Oliver Haslam·

Apple Working On Sleep Tracking For 2020 Apple Watch

According to a new report by Bloomberg, Apple is testing a new sleep tracking feature for the Apple Watch. Currently, anyone wanting to keep tabs on their sleep pattern needs to pick up a third-party app, and while there are plenty to choose from, first-party solutions tend to be a better option especially when it comes to the Apple Watch.

While some of the competition has long been able to track sleep, including the ever-popular Fitbit, Apple’s wearable has lagged behind. According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, the company is keen to rectify that.

The company has been using the sleep-tracking feature for several months with testers at secret sites around its Cupertino, California, headquarters, according to people familiar with the work. If the functionality is successful in the testing stages, the company plans to add it to the Apple Watch by 2020, according to one of the people. The company has released new versions of the Apple Watch each fall since 2016.

Sleep tracking on the Apple Watch would reduce a competitive advantage that longtime fitness-wearable developer Fitbit Inc. has had on the market.

Apple has made strides with recent Apple Watch hardware revisions to try and make their batteries last longer, which is something that is likely needed in order to make overnight sleep tracking something that most people would be comfortable with. After all, it’s no use having detailed data on how you slept if your Apple Watch is dead by lunchtime, is it?

Apple did, of course, pick up a Finnish startup called Beddit, something that no doubt won’t be harming its chances of bringing real sleep tracking to the Apple Watch. Beddit made a sleep tracker in the form of a sensor strip before the acquisition.

(Source: Bloomberg)

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