CES 2020: Withings Unveils ScanWatch Featuring AFib and Sleep Apnea Detection

French consumer electronics company Withings today announced ScanWatch, a hybrid smartwatch that can both detect irregular heart rhythms and sleep apnea in wearers.

Billed as Withings' most advanced device to date, the ScanWatch uses two detection methods to identify if users have an irregular heart rhythm (AFib) or if their heart rhythm is slow, high or normal. The first is through users taking an electroECG on-demand when they feel symptoms like palpitations.

When symptoms aren't present, the watch offers a second early detection capability that continuously monitors heart rate through a PPG sensor to alert users of a potential issue and encourages them then to take an ECG.

Sleep apnea affects an estimated 22 million adults in the U.S., with another 80 percent of cases of moderate and severe obstructive sleep apnea undiagnosed, according to the American Sleep Apnea Association.

Withings claims ScanWatch can detect the presence of sleep apnea episodes through a SpO2 sensor. All of the sleep, cardiovascular and activity data collected by ScanWatch is stored in the accompanying Health Mate app and can be shared from there with a physician.

The PMOLED digital display in the center of the watch face is bigger than previous hybrid Withings smartwatches, and shows health and sports data such as daily and previous day steps and sleep score as well as calories, distance and heart rate. You can also scroll through each screen using the watch's newly designed digital crown.

The digital crown also allows you to launch an ECG record and SPO2 measurement, start workout modes and deactivate/set alarms, while the display shows smartphone notifications, which appear along with a discrete vibration.

The ScanWatch offers 30 days of battery life on a single charge. Pending CE and FDA-clearance, Withings expects it to be available in the U.S. and Europe in the second quarter of this year. Pricing will start at $249/£229 for the 38mm model and $299/£279 for the 42mm model.

Apple doesn't advertise Apple Watch as able to detect sleep apnea. However, a 2017 study by health startup Cardiogram and the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) concluded that Apple Watch can detect sleep apnea with a 90 percent accuracy.