Roger Fingas
Although Apple has managed to secure U.S. Food and Drug Administration clearance for the EKG (electrocardiogram) feature on the Apple Watch Series 4, the company is reportedly still pursuing a greenlight from other governments.
Apple is currently working with Health Canada to enable support in that country, according to MobileSyrup. The site noted that since Health Canada typically doesn't stray far from the FDA, Apple is likely to win clearance sometime in the near future.
The company obtained FDA clearance less than 24 hours before the Series 4 was announced, and still won't have an actual EKG app at launch. That's instead coming with a watchOS update later in 2018.
The Series 4 uses a ring on the base and a redesigned digital crown to create the equivalent of a single-lead EKG sensor. This can be used to detect atrial fibrillation, though the FDA notes that Watch owners should talk to a doctor for an actual diagnosis.
Preorders of the new Watch are underway ahead of Friday's official launch. The product's other signature features include things like a bigger display with thinner bezels, fall detection, and a faster S4 processor.
The first Apple Watch Series 4 shipments are expected to arrive with customers starting Friday morning, alongside orders for the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max.
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15 Comments
I imagine that they are looking for this kind of clearance for as many countries as possible
Although this new series 4 Apple Watch is not as good as other ECG devices in the market (as "others" claimed), it is a good start. Can't wait to get mine.
I was hoping they would make a decent looking round watch but disappointed with this still ugly design. I got a lot of apple devices which I use daily but the watch can't stand it. Given how it looks and what it does, EKG and health, was probably designed for an elderly audience.
Isn't it ECG not EKG?