watchOS 11 now available with sleep apnea detection for Series 9 and Ultra 2

Sleep apnea is a condition that can cause a person to stop breathing during sleep and can lead to an increased risk of high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes if left untreated. Apple’s sleep apnea detection feature, which uses an accelerometer to monitor small wrist movements associated with interruptions in sleep, was announced alongside the new Apple Watch Series 10 and is now available for both the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2. If sleep apnea is detected, the Apple Watch will alert the user and provide additional information that can be shared with a doctor who can make a formal diagnosis.

Other health features now available in watchOS 11 include Training Load, which compares the intensity and duration of workouts over the past week to the past 28 days, so athletes can see if the strain on their body is higher or lower than their previous efforts. Activity rings can now also be paused, allowing users to take breaks due to injury or illness without ending a set, and the fitness app’s summary tab can be customized so users can prioritize widgets that show the health metrics that matter most to them.

The new Vitals app provides a 24/7 summary of health data such as heart rate, respiratory rate, wrist temperature, blood oxygen levels, and sleep duration, while the cycle tracking feature on Apple Watch will also display gestational age — the current length of your pregnancy — and let you track pregnancy symptoms.

The double-tap gesture on Apple Watch can now be used to scroll through apps like Messages and Calendar, and the Translate app is now available on your wrist and supports 20 languages. It will automatically appear in the Smart Stack when you travel to an area where a different language is spoken than yours.

The Photos watch face has also been redesigned for watchOS 11, and now uses machine learning to search your library and recommend photos that will make good watch faces based on criteria like composition, aesthetics, and facial expressions. The clock will automatically frame itself around your chosen image, but you’ll also be able to customize the layout of the face, including your preferred font for the hour.