phones. Bluetooth LE allows the band to automatically connect with the Jawbone UP app.
Apple Watch will include fitness and health tracking features
Update: Fitbit statement below the fold…
If you’re in the market for a Fitbit device and you’re shopping at the Apple Store, you’ll probably have to shop elsewhere to purchase the fitness tracker. Following report from Re/Code last month that Apple planned to drop the Fitbit line of wearable devices from its Apple Store lineup, Apple has today removed the Fitbit Flex and other Fitbit products from its online store following low inventory over the past week. While its unclear why Apple is no longer selling Fitbit products through its retail channels, on the surface the move is similar to Apple’s decision to discontinue selling Bose headphones and speakers at its retail and online stores.
Sleep Cycle has updated its smart alarm app for iPhone to take advantage of the larger displays on the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus using an adaptive layout to show more content at once.
The updated version of Sleep Cycle also takes advantage of HealthKit for iOS 8 users as the app can now share sleep tracking information with Apple’s Health app. Sleep Cycle says to begin sleep tracking for at least one night before activating sharing between the smart alarm clock and Apple’s Health app.
Sleep Cycle allows iPhone users to capture sleep analysis data by placing the iPhone between the sheets and mattress where you sleep while connected to a power source to measure sleep duration and quality. Previously that data was presented only in the Sleep Cycle app, but the latest update allows iPhone users to also view that data alongside other information available in Apple’s Health app on iOS 8 like step tracking, heart rate, and more.
The app is 99¢ on the App Store and worth trying out for anyone interested in adding sleep tracking data to Apple’s Health app without buying a dedicated fitness band. For more apps that take advantage of Apple’s Health app, check out our running list of supported apps.
Fitbit, makers of popular fitness tracking wearables and apps, has confirmed it currently has no plans to support Apple’s new iOS 8 Health app. After a bit of a delayed launch last month, a long list of developers have rushed to integrate support for HealthKit, Apple’s new frameworks that allow developers to share and tap into data from one central location on the user’s device: the new Health app in iOS 8. Fitbit, however, has confirmed in a few responses on its customer forums that it isn’t working on integration much to the frustration of its users that have been awaiting an update:
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