iOS 18.2 brings sleep apnea detection to Apple Watch in Canada

The iOS 18.2 beta was released to developers today and brings with it many new features – most of which are related to Apple Intelligence. However, there are a few more changes, and one of them involves the Apple Watch’s sleep apnea detection feature. With the update, users in Canada can finally activate the new health feature.

Apple Watch sleep apnea detection is coming to Canada

According to Apple, sleep apnea notifications are available in more than 150 countries, but Canada is not one of them. That’s because health-related attributes must be approved by each country’s regulatory authorities. Health Canada gave Apple permission to enable the new feature in the country back in September, but sleep apnea detection remains unavailable to users there.

Interestingly, the first beta version of iOS 18.2 enables sleep apnea detection for users in Canada who have a compatible Apple Watch.

Sleep apnea detection was introduced in watchOS 11 for Apple Watch Series 9 and later. The feature uses the Apple Watch’s accelerometer to detect possible breathing disorders during sleep. Here’s how Apple describes it:

Sleep is an important area of ​​health because it impacts a person’s overall physical and mental well-being. Sleep apnea is a common condition in which breathing temporarily stops during sleep and the body does not receive enough oxygen. This condition is estimated to affect more than one billion people worldwide, and in most cases it goes undiagnosed. If left untreated, it can cause serious health consequences over time, including an increased risk of high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and heart problems.

Disturbanced Breathing is an innovative new metric on Apple Watch that uses the accelerometer to detect small wrist movements associated with interruptions in normal breathing patterns during sleep. Every 30 days, Apple Watch analyzes data about breathing disorders and notifies users if they show persistent signs of moderate to severe sleep apnea so they can talk to their doctor about next steps, including possible diagnosis and treatment.

It’s currently unclear whether Apple will wait for the release of iOS 18.2 to enable sleep apnea detection in Canada, or whether the company will release a small update beforehand just to enable the feature in the country. The RC version of iOS 18.1, expected to be released next week, does not enable this feature for users in Canada.

More about iOS 18.2

iOS 18.2 brings additional Apple Intelligence features. These include Image Playground, Genmoji, ChatGPT integration, and visual search for iPhone 16 models.

Currently, the iOS 18.2 beta is only available for devices compatible with Apple Intelligence. That means iPhone 15 Pro or newer and M1 iPads or newer. Of course, the update will eventually be available for other devices. Apple had previously suggested that iOS 18.2 would be released to the public in December.