Fitbit Takes on Sleep Apnea in Push to Reconquer Wearable Market

The role wearable technology plays in our lives is rapidly growing and changing.  The wearable market is largely monopolized by fitness bands.  In fact, fitness bands and trackers make up 85% of the wearable market.  This market has been dominated by fitness giant Fitbit…until now.  Early in 2017, Apple overtook Fitbit as the largest wearable vendor.  In fact, Fitbit dropped from top seller to third, behind both Apple and the China-based electronics company Xiaomi, according to a report from the research firm Strategy Analytics.  With Apple heavily marketing the health features of the Apple Watch and Xiaomi offering less expensive fitness bands than Fitbit, Fitbit is looking to expand it’s horizons.

Wearables have huge potential in the medical sector and sleep apnea is a growing market.  An estimated 22 million Americans suffer from sleep apnea according to the American Sleep Apnea Association.  Sleep apnea is a common and serious disorder in which a person experiences breathing pauses while sleeping.  These pauses can last for a few minutes and can occur up to 30 times in an hour.  This means the brain may not get enough oxygen.  It can lead to an increased risk of heart failure, obesity or stroke.  Sleep apnea can affect anyone at any age, even children.  And the number of people with sleep apnea is increasing.

Conor Heneghan, a lead research scientist for Fitbit, revealed Fitbit is in the process of designing tools that will both diagnose and monitor sleep apnea.  Fitbit is already using some of the best technology to track sleep, but the new Fitbits would use heart rate and blood oxygen levels to predict the occurrence of sleep apnea.  A sensor in the Fitbit would be able to detect low oxygen levels in the blood, which may indicate sleep apnea.  Heneghan hopes this technology will be out on the market early in 2018.

If successful, the company will offer millions of sleep apnea sufferers a way to take control and monitor their disorder.  It also signals a new and exciting era in wearable technology, one in which Fitbit is hoping to continue to play an integral role!