Apple’s New Longevity Instruments Will Inform You How Nicely You are Really Ageing
Apple is betting big on health with its new Apple Watch models. Plus, you’ll be able to order blood tests straight from your iPhone.
Apple just overhauled its smart watch hardware and software in a big way, playing into the buzz around longevity in an increasingly crowded wearables market.
At its much anticipated fall launch event, the first under new CEO John Ternus, the tech giant announced two new Apple Watch models: the Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4. But it was really the software that stole the show. When WatchOS 27 launches September 14, it will usher in a completely revamped Health app with new scores, features, and even an integration with Quest for blood testing that emphasizes longevity. The change positions Apple Watch as a key component of preventative health and biohacking.
Because Apple Watch is always on your wrist,
“Because Apple Watch is always on your wrist, it can monitor how you sleep, notify you if it detects a high heart rate, and track your workouts—and it’s in constant communication with your iPhone, so it extends the power of Apple Intelligence to even more aspects of your everyday life,” Ternus said during the presentation. “And this year we’re bringing huge advancements to health and fitness and Apple Intelligence.”
Let’s start with the hardware. The Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4 both contain new Apple silicon, the company’s in-house chips, and are built on a new Health Sensing System, according to Deidre Caldbeck, Apple’s senior director of Apple Watch and health product management. That new sensing system means a larger electrode surface area for improved skin contact during electrocardiogram readings, photodiodes redesigned in a ring configuration to better capture light, and more efficient green LED lights to support “accurate heart rate measurements all day, even during motion,” she said during the event.
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She also placed a big emphasis on heart rate variability, or HRV, which is a metric Apple already measures. She said the new system will take background heart rate readings every five seconds all day—60 times more frequently than before—and will measure HRV every five minutes—24 times more frequently than previously.
The Health Sensing System will also enable completely
“The Health Sensing System will also enable completely new experiences on Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4,” she teased.
Standout new features include those concerning longevity, such as a metric called “Health Age,” new “Longevity” and “Insights” tabs in the Health app, and an integration with Quest that allows users to order their own blood tests and plug those results into Apple Health.
Source: www.inc.com
