watchOS 11.1 is available with sleep apnea alerts and artificial intelligence features.

After a month of beta testing, Apple has finally released watchOS 11.1 to Apple Watch users. This is the first major update in the watchOS 11 cycle. It was unclear what Apple was adding to the system for much of the beta period. However, late in development the company added Sleep apnea detection for the latest Apple Watch models.

This feature was announced during iPhone 16 event. In its keynote, Apple explained that sleep apnea is a potentially serious condition in which breathing stops repeatedly during sleep. “The condition, which is estimated to affect more than 1 billion people worldwide, remains largely undiagnosed. If left untreated, sleep apnea can have serious health consequences, including an increased risk of hypertension, type 2 diabetes and heart problems.”

To detect sleep apnea, Apple Watch uses an accelerometer to track small wrist movements that are associated with disruptions to normal breathing, which are tracked using a new Apple Watch metric called Breathing Disorders.

While some of these disturbances are normal, they are important to monitor because they can be used to understand restful sleep, and if they occur frequently over several nights, they may be associated with sleep apnea. Users can view their nocturnal breathing disturbances in the Health app, where they are classified as elevated or not elevated and can be viewed over a period of one month, six months or one year.

Additionally, Apple Watch users can also take advantage of Apple Intelligence features when their iPhones are nearby. Here are two AI features that watchOS 11.1 can take advantage of:

• Reduce your breaks: The all-new Focus Mode understands the content of your notifications and shows you those that might need immediate attention, such as text telling you you’ll pick up your child from daycare today.
• Summing up: Apple Intelligence can summarize all your notifications.

Last but not least, watchOS 11.1 fixes some bugs, including an issue with recording breathing data in HealthKit for some users.