Roger Fingas
An important sleep research expert, Dr. Roy J.E.M. Raymann, appears to have quietly left Apple last month, just ahead of the company's Beddit acquisition.
Raymann reportedly joined Apple in January 2014, a move confirmed by his LinkedIn profile. Previously he led a sleep research program at Philips.
Around that time, Raymann was thought to have been hired to work on the unreleased Apple Watch, or at least on iOS 8's Health app. The latter part seems to have been true, since his profile mentions work on HealthKit and ResearchKit, as well as iOS 10's Bedtime feature, and the Night Shift display technology in iOS and macOS.
His recent departure was noted by MobiHealthNews. Raymann is now serving as the vice president of Sleep Science and Scientific Affairs at SleepScore Labs.
Apple's surprise Beddit takeover may have been in response to losing Raymann, or alternately, Raymann may have left because of the impending deal.
Regardless, Apple is likely hoping to integrate native sleep tracking into the Apple Watch. While third-party apps are available, watchOS omits the feature — presumably because current Watch models don't have enough battery life to last a full day and night. Fitness trackers from the likes of Garmin, Polar, and Fitbit do have sleep functions.
Extra battery life has been rumored for the "Apple Watch Series 3," predicted to ship later this year. It's not clear what other features the device might have, but one rumor has been LTE, which would let it run independently from an iPhone.
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15 Comments
Who cares? They can hire half a dozen expert on dream/sleep research at Washington State University doing pioneering work in it.
I wonder if he ever fell asleep on the job?
My watch has just gone through one full 24 hour period with 35% power left. However, on my regular training days, when I use the watch as a companion aid to performance tracking on my iPhone, it sometimes, though not often, won't make it through to evening. On rare occasions, even on sport active days where it is constantly monitoring heart rate during activity, it will require charging before bed. I have a first generation watch (and love it).
Maybe he left because all that could be done to detect sleep tracking was accomplished?