Samsung Wins Nod for Sleep Apnea Feature

Samsung is becoming more competitive in the healthcare wearable space. The Yeongtong-gu, Suwon, South Korea-based company won de novo authorization for a sleep apnea feature on its Galaxy Watch and Phone.

 The authorization follows a previous approval by South Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety announced in October of 2023. 

 In a release, Samsung said the feature enables users over the age of 22 who have not been diagnosed with sleep apnea to detect moderate to severe signs of the condition over a two-night monitoring period. 

 The feature will be available via the Samsung Health Monitor app. 

 The company said as a result of the detection, people could seek medical care to reduce the possibility of health-related complications.

FDA’s nod comes a few months after Bloomberg reported it

was rumored that Apple

would have hypertension and sleep apnea detection for its next watch. 

 Samsung is in a position that Apple was in back in 2018. The Cupertino, CA-based company won FDA clearance for an atrial fibrillation (AFib) detection wearable watch to include an ECG app, that can classify whether there are signs of AFib, and another app that analyzes pulse rates for irregular rhythms.

 While there were other technologies on the market – Apple’s nod in 2018 brought visibility AFib detection. Samsung’s nod could make detecting signs of sleep apnea commonplace, too.