The Apple Watch is so close to replacing my Oura Ring - it just needs this feature

"Last year, Gallup surveyed Americans about their sleep habits. For the first time since polling began in 2001, it found that a majority of Americans said they'd feel better if they got more sleep. They aren't happy with their sleep quality and want to improve it. Enter the trusty sleep tracker. Smart rings, smartwatches, sleep earbuds, mattress monitors, and a long list of other sleep-tracking devices have flooded the market to address growing sleep needs."

"I've been waiting for Apple to implement sleep scores for as long as I've owned its smartwatch. The tech giant excels in its sleep tracking mechanisms, like its ability to accurately record and map out a user's sleep stages, sleep duration, and heart rate activity (not to mention the FDA-cleared Sleep Apnea Detection feature, which uncovers an often undiagnosed condition without the bulky equipment or a lab appointment)."

"However, it failed to contextualize that data in the form of a sleep score. As its competitors developed smartwatches and rings with the feature, Apple waited on the sidelines. That changed on Tuesday. People are taking their sleep more seriously than ever, despite getting less and less of it. As more Americans recognize sleep's importance and impact on their waking hours -- their ability to focus, their energy levels, and more -- more people are tracking and seeking to improve it."

Apple added Sleep Scores to the Apple Watch lineup with WatchOS 26 and new models, providing a contextualized metric alongside existing sleep-stage, duration, and heart-rate data. Many Americans report poor sleep and increasing desire for improvement, driving a surge in wearable sleep-tracking devices like rings, earbuds, and mattress sensors. Apple already supports advanced features such as FDA-cleared Sleep Apnea Detection, but previously lacked a consolidated sleep score. The Sleep Scores rollout narrows the feature gap with competitors and may prompt users of dedicated trackers, such as the Oura Ring, to consider newer Apple Watch models.

Read at ZDNET