Apple receives regulatory approval for hypertension detection feature in Apple Watch

Apple recently introduced its new smartwatches, the Watch Series 11 and Watch Ultra 3, with a new hypertension detection feature. At the time, the company immediately noted that it was still awaiting approval from the US Food and Drug Administration. Now it has become known that the approval has been officially granted, reports 9to5Mac.

Apple plans to launch a hypertension notification feature next week with the watchOS 26 update. The company says it will be available in more than 150 countries and will roll out to the Apple Watch Series 9, Series 10, and Watch Ultra 2 in addition to the new watches.

According to the company's official description, the hypertension alert feature on the Apple Watch will use data from the optical heart sensor to analyze how a user's blood vessels respond to their heartbeats. The algorithm will run in the background, review 30 days of data, and notify users if persistent signs of hypertension are detected.

Apple says the feature can detect high blood pressure in nearly half of users with hypertension, including most who have stage 2 hypertension. However, the company emphasizes that not all users with this diagnosis will receive notifications.

During tests, the feature showed an accuracy of 95.3% for people with normal blood pressure. That is, even those who do not have hypertension sometimes recorded elevated values. Apple believes that this will help users take better care of their health and consult with their doctors. The company predicts that more than 1 million people will receive notifications in the first year.