Samsung Expands Sleep Apnea Detection to 70 Countries on Galaxy Watches

Samsung has just announced a major expansion of its sleep apnea detection feature, now making it available in 70 countries and territories—with 36 new additions, 34 of which are in Europe. This powerful health feature is available on Galaxy Watch4 and newer models running Wear OS 5.0 or later.

However, there’s a key requirement: your Galaxy Watch must be paired with a Samsung smartphone running Android 12 or later. Also, if you travel to a country where the feature isn’t supported, it will be automatically disabled.

Here are the countries where the feature is now supported:

Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Estonia, Faroe Islands, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Kuwait, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Mauritius, Mayotte, Mexico, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Norfolk Island, Norway, Oman, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Réunion, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Venezuela, Vietnam, and Yemen.

Sleep apnea is a serious condition where breathing repeatedly stops during sleep. This can lead to oxygen supply issues, poor sleep quality, and increased risk of hypertension, cardiac disorders, stroke, and cognitive problems.

Samsung's feature uses its BioActive Sensor to monitor SpO2 (blood oxygen saturation) during sleep. By analyzing SpO2 patterns, it detects signs of apnea and hypopnea, estimates your risk level, and notifies you if sleep apnea is suspected.

This marks a significant step forward in consumer health tech, especially for users who may be unaware they're suffering from this common condition.