Apple Watch Series 6 could bring ability to monitor blood oxygen levels

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Next Apple Watch Activity challenge will take place on Veterans Day
Apple Watch could gain a new health-oriented feature.
Photo: Ian Fuchs/Cult of Mac

Apple Watch Series 6 reportedly will come with a blood oxygen sensor capable of measuring the amount of oxygen being carried by a wearer’s red blood cells.

Making sure the balance of oxygen-saturated blood is at the correct levels is crucial to a person’s health.

Digitimes shared the news of the new sensor. The report also notes that Apple struck a deal with supplier ASE Technology to manufacture system-in-package (SiP) integrated circuits.

This isn’t the first time we’ve heard about a blood oxygen monitor for the Apple Watch. There has been discussion of incorporating such technology in the Apple Watch since the very first model. However, Apple has yet to debut it.

Other wearables companies such as Fitbit have added blood oxygen sensing which measures peripheral capillary oxygen saturation, the percentage of oxygenated hemoglobin compared to the total amount of hemoglobin in blood. This is just one of several approaches.

Apple Watch Series 6 could measure blood oxygen levels

Earlier this year, 9to5Mac discovered “code snippets” suggesting that Apple would add blood oxygen-reading tech to a future Apple Watch.

It’s not clear how such a feature would be implemented. It could work much like the AFib-sensing heart rate tech on the Apple Watch. That mould mean alerting users to seek medical attention if their blood oxygen level dropped to dangerously low levels.

What are you hoping for from the Apple Watch Series 6? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.

Source: Digitimes

Via: 9to5Mac

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