Apple Watch Series 11 receives FDA approval for hypertension alerts

Apple's Awe Dropping event started with dramatic health testimonials from Apple Watch users, then revealed a key new feature for the new Watch Series 11: hypertension alerts. The function had yet to receive FDA approval at the time, but that has now been granted, according to Bloomberg. As a result, it will reportedly be available to users in 150 countries when the Watch 11 and Ultra Watch 3 ship starting on September 19.

Hypertension alerts can help detect hypertension (high blood pressure), a potentially dangerous condition that affects over a billion people. The feature relies on the Watch's optical heart sensor, but now uses new machine learning algorithm that also draws from a study involving more than 100,000 participants to look for high blood pressure. It works in the background a month-long period to seek patterns associated with hypertension. Unlike devices that measure ...