The next Apple Watch models are set to introduce blood pressure monitoring for the first time on an Apple smartwatch, joining the likes of Samsung and Huawei in bringing another major health tracking smart to the wrist.
That’s according to a new report on Bloomberg from Mark Gurman, someone who’s typically in the know about all things happening at Cupertino. According to Gurman, this serious health monitoring feature will operate in a similar fashion to Apple’s heart health alert notifications, which are already present on Apple Watches.
We assume it will use whatever new sensor array Apple plans to introduce to the Watch to monitor blood pressure and send notification alerts when blood pressure levels are high to indicate hypertension, also known as high blood pressure.
Like Apple’s heart health alerts, it could then act as a prompt for users to share data with a medical professional to see if there’s genuine reason to be concerned. Having high blood pressure could lead to serious health problems such as strokes or even heart attacks so having access to that information without needing a blood pressure monitor would be a big deal.
The hypertension alert feature is speculated to appear in the Apple Watch Ultra 3 and make it into other new Apple smartwatches that land in 2025 such as the Apple Watch SE 3. The added ability to monitor blood pressure from an Apple Watch has been rumoured for a few years now, going as far back as 2017, when patent filings pointed to Apple working to bring this functionality to its watches.
It was a feature rumoured to appear on the Apple Watch Series 7 and Gurman also claimed that it may have actually been prepped to appear this year, but Apple had run into problems with testing due to the updated design on the Apple Watch Series 10.
If Apple is finally ready to roll out blood pressure monitoring capabilities to its Watches, then it would build on the support it already offers to sync blood pressure data from blood pressure monitors to the Watch.
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
It would join Samsung and Huawei who both beat Apple to adding that functionality to its smartwatches. Apple already offers ECG and optical heart rate measurements with the former method of heart tracking having received FDA-approved clearance. Its irregular heart rate rhythm notification feature also received similar clearance to indicate that its tracking can be compared to another device that offers the same monitoring.
It’s likely Apple will have built this feature with the view of bringing it in line with the approval received for its heart health features and could be one reason why it’s taken some time to introduce it. There’s always the possibility that we might see an announcement for this feature before it’s fully rolled out as well.
This is what happened when Apple introduced the ECG sensor and app with the Watch Series 4 in September 2018, but users in the US had to wait until December that year to use it, while a rollout in other territories didn’t happen until the following year.
The approach to simplify the mode to provide alerts as opposed to typical blood pressure monitor data would be a smart move and a very Apple move to make a very serious health feature one that’s simply presented and interpreted for users just like its other health features.
That approach would be in contrast to how the Android-only Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 and the iOS and Android-friendly Huawei Watch D2 deliver their blood pressure tracking capabilities.
In the case of Samsung, compatible watches need to be calibrated with a dedicated blood pressure monitor initially and every few weeks to ensure you capture the most accurate data. Samsung uses onboard optical sensors to measure Systolic and Diastolic pressure data, which is saved in its Samsung-only Health app.
Mike Sawh
Huawei’s Watch D2 (above) doesn’t require that calibration as it builds similar cuff-style monitoring into its watch strap and also offers similar on the spot measurements to Samsung. Huawei additionally offers ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM), letting you take blood pressure measurements at regular intervals day and night.
This continuous monitoring that Huawei offers does have a major impact on battery life so it will be interesting to see what this means for Apple’s take on continuous monitoring and might be why this feature is tipped for the next Apple Watch Ultra, which offers the best battery on an Apple Watch.
If blood pressure does finally come to the Apple Watch it will certainly be a source of good news for Watch users that have been waiting or hoping for a feature like this. If it comes to the Apple Watch Ultra 3, it will make up for a slightly underwhelming launch of the Apple Watch Ultra 2, which didn’t make huge changes from the first Ultra.
It’ll also be good news for Apple, especially given what’s happened with its blood oxygen sensor this year, which was removed from future Apple Watch units due to its patent dispute with medical health tech company Masimo.
If it happens as expected, 2025 could be another breakthrough year for the Apple Watch and would help cement its dominance in the smartwatch space.
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