{"id":14056,"date":"2022-09-08T10:53:40","date_gmt":"2022-09-08T10:53:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/09\/08\/apple-adds-souped-up-period-and-ovulation-tracking-to-apple-watch-series-8\/"},"modified":"2022-09-08T10:53:41","modified_gmt":"2022-09-08T10:53:41","slug":"apple-adds-souped-up-period-and-ovulation-tracking-to-apple-watch-series-8","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/09\/08\/apple-adds-souped-up-period-and-ovulation-tracking-to-apple-watch-series-8\/","title":{"rendered":"Apple adds souped-up period and ovulation tracking to Apple Watch Series 8"},"content":{"rendered":"

Source: https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/2022\/9\/7\/23341259\/apple-watch-series-8-ovulation-period-tracking-temperature-sensor<\/a>
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Apple Watch Series 8 will give users a better estimate of when they ovulated based on data from new temperature sensors. <\/p>\n

Using two sensors on the Apple Watch Series 8, the built-in menstrual cycle tracking app will check users\u2019 temperature at the wrist every five seconds overnight. This should allow for ovulation tracking since body temperature changes over the course of the menstrual cycle and rises in response to ovulation. <\/p>\n

watchOS 9 and iOS 16 will also include changes to the cycle tracking app that flag any abnormalities in a user\u2019s menstrual cycle based on the data they input about their periods. Deviations from someone\u2019s normal cycle \u2014 like more spotting than usual \u2014 can be a signal of health conditions like fibroids or polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), Sumbul Desai, vice president of health at Apple, said during the launch event. <\/p>\n

Apple is pitching its ovulation detection feature as a way to help people who are trying to get pregnant. \u201cIf you\u2019re trying to conceive, knowing if and when you ovulated can inform your family planning with your healthcare provider,\u201d Desai said. <\/p>\n

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Apple Watch Series 8 samples wrist temperature every five seconds overnight.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/span><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n

People who use temperature information as a way to predict when they\u2019re most likely to get pregnant usually have to take their temperature manually. Apple Watch would do that automatically \u2014 similarly to how the Oura Ring collects temperature and other types of user data to predict when someone might start their period<\/a>. <\/p>\n

This type of temperature-based cycle tracking and ovulation detection is also often used as a way to prevent<\/em> pregnancy. It can work well if it\u2019s done correctly, but it\u2019s tricky to get right<\/a> and isn\u2019t a good method for people with irregular cycles. <\/p>\n

Apple\u2019s feature can\u2019t be sold as a way to prevent pregnancy because it isn\u2019t Food and Drug Administration-approved as a birth control. But the new features are inching closer to similar tech that is<\/em> allowed to be marketed as birth control. For example, the app Natural Cycles was controversially<\/a> cleared by the FDA in 2018 as a birth control. It uses body temperature and cycle tracking information to predict the times of a month when someone is most likely to become pregnant and lets them know to use condoms or abstain from sex. <\/p>\n

Natural Cycles also has FDA clearance<\/a> to use information from wearable devices to make its predictions. It currently accepts temperature information from the Oura Ring<\/a>. Natural Cycles has discussed the potential to pull in information from the Apple Watch as well, spokesperson Lauren Hanafin said in an email to The Verge. <\/em>The company would first have to run validation tests before that could happen, and the use case would depend on how accurate it is, she said. <\/p>\n