FDA clears Apple’s sleep apnea detection feature for use. Here’s how it works
Tim Cook, chief executive officer of Apple Inc., during an event at Apple Park campus in Cupertino, California, US, on Monday, Sept. 9, 2024. Apple Inc. unveiled a new version of its smartwatch with a bigger screen and the ability to detect sleep apnea, part of an event Monday that will also include the iPhone 16 smartphone. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Monday cleared Apple‘s new sleep apnea detection feature for use, which means it will come to the Apple Watch Series 9, Series 10 and Ultra 2 later this month.
Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder that causes a person’s breathing to repeatedly stop and start throughout the night. The condition affects more than 30 million people in the U.S., but only around 6 million are diagnosed, according to the American Medical Association. If it goes untreated, sleep apnea can cause fatigue and lead to more serious health issues like heart problems, hypertension and Type 2 diabetes.
“We are so excited about the incredible impact this feature can make for the millions of people living with undiagnosed sleep apnea,” Dr. Sumbul Desai, vice president of health at Apple, said in the feature’s launch video.
Apple’s sleep apnea detection feature marks the company’s latest attempt to position its wearables as a cheaper, simpler alternative to many existing health-care tests and devices. And the sleep disorder market could prove to be lucrative.
To get evaluated for sleep apnea, for instance, patients typically participate in an at-home test or an in-lab test where they’re monitored overnight. Prices vary depending on insurance coverage, but the average in-lab test costs $3,000, according to a 2022 study in the Journal of Primary Care & Community Health.
At-home tests are often less expensive, but they can still cost hundreds of dollars. The at-home sleep apnea test from Sleep Doctor costs $189, for example. Apple’s newest watch, the Series 10, starts at $399.
Apple’s sleep apnea detection feature is “potentially a game changer” for patients who have been reluctant to seek out testing, said Dr. David Kuhlmann, a physician who has treated sleep disorders for nearly two decades in Missouri. Kuhlmann also serves on the board of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, which is a professional society for sleep medicine clinicians.
Kuhlmann said the feature could be especially helpful for patients who sleep alone, and he thinks a lot of people will be surprised to find out they’re showing signs of sleep apnea.
Even so, Kuhlmann said users should approach Apple’s sleep apnea data with some caution, as readings could be erroneous. He said it is unlikely that insurance companies will begin paying for sleep apnea therapies like CPAP machines based on Apple Watch data alone, which is why it is important for patients to follow up with their health-care providers to get an official diagnosis.
“People do need to be diagnosed in order to be treated,” Kuhlmann told CNBC in an interview.
Kuhlmann said the feature will likely cause an increase in visits to health-care providers, which could ultimately reduce costs for the U.S. health-care system overall. Ideally, if patients catch sleep apnea earlier, they can avoid paying for treatments for more serious conditions down the line.
“By finding out that they have these underlying sleep disorders and getting them treated, it could potentially actually help save expenses and help improve quality of life.”
How it works
Apple Watch Series 10 sleep apnea alert.
Apple Inc.
Apple’s sleep apnea detection feature works by analyzing a new metric that the company calls “breathing disturbances.” The Apple Watch identifies breathing disturbances by using an accelerometer to measure movements at the wrist that indicate disruptions to normal breathing patterns.
Users can view their nightly metrics in the Health app, where they’ll be classified as either “elevated” or “not elevated,” i.e., normal. Apple will analyze this breathing disturbance data once a month and notify people if they show “consistent signs” of severe or moderate sleep apnea. Users can view their data over a one-month, six-month or one-year period.
The Apple Watch Series 10 supports an 18-hour battery life, so people who are interested in using this feature will likely need to charge their device during the day.
Apple can also generate a report that users can bring to their doctors to discuss next steps. The report includes three months’ worth of breathing disturbance data as well as some additional information, the company said. Users can access educational materials within the Health app as well.
Apple said that the notification algorithm was developed with “an extensive data set of clinical-grade sleep apnea tests,” and that the feature was validated in a clinical study.
“Now I’m jonesing to get an Apple [Watch] so I can try it out on myself,” Kuhlmann said.
Elon Musk interviews on CNBC from the Tesla Headquarters in Texas.
CNBC
Elon Musk needs to spend more time at Tesla as his electric vehicle company faces a “crisis,” according to a letter on Wednesday from a group of pension fund leaders who manage investments in the company.
“Tesla’s stock price volatility, declining sales, as well as disconcerting reports regarding the company’s human rights practices, and a plummeting global reputation are cause for serious concern,” the investors wrote in a letter to Robyn Denholm, the company’s board chair. “Moreover, many issues are linked to Mr. Musk’s actions outside of his role as Technoking and Chief Executive Officer at Tesla, including his high-profile role as an architect of the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).”
The investors want the Tesla board to require Musk to work a minimum of 40 hours per week at the automaker as a condition of any new compensation plan they may arrange for him. They also want a clear succession plan for management of the EV business, and a policy that would apply to all Tesla directors limiting their outside board commitments at public and private companies.
Early last year, the Delaware Court of Chancery ordered Tesla to rescind Musk’s 2018 CEO pay package, which had been worth around $56 billion, finding that Musk controlled the company, and the board’s compensation committee misled shareholders before seeking their vote to approve the plan.
Musk now says he wants even more shares, amounting to 25% voting control of the company.
Tesla’s brand value and reputation have declined since 2024, due largely to Musk‘s incendiary rhetoric and political activities. In addition to pouring nearly $300 million into an effort to get Donald Trump back into the White House, Musk formally endorsed Germany’s far-right AfD party ahead of the country’s parliamentary election this year.
At DOGE, Musk has led an initiative by the Trump administration to slash federal agencies.
Tesla once ranked eighth among the most popular American brands in the Axios Harris Poll of public perceptions of the 100 most visible U.S. companies. But recently, Tesla dropped to 95th, behind six other automakers in that poll.
Tesla’s stock price is down 12% this year, while the Nasdaq is down just 1%.
Data this week revealed that Tesla’s monthly sales across Europe plunged by nearly half in April compared to the same time last year. That trend extends the steep declines Tesla saw in the first quarter.
The investors who signed Wednesday’s letter own about 7.9 million shares in the company combined. They blamed a Tesla board that’s “unwilling to act in the best interest of all Tesla shareholders” by requiring Musk’s “full-time attention” on the company.
Musk said this week that he plans to focus more on his businesses, which include xAI and SpaceX in addition to Tesla.
Those who signed the letter included the pro-labor SOC Investment Group, American Federation of Teachers, New York City Comptroller Brad Lander and Oregon State Treasurer Elizabeth Steiner.
The investors asked Tesla to add at least one new independent director with no personal ties to other board members. Tesla earlier this month said former Chipotle CFO Jack Hartung will join the company’s board. Hartung previously worked with Musk’s brother and Tesla board member Kimbal Musk, who was a board member at the Mexican food chain.
Tesla didn’t respond to a request for comment in response to the letter.
Read the investors’ letter in full here.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg appears at the Meta Connect event in Menlo Park, California, on Sept. 25, 2024.
David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Meta’s AI assistant now has 1 billion monthly active users across the company’s family of apps, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Wednesday at the company’s annual shareholder meeting.
The “focus for this year is deepening the experience and making Meta AI the leading personal AI with an emphasis on personalization, voice conversations and entertainment,” Zuckerberg said.
The artificial intelligent assistant’s 1 billion milestone comes after the company in April released a standalone app for the tool.
The plan is for Meta to keep growing the product before building a business around it, Zuckerberg said on Wednesday. As Meta AI improves overtime, Zuckerberg said “there will be opportunities to either insert paid recommendations” or offer “a subscription service so that people can pay to use more compute.”
In February, CNBC reported that Meta was planning to debut a standalone Meta AI app during the second quarter and test a paid-subscription service akin to rival chat apps like OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
“It may seem kind of funny that a billion monthly actives doesn’t seem like it’s at scale for us, but that’s where we’re at,” Zuckerberg told shareholders.
During the Meta shareholder meeting, investors voted on 14 different items related to the company’s business, nine of which were shareholder proposals covering topics such as child safety, greenhouse gas emissions and a proposed bitcoin treasury assessment.
Shareholder proposal 8, for example, was submitted by JLens, which is an investment advisor and affiliate of the Anti-Defamation League, and called for Meta to prepare an annual report detailing and addressing hate content, including antisemitism, on its services following January policy changes that relaxed content-moderation guidelines.
Early voting results on Wednesday showed the proposals that Meta’s board did not recommend were unlikely to pass, including one calling for the company to end its dual-class share structure, which gives Zuckerberg significant voting power. Meanwhile, the voting items that the board favored, including those pertaining to approving the company’s board of director nominees and an equity incentive plan, were likely to pass, based on the preliminary results.
Meta said final polling results will be released within four business days on the company’s website and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
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