Apple might be getting one step closer to bolstering your night's sleep.
Over the last several months, Apple has been testing a new sleep-tracking feature it hopes to bundle with the Apple Watch, Bloomberg is reporting, citing people who claim to have knowledge of its plans.
In order to deliver that feature, however, Apple will need to dramatically improve the Apple Watch's battery life. As part of that effort, Apple is working on ways to boost power efficiency and ensure that the Apple Watch doesn't turn off at night while it's tracking your sleep, according to the report.
If all goes well, Apple could launch the new sleep-tracking feature in the Apple Watch it has slated to release in 2020.
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Apple has been the smartwatch market leader for years. But some of its top competitors, including Fitbit and Samsung, have been investing in areas like sleep to try and catch up. By investing in new features in the Apple Watch, the iPhone maker could stay ahead of the competition and ultimately deliver a greater value for the Apple Watch's hefty price.
The reported move also comes at a time when Apple wants to invest more heavily into health and health care. The company has been making quiet investments in the health market by hiring doctors and acquiring small health startups. Adding sleep-tracking to the mix would seem like a natural extension of that.
But like anything in Apple's universe, it's possible that this feature doesn't come to the next Apple Watch. We typically hear new Apple Watch news at the company's September keynotes, so we'll likely have to wait until then for anything official.
