Apple Watch Series 4 rolling out ECG feature today
watchOS 5.1.2 is here and guess what? the brilliant and the most awaited ECG app is live today to all the Americans (yes, it’s definitely not for everyone in the world). Since the last September, when Apple announced their interestingly new application that lets users take a mini ECG report of their heart, everyone is waiting to start using the application.
FDA Approval
FDA has clearly stated that the app is designed for the purpose of “information only” and users should not consider the report as final. If something happens unnaturally to your heart, you’ll be notified and an ECG report will give more clarity to the doctor to diagnose the problem.
FDA also recommends users to take an actual ECG before getting clinical action. From a technical perspective, Apple has done a brilliant job in understanding user requirements and focusing more on health rather than just letting users wear a fancy expensive watch.
The health features have made Apple watch the #1 watch in the world beating top brands like Rolex. Also, if you consider the new ECG application from a diagnostic or medical perspective, the data is not 100% reliable.
Apple has made a wonderful and innovative leap forward by integrating ECG analysis sensors and developing a brilliant application to record ECG and it definitely serves the purpose of alerting users about abnormal heartbeat patterns. That’s it! But don’t consider it as the final ECG report you usually get from the doctor.
Countries
Since the moment, when Apple announced the ECG feature at the keynote, every Apple fan had this one question. “Is it available in all the countries?”.
Unfortunately, the answer is NO! But that doesn’t mean it will not come in any of the countries other than the United States. Apple is discussing with health divisions in Europe and Asian countries as well.
Just like the FDA approval (which they actually received just a few hours before the actual keynote), every nation and their health departments might not simply allow Apple to sell their ECG machines.
But gradually, with time Apple and health departments will come to a median point to satisfy the existing Apple watch users who purchased Series 4 version expecting the ECG (but happened to be in India or Europe).
Source : Engadget
