Apple Watch 6 and watchOS 7 may finally bring sleep tracking and blood oxygen monitoring to Apple's wearable products

Israeli tech site The Verifier (via TechRadar) makes this claim, citing anonymous sources within Apple who have worked with them for several years

WatchOS 7 will finally offer sleep and blood oxygen tracking this year, The Verifier's source claims We can also expect a redesigned OS, upgraded default apps, and additional Siri functionality

Sleep tracking monitors heart rate and movement throughout the night and uses it to determine how long you slept, whether you were awake, and how deeply you slept Users can use this information to improve their sleep habits, such as determining optimal bedtime and wake-up times

Blood oxygen monitoring, also known as SPO2 monitoring, measures oxygen saturation in the blood If blood oxygen levels drop below a certain level (which is more likely to occur during exercise), Watch can warn the user to relax before injury occurs

Unfortunately, leaked information also states that watchOS 7 will not be available for earlier Apple Watch models, particularly the 2016 Apple Watch Series 2, Series 1, and the original Apple Watch However, these older models with hardware that cannot use these new features will receive small updates and bug fixes for one year

As for the hardware, sources claim that battery life will be improved and LTE and Wi-Fi 6 support will be improved, but they also say that the exterior design of the Apple Watch will not change much Looking further ahead, the Apple Watch 7 is said to feature a sub-display fingerprint scanner and move the biometric reader from the Watch's crown This would be a new form of Touch ID

Normally, the latest watchOS development would be unveiled at Apple's WWDC 2020 event However, due to the coronavirus outbreak, this event was moved to an online-only presentation in June It is likely that another announcement about watchOS 7 will be made at this WWDC, but the actual release date for the Apple Watch 6 will likely be in the fall as usual