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Apple issues watchOS 5.2, ECG app arrives in Hong Kong and Europe

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On the heels of Tuesday's release of iOS 12.2, Apple on Wednesday issued the accompanying watchOS 5.2 update for Apple Watch with ECG app support for Hong Kong and select European regions.

The inclusion of Apple's ECG app in watchOS 5.2 represents the software's first expansion beyond the U.S. borders, where the feature launched for Apple Watch Series 4 owners in December.

According to release notes supplied with the update, ECG functionality is now live in Hong Kong and "some regions" of Europe. Specific countries are not named, but Apple includes a link to its Feature Availability website for the latest on the app's rollout. As of this writing, the ECG app has gone live in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guam, Hong Kong, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK.

Word of a possible expansion into Europe arrive with iOS 12.2. Documentation in the operating system's Health app included references to ECG support in "non-U.S. regions," while updated regulatory markings pointed to gained compliance in the European Economic Area.

Apple revealed the ECG app alongside Apple Watch Series 4 at a special event last September. The feature, designed to detect signs of atrial fibrillation, is Apple's first to receive clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Along with the ECG app, watchOS 5.2 includes support for the just-released second-generation AirPods, integrations for real-time text (RTT) for phone calls and new Hermes watch faces.

Users can upgrade their Apple Watch to watchOS 5.2 by downloading and remotely installing the update through the Watch app on iOS.



32 Comments

entropys 13 Years · 4316 comments

I wonder if Apple Australia has even approached our regulators about this?

jbdragon 10 Years · 2312 comments

entropys said:
I wonder if Apple Australia has even approached our regulators about this?

I'm sure they have, but judging from the past, trying to get anything done in Australia hasn't been the easiest thing in the world. At some point it'll happen, but I wouldn't base buying anything on a feature that might come at some later date. You have to base it on what it currently can do.

caladanian 10 Years · 380 comments

Denmark YES, Sweden YES and also Norway YES (despite not listed. It works!!! :smiley: )

albegarc 8 Years · 50 comments

For someone that has a Series 3 and lives in a country ehere ECG is not avilable looks like a minor update, but for security is always right to have the last version of Watch OS.