Apple expands health insights with Apple Watch Series 11

CUPERTINO, Calif. - The recently released Apple Watch Series 11 includes notifications for signs of chronic high blood pressure and new insights into sleep quality, Apple has announced.  

Hypertension 

How it works: Hypertension notifications on Apple Watch use data from the optical heart sensor to analyze how a user’s blood vessels respond to the beats of the heart. The algorithm works passively in the background reviewing data over 30-day periods and notifies users if it detects consistent signs of hypertension.  

How it was developed: The feature was developed with advanced machine learning and training data from multiple studies totaling more than 100,000 participants. Its performance was then validated in a clinical study of more than 2,000 participants. 

The impact: While hypertension notifications will not detect all instances of hypertension, with the reach of Apple Watch, the feature is expected to notify more than 1 million people with undiagnosed hypertension within the first year. 

Sleep quality 

How it works: Sleep quality is influenced by several factors, such as duration, bedtime consistency, how often a person wakes up, and how much time is spent in each sleep stage. With sleep score, Apple Watch helps track each of these categories to assign transparent and easy-to-understand metrics for a user’s overall sleep quality. After each night, sleep score provides an overall score and classification in the Sleep app on Apple Watch, plus a clear breakdown of the most critical components, so users know what to prioritize to improve their sleep.  

How it was developed: The scoring approach and prioritization algorithm of sleep score is informed by the latest guidance published by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, National Sleep Foundation, and World Sleep Society. More than 5 million nights of sleep data from the Apple Heart and Movement Study were used to develop and test the scoring algorithms. 

The impact: Apple Watch’s sensors capture data during sleep like heart rate, wrist temperature, blood oxygen and respiratory rate, and even discover possible sleep apnea. Now, with watchOS 26, Apple Watch can help users understand the quality of their sleep and how to make it more restorative with a new sleep score feature.