A long-desired Apple Watch feature might be coming with watchOS 7: Sleep tracking. A new Sleep app from Apple leaked last fall. At the time, reports said Apple’s sleep-tracking feature would be able to monitor sleep quality via sensors within the Apple Watch that would log a user’s movement, heart rate, and noise data.
Leaked iOS 14 code (via 9to5Mac) is providing fresh details about watchOS 7, including that it will work with a new custom sleep goal in the Apple Health app on an iPhone, for the purpose of improving your sleep duration and quality.
The Sleep app is supposed to serve up an overview of sleep patterns with bedtime reminders. When it releases with the Time in Bed feature, a new watchface might also become available. Originally, Apple was supposed to roll this all out by 2020. But that, of course, never happened.
MacDailyNews Take: Apple Watch sleep tracking will probably be hardware-dependent as the battery will need to last longer than it does in most use cases currently. This new feature might be reserved for Apple Watch Series 5 and higher or maybe even just for Apple Watch Series 6, which we expect to see this fall.
Charge between 6pm and 9pm and you can measure your sleep now with Sleep++ or Autosleep apps. I get to the next 6pm with 20-40% remaining. No problem now.
Series 5
I’ve been using sleep tracking apps for years, and they don’t hit the battery very much. Out the watch into theater mode and battery usage is really quite minimal.
Been doing that for years. Managing the battery is easier with 2 watches. I use the series 5 watch for daytime and then swap to my old series 3 watch for sleep tracking. The series 3 doesn’t have all the features of the 5 but works well in general.
I swap the wrist also between day and night to give the skin some breathing space. The oddest thing was that using the neoprene strap left a red mark overnight. So now I use the old Milanese loop and get no reaction.
What is good with Apple products is their longevity. I’m am reusing my old watch and strap and getting more use of out it even though I have upgraded to the newer model.
I’ve gotten into the habit of leaving my phone in another room to stop getting distracted during the night, but I do want my watch to charge. Apps like Sleep Cycle work by listening for your movement, so maybe Apple Watch could do the same while it charges.
So if you toss and turn all night they will be able to offer you Monster drink ads in the morning?
No one is saying it, but Apple Watch 5 is total garbage. The battery life is so atrocious that having a sleeping function is joke. It wont last the day and night. Applewatch 6 better have a battery life 2x that of the 5. So disappointed I wasted my money on the watch 5.
My series 5 is much better on the battery after upgrading from 6.1.2 to 6.1.3.
I still use a 1st Gen watch and have 20% battery most days at bedtime. Do a reset and see if that helps.