Leak says Apple Watch Series 6 could include sleep tracking and mental health monitoring

Apple Watch sizes
Apple Watch sizes (Image credit: iMore)

What you need to know

  • A Twitter leak might have revealed several new features of the Series 6 Apple Watch.
  • They include sleep tracking, a better battery, a Pulse Oximeter, and a new S6 chip.
  • It is also claimed that the Watch will be able to detect 'mental health abnormalities' such as panic attacks.

A Twitter leak might have revealed several new features about the Series 6 Apple Watch.

Nikias Molina took to Twitter yesterday stating:

I know some stuff about the Apple Watch Series 6.

Before Tweeting the following:

EXCLUSIVE leaks about the upcoming #AppleWatch Series 6 features.Sleep TrackingLonger Battery LifePulse OximeterS6 ChipMental Health Abnormalities DetectionStay tuned for more.

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As seems to be the case with leaks these days, someone inevitably called on Jon Prosser to verify the information, which he duly did. If the information is correct, it could confirm that Apple plans to include embedded sleep tracking as part of the Series 6 Apple Watch, and the much-needed battery life extension that would require. One of the most obvious drawbacks of using your Apple Watch to track sleep is when to charge it.

A Pulse Oximeter can check the level of oxygen in a person's blood. A useful metric for monitoring things such as lung function, activity, sleep apnea, and more. The leak suggests the Apple Watch could get a new S6 chip to power some of these new features. But the most interesting upgrade could be mental health monitoring.

In a video earlier this month, an EverythingApplePro video suggested that the new Apple Watch might include something akin to anxiety alerts, with the Watch being able to detect when you're having a panic attack. Apple has certainly pushed the boundaries of using wearable tech to monitor physical health. But applications for mental health as well would be a huge leap. Presumably, Apple might be able to incorporate notification and alerts for family members into this, for example, to let you know a family member is having a panic attack.

As of right now, we don't really have a clear indication as to when the Apple Watch Series 6 might be announced. More importantly, it is unclear whether some of these new features are hardware or software upgrades. If it were the latter, it would allow Apple to bring some of these new features to older Apple Watch models by way of a watchOS upgrade.

Stephen Warwick
News Editor

Stephen Warwick has written about Apple for five years at iMore and previously elsewhere. He covers all of iMore's latest breaking news regarding all of Apple's products and services, both hardware and software. Stephen has interviewed industry experts in a range of fields including finance, litigation, security, and more. He also specializes in curating and reviewing audio hardware and has experience beyond journalism in sound engineering, production, and design.

Before becoming a writer Stephen studied Ancient History at University and also worked at Apple for more than two years. Stephen is also a host on the iMore show, a weekly podcast recorded live that discusses the latest in breaking Apple news, as well as featuring fun trivia about all things Apple. Follow him on Twitter @stephenwarwick9