The Korea Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) has approved the sleep apnea feature within the Samsung Health Monitor app, which will be available in Korea on the Galaxy Watch series later this year. According to the company, this new feature will enable more people to identify obstructive sleep apnea symptoms in their early stages, a condition that often goes undiagnosed and untreated. Starting early next year, the feature will be available on the Galaxy Watch series in Korea via Samsung Health Monitor app updates.

Sleep Apnea Feature

"With the new sleep apnea feature on Galaxy Watch series, we are providing users with a simple, proactive tool to recognise this disorder in its earlies possible stages before their condition worsens," said Hon Pak, Vice President and Head of Digital Health Team, MX Business at Samsung.

Sleep apnea, which causes individuals to stop breathing while asleep, can lead to disruptions in oxygen supply, reduced sleep quality, and various health complications such as hypertension, cardiac disorders, stroke, or cognitive issues. The company explained that users only need to track their sleep twice, each time for more than 4 hours, within a span of 10 days to assess the presence of these symptoms.

The sleep apnea feature now joins blood pressure monitoring, electrocardiogram (ECG) detection, and irregular heart rhythm notification (IHRN) as the latest additions to the Samsung Health Monitor app.  The company states that its sleep apnea feature is a pre-diagnosis tool and not a replacement for professional diagnosis or treatment.