Updates from Fitbit for the Pixel Watch 3 and 10 Anniversary Campaigns: Sleep Apnea Detection and Other New Health Features

The focus of this year’s campaign is on the phone, but much of it is based on Fitbit’s expertise. The idea is to plan, run, reflect, with the ability to make your own runs, as well as feedback on how hard your heart is working, and whether or not you want to go to a certain level.

Now, the Pixel Watch 3 is as polished as what you get from the big dogs—it’s a massive comeback for Google’s wearable platform, which hit its 10th anniversary this year. The changes in this model aren’t as drastic as in the second model, but the new features make this a smarter watch that delivers the glanceable information we want on our wrists.

I am not a runner. As a novice in this area I liked the basic, low-intensity running plans that had been created for me by the watch that realized I was lazy. My colleague Adrienne So runs regularly and tests dozens of fitness trackers a year; she gave the new running features a try. I urge you to read her experience, it wasn’t great.

Every year, Apple adds new health features to the watch. This year there’s a sleep Apnea detection. (We first reported that the company was working on machine-learning algorithms for sleep apnea detection in 2017.) The most highly anticipated health feature was tracking for hypertension, or high blood pressure, and that has not shown up on the Apple Watch yet—probably because earlier this year, Apple was ordered to stop selling watches with blood oxygen sensing because of a patent dispute with Masimo Corp.

There’s also a larger, more efficient charging coil that can take the battery up to 80 percent in 30 minutes and a new S10 SIP designed for power efficiency. No word if the battery life is getting better. The display of the new watch face called Flux is large. The Watch Ultra 2 also has a few upgrades, including a new black finish with matching new titanium hardware, including a black Milanese band that is designed specifically for underwater sports. Any Apple Watch can be carbon neutral, according to Apple.

The Watch Ultra 2 is getting a new look. It now also comes in a new black finish, along with a new black Milanese loop that is designed specifically for water sports. On the screen, users will get a whole new slew of water-sports-related features. It’s worth noting here, though, that even though this watch looks amazing, you might not want to lose blood oxygen sensing if you have an older model, which arrived with the Watch Series 6. Most of the exciting new updates, like Apple Intelligence and new comprehensive health algorithms, arrive on the watch via the phone app and WatchOS 11 anyway.

The Series 10 is available for preorder today for $399 and will ship on September 20. Preorders of the Watch Ultra 2 can be made today at $799, and will be available on September 20.

A softer, lighter, and more customizable Apple Watch for monitoring and diagnosing sleep apnea with the machine intelligence of its medical device

It has new rounded corners that make it look much softer, along with a brand-new jet-black aluminum finish that has been polished with silicon nanoparticles to make it reflective. It comes in rose gold and silver, so don’t worry. It also features new hardware upgrades to make it thinner and lighter. Most notable are a new metal backing that integrates the antenna into the housing, and new thin speakers that can actually play music and podcasts.

Apple really wants the Apple Watch to be seen as a comprehensive health device, and it takes another step in that direction with sleep apnea detection. Sleep apnea is a condition where you stop and start breathing as you sleep, which reduces the amount of oxygen in your blood. It is commonly undiagnosed and can lead to life-threatening events like a stroke or heart attack. The watch company uses the device’s machine intelligence to monitor your sleep in a 30 day time period and warn you if you have sleep apnea.