Apple Watch ECG feature not arriving in Canada anytime soon

Are you in Canada and looking for the ECG feature of the Apple Watch? You may be in for a long wait.

In response to a query on Twitter asking if the approval process has commenced to allow the ECG function to work, government agency Health Canada advised it "has not received an application for the Apple Watch Series 4" at all.

The regulator's response also appears to lay the blame at the lack of progress at Apple's door, noting "The decision to submit a medical device license application rests with the manufacturer."

Hi Gary. To date, Health Canada has not received an application for the Apple Watch Series 4 with the EKG feature. The decision to submit a medical device licence application rests with the manufacturer.
— GovCanHealth (@GovCanHealth) December 7, 2018

ECG monitoring is typically only performed by hardware provided to medical professionals and healthcare providers, and are typically prevented from being provided to the general public. For it to be available to use by consumers, the Apple Watch has to receive regulatory approval for the Apple Watch Series 4 on a country-by-country basis.

The feature is available in the United States after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration cleared it for sale, making the smartwatch the first consumer device to do so without requiring medical review. While not available at launch, the ECG app was enabled for users in the U.S. as part of the watchOS 5.1.2 update on Thursday.

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Apple has already advised it intends to bring the function to other Apple Watch Series 4 users, but doing so involves passing regulatory muster in each market, a process that can take a considerable amount of time.

Shortly after its availability, the ECG function has already proved itself to be a life-saver, with cardiologists noticing an uptick in patients directly as a result of its availability.

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34 Comments

caladanian 380 comments · 10 Years

About 5 years ago

I don’t understand why Apple is so slow with international rollouts of new functions. :/

saarek 1575 comments · 16 Years

caladanian said:

I don’t understand why Apple is so slow with international rollouts of new functions. :/

Apple has always treated their non US customers as second class citizens. That’s not going to change.

It’s frustrating as we often pay more for the same product to boot, but as long as we continue to buy their products anyway they have no real incentive to care.

boltsfan17 2294 comments · 12 Years

The odd thing is I read several articles a few months ago saying Apple has been working with Health Canada to get this approved. Maybe that is still the case but Apple just hasn't formally submitted their application for approval yet.

StrangeDays 12950 comments · 8 Years

caladanian said:

I don’t understand why Apple is so slow with international rollouts of new functions. :/

Typically the problem is not Apple, it’s that each country has its own rules and bureaucracies to wade through. Who knows what’s really happening here. I know that I don’t often trust government workers to have a solid handle on what’s going on.

saarek said:

caladanian said:

I don’t understand why Apple is so slow with international rollouts of new functions. :/

Apple has always treated their non US customers as second class citizens. That’s not going to change.

It’s frustrating as we often pay more for the same product to boot, but as long as we continue to buy their products anyway they have no real incentive to care.

Most often you can blame your country’s government for not giving regulatory approvals. Or in the case of Apple Pay, banks for not signing up as they attempt to negotiate down fees.