Smartwatches That Detect Sleep Apnea in 2026: Which Ones Are FDA-Cleared?

Sleep apnea is the rare health problem where a consumer wearable genuinely changes outcomes. Nearly 30 million American adults have obstructive sleep apnea and roughly 80% of them do not know it, according to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine — largely because the symptoms happen while you are unconscious and the only person who notices is whoever sleeps next to you.

That is exactly the gap a wrist sensor can fill. But the market is now full of devices claiming to “track your breathing,” and only a handful are actually authorized by the FDA to tell you something about apnea. This guide separates the two, model by model, with what each one requires and how long it takes to report.

The Short Version

Samsung Was First — and Is Still the Fastest

Samsung’s sleep apnea risk detection feature received FDA De Novo authorization (DEN230041) on 6 February 2024, the first of its kind for a consumer wearable. It lives in the separate Samsung Health Monitor app, not the main Samsung Health app, which is the single most common reason people cannot find it.

The clinical numbers are the best published in this category. In a study of 620 adults measured against in-lab polysomnography, the algorithm reported 82.7% sensitivity and 87.7% specificity for detecting moderate-to-severe obstructive sleep apnea. In plain terms: it caught roughly four out of five real cases, and correctly cleared roughly seven out of eight people who did not have it.

What makes Samsung’s implementation genuinely usable is the speed. You wear the watch for two nights of at least four hours each within a 10-day window, and the feature then turns itself off and delivers a result. Compare that to a month of Apple data collection.

Requirements and restrictions:

• A Galaxy Watch running Wear OS 5.0 or later, paired to a phone on Android 9.0 or later. Samsung launched the feature on the Galaxy Watch Ultra and Watch7 and has extended it down the line to Galaxy Watch 4 and newer.
• You must be 22 or older and not already diagnosed with sleep apnea.
• Samsung explicitly says not to use it if you are pregnant, or have temporary breathing symptoms from flu, asthma or allergies — results will be unreliable.
• Results can also be skewed by heavy alcohol, caffeine, smoking or sleep medication on measurement nights.

For where each Galaxy generation sits, our Samsung Watch models in order guide maps the full lineup.

The Galaxy Ring Gets It This Autumn — a First for Smart Rings

At Galaxy Unpacked on 22 July 2026, Samsung confirmed the Galaxy Ring will receive FDA-cleared sleep apnea risk detection in fall 2026 via a software update. Samsung is not filing a new submission; it is extending the existing 2024 De Novo authorization to ring hardware, using overnight biometric data including blood oxygen trends.

That makes the $399 Galaxy Ring the first over-the-counter smart ring anywhere with cleared apnea detection — a meaningful competitive shot at Oura, which still has nothing comparable. It is also a smart move for anyone who cannot tolerate a watch overnight, which is a real barrier for apnea screening specifically: the people most likely to have apnea are frequently the least likely to wear a large watch to bed.

A next-generation Galaxy Ring is not expected until early 2027, so this update is what the current hardware gets. Our Oura Ring 4 vs Samsung Galaxy Ring comparison covers how the two rings stack up on everything else.

Apple Watch: Slower, Passive, and Available on More Wrists

Apple received FDA clearance for sleep apnea notifications later in 2024, and the feature works on a fundamentally different principle. Rather than a discrete two-night test, your Apple Watch uses its accelerometer to detect small movements associated with interruptions in normal respiratory patterns, classifying each night as “Elevated” or “Not Elevated.”

Over a 30-day evaluation period, if you consistently register elevated breathing disturbances, you get a notification.

Requirements:

• Apple Watch Series 9 or later, Apple Watch Ultra 2 or later, or Apple Watch SE 3, on the latest watchOS, with an iPhone on the latest iOS.
• Sleep must be set up with Track Sleep with Apple Watch turned on.
• You must wear the watch to sleep for a minimum of 10 nights over a 30-day period. Data is analysed every 30 days.
• Intended for people 18 or older who have not been diagnosed with sleep apnea.

Turn it on in the Health app on iPhone: Search → Respiratory → Sleep Apnea Notifications → Set Up. The same screen is where you review your Breathing Disturbances trend over the past month, six months or year.

The most clinically useful part is what happens after a notification. Apple lets you Export PDF — a detailed report you can hand to a doctor, which shortens the conversation considerably compared with “my watch buzzed at me.”

Apple’s caveat is important and stated plainly on its own support page: the feature is not intended to diagnose, treat or aid in the management of sleep apnea, and not all people with sleep apnea will receive a notification. Whether your model is supported at all depends on your watch’s software support window — see watchOS 27 compatibility for which models still get updates.

Apple vs Samsung: which approach is better?

They are solving the same problem in opposite directions, and the right answer depends on you.

Samsung is better if you want an answer. It is a deliberate test with a defined result and published accuracy figures, done in under two weeks.

Apple is better if you would never take a test. It runs silently forever in the background of a watch you were already wearing. The 30-day window is slow, but it is also continuous — a problem that develops in 2028 gets caught in 2028.

The catch on Apple’s side is the 10-night minimum. Plenty of people wear their watch all day, charge it overnight and never once trip the threshold. If sleep apnea screening is why you bought the watch, charge it during your evening routine instead — that habit change is what actually makes the feature work.

Everyone Else: Breathing Data Without Clearance

This is where most of the confusion in this category comes from. Several excellent sleep trackers report breathing metrics that look like apnea screening and are not.

Oura Ring 4 flags breathing regularity overnight using blood oxygen sensing, and it will show you disturbances. It is not FDA-cleared for sleep apnea and Oura does not market it as a screener. Oura’s sleep staging remains among the most accurate in consumer wearables — that is a different claim from apnea detection. If sleep is your reason for buying, our best sleep tracking rings roundup covers the field.

Whoop 5.0 and Whoop MG track respiratory rate all night and surface it in recovery scoring. The MG adds ECG and blood pressure insights on the top Life tier, but no apnea feature. See Whoop 5.0 vs Whoop 4.0 for what each tier actually unlocks.

Fitbit and Google Health devices track nightly respiratory rate and SpO2 trends. Notably, Google removed Snore Detection and Estimated Oxygen Variation in the May 2026 transition — a step backwards for this use case, covered in our guide to what changed when Fitbit became Google Health.

Garmin logs breathing variations during sleep on compatible watches, with no clearance and no apnea marketing.

None of these are bad devices. They simply are not screening tools, and treating a Whoop respiratory-rate chart as evidence you do not have apnea is a mistake.

The Better Home Option Most People Miss

If you already suspect apnea — you snore, you wake unrefreshed, someone has told you that you stop breathing — a wrist wearable is the wrong tool. It is designed to catch people who are not suspicious yet.

Withings Sleep Rx, an under-mattress mat, received FDA 510(k) clearance in September 2024 to aid in the diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea at home. It uses a pneumatic sensor to measure respiratory rate, body movement and heart rate, plus sound and motion sensing for snoring and breathing disturbances. That is a regulatory tier above a smartwatch notification.

Withings’ ScanWatch hybrids also carry a 2021 FDA clearance covering SpO2 and nighttime breathing disturbances, but Withings does not market them as apnea screeners — they point you toward a doctor rather than toward a result.

What This Means If You Are Buying

Buy an Apple Watch if you are on iPhone and want passive, permanent screening you never have to think about — plus the exportable PDF for a doctor. Apple Watch on Amazon

Buy a Galaxy Watch if you are on Android and want a definitive two-night result with published accuracy data behind it. This is the strongest apnea screening in a smartwatch today. Samsung Galaxy Watch on Amazon

Wait for the Galaxy Ring update if you cannot sleep in a watch. From this autumn it is the only cleared option on a finger. Samsung Galaxy Ring on Amazon

Skip the wearable and talk to a doctor if you already have symptoms. Screening tools are for the undiagnosed and unsuspecting; you are past that point.

One thing every manufacturer in this guide agrees on, and it is worth repeating: a silent watch is not a negative test. Apple says outright that not all people with apnea receive a notification, and Samsung’s own study missed roughly 17% of moderate-to-severe cases. If you feel exhausted despite full nights of sleep, pursue it regardless of what your wrist says.

For the wider sleep-tracking picture beyond apnea, see our guide to the best smartwatch for sleep tracking.