Thanks makes me feel good about preordering my first Apple Watch today. Do you just use the stock apps?
Gentler Streak is the only third-party fitness app I use, and I just use it for the wellness tracking and the little animated guy on the Home Screen of the app. I use the free version. It will be reevaluated in a couple weeks when Vitals and Training Load are available, because that’s what I use it for.
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I record (sic) pretty much everything that my Watch and iPhone can deal with. What I want though is a tool that allows me to invesitgate the relationship between that recorded data to find cause and effect. While recording all that data and wanting to analyse I am not fully behind the Quantified Self movement which some people seem to me to take to extremes such that they do not have any time left to live their lives.
HSA/FSA can be used on a number of OTC products. Feminine hygiene products, aspirin, etc. are all HSA/FSA eligible.
That said, I don’t see it happening with AirPods as I think there would be too much potential for abuse. After all, the average person doesn’t have a (potentially) purely recreational use for a box of feminine hygiene products or a bottle of aspirin. 
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I think they’re saying that some of the circuit paths run under the pixels rather than around the outside.
That’s actually super freaking cool.
Adding a thought on the new sleep apnea function. On reflection this seems an almost pointless feature. As someone who has sleep apnea, I don’t need this as I already know. For someone who is thinking of it as a buying consideration, it’s best to go see your doctor rather than wait another 30 days. It almost seems like “one and done” feature.
Just a contrarian view. Move along! 
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I think the statistics speak for themselves unless Apple made them up. Didn’t they say some high percentage of people go undiagnosed with sleep apnea? I know it’s anecdotally true for people I know, including myself.
I have it but didn’t go get a sleep study for over a decade when I probably should have. I didn’t think I had it until one day my doctor asked me if I’m tired a lot and I said yes, and she informed me that’s not normal. Then my wife told me I stop breathing at night.
So I respectfully disagree as a pointless feature. It may be for you and me, but I hope it helps a lot of people realize they should see a doctor.
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Actually it looks like OTC hearing aids can be paid from a HSA. Apple will need to have them approved (or whatever it requires) by the FDA.
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Right. And an Apple Watch - even a new Apple Watch – is almost certainly cheaper than the out-of-pocket cost for a sleep study for many people.
It is not a replacement for a qualified sleep study. It is a pointer in the direction that you need a qualified sleep study, bundled into a technology device that you have other reasons to own.
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My understanding is that it’s the IRS that makes the determination. I can’t imagine them deciding that a general purpose device like Airpods are eligible because they have a non-primary function of being a hearing aid. Especially when more dedicated devices like Fitbit aren’t eligible.
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I wish that they would lean into the computer on your wrist idea and make the Ultra have a screen about twice as large, extending in the up-arm dimension. This would require a new band system. And it would distinctly differentiate it from the “watch”.
I have a 44 mm AW and it will barely fit under the cuff of a dress shirt. I’ll need to visit an Apple Store before I can even think about buying a Series 10 
I would like to see the Ultra ( or whatever they would call it) as a distinct product. It would not be designed to be worn with a dress shirt. Instead it would lean toward insane battery life, durability and information content and display. Maps for your kayak trip. Underwater diving. Various circumstances that make the iPhone awkward. That sort of thing. Small, electronic “quarterback” wrist bands.
It would not be to make you look good. But many, including myself, would be happy to lean into the product and wear it most of the time. Fashion be damned.
The dress shirt product would be the iterations of Watch 10.
Almost pointless, please don’t misquote. And my context was, if the sleep apnea function was a buying decision. Meaning, if you’re buying something and one of the primary reasons is that it will provide a report to take to your doctor for confirmation … why not just go to your doctor? 
For many others who aren’t even thinking of sleep apnea, but who have it, or develop it, it will definitely provide value.
Sorry, not sure I follow the logic. An Apple Watch may cost less than a sleep study (not here in Australia, we must have a better health system). But if it does show a leaning towards sleep apnea, you’re going to get a sleep study. I doubt the function will provide information for something like a properly prescribed CPAP machine.
Correct. The point isn’t that AW can diagnose sleep apnea conclusively. The point is that it’s a device you’d likely have a reason to own/buy for another purpose anyway, and it can provide a very strong pointer in the proper direction without all of the hassle and expense of a formal sleep study.
It’s the same with the cardiac stuff. Nobody suggests using Apple’s EKG as a replacement for a lab test.
But we’re quite literally at the point where a $400 device on your wrist can provide a bunch of very solid preliminary information that can assist doctors in more timely, better-targeted, and more cost-effective healthcare. Given that Apple sells tens of millions of watches every year, the more information that device can provide, the better.
And in some ways, BTW, the longitudinal data from an Apple Watch is better than an isolated lab test. Anybody that’s ever made software for somebody else has seen this in action. “I don’t disbelieve you, but I can’t solve the problem because I can’t see it happening.” Having 90 days of data points to show a doctor could potentially be an absolute game-changer.
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I think there are some generalizations happening here. My healthcare is 100% free for anything and everything. I can get in at any time for any reason. And I still didn’t do a sleep study for a decade when I probably should have.
It’s not just that people are buying a watch to see if they have apnea. It’s people who don’t even realize they have apnea who will learn they should probably see a doctor. So while I agree maybe it’s not smart to just purchase the watch if you ONLY care about apnea, it doesn’t mean it’s an “almost pointless feature” (hope that quote was ok for you).
I personally would be surprised if someone buys an Apple watch just to test for sleep apnea, but I will guarantee now that there will be people who learn about it because of the Apple Watch. Which makes is definitely not a pointless feature.
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In fact, it’s just the same with the hearing test in the Airpods. Not a reason to buy them, but something that might help you if you own them in the first place.
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I wonder if the point is not just to test for sleep apnea but to experiment with treatments outside of the standard CPAC machine and assess their effectiveness?