With the arrival of watchOS 6, the Apple Watch will definitely get a number of software improvements. However, there's more on the way. According to a new report from 9to5Mac, Apple is working on a sleep tracking feature for its line of smartwatches.
The feature has been codenamed Burrito, but it will be officially called Time in Bed tracking. This feature allows the owners of the Apple Watch to wear it in their sleep. Wearing the watch while sleeping will track one's sleep quality using various data, including noise, motion, and heart rate. The data will be available in both the new Sleep app and the Health app.
One issue worth noting, however, is that a lot of Apple Watch users choose to charge the device at night when they are sleeping. Well, Apple has considered this thought and developed a feature that will remind users to charge their Watch before sleeping, so they can wear throughout the night.
When wearing the Watch during bedtime, if the user wakes up and starts their day before their alarm goes off, it will automatically turn off the alarm. The Apple Watch will also alarm using the iPhone as a backup. You can also switch the alarm to vibrate mode so that it doesn't ring, if that bothers you. The new bedtime system will enable Do Not Disturb automatically when the user goes to bed. Apple has given a lot of thought to this feature in order for the watch to work properly during sleeping when the Time in Bed tracking is enabled.
The report notes that the Time in Bed feature won't require any new hardware, which implies that all supported versions of the Apple Watch will get the feature. Of course, Apple is yet to confirm this. An announcement regarding details of the new feature is expected at the company event next week.
Sleep tracking for the Apple Watch is actually possible as of the moment using a variety of third-party apps, but Apple itself hasn't offered sleep tracking until now. We are yet to get a word which models of the Apple Watch will get Time in Bed, or if only the new models will get it.
We're expecting to hear more on Sept. 10, where Apple will also announce some minor hardware revisions for the Watch, specifically the new titanium and ceramic finishes. Details on what the watchOS 6 can do will also be revealed. Stay tuned.
