When Apple Watch Series 4 hit the market, one of the most talked about features was its ECG app. The app wasn’t included with the Watch Series 4 at release, nor in last month’s watchOS update. Now, it appears the app will arrive soon.
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Internal Apple Store training documents have revealed that watchOS 5.1.2 will bring much awaited ECG functionality to the Apple Watch Series 4.
MacRumors reportedly looked into an Apple in-store training document, which said that the app needed to work with the sensor data is in the next version of the watchOS, which went into beta in mid-November.
The document also explains that the ECG app is only approved for use in the U.S., so you won’t see it elsewhere yet, even though Apple Watch 4 units sold in other countries do have the hardware to enable it.
The ability to take an ECG reading right from your wrist is certainly a game changer. The companion ECG app takes advantage of electrodes built into the watch’s digital crown as well as a new electrical heart sensor built into the watch’s back crystal. Apple got FDA clearance for the app, which could also detect irregular heart rhythms.
“Apple Watch Series 4 enables customers to take an ECG reading right from the wrist using the new ECG app, which takes advantage of the electrodes built into the Digital Crown and new electrical heart rate sensor in the back crystal,” Apple explained in a news release in September. “With the app, users touch the Digital Crown and after 30 seconds, receive a heart rhythm classification. It can classify if the heart is beating in a normal pattern or whether there are signs of Atrial Fibrillation (AFib), a heart condition that could lead to major health complications. All recordings, their associated classifications and any noted symptoms are stored in the Health app in a PDF that can be shared with physicians.”
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Apple rolled out its first watchOS 5.1.2 beta in early November, so it shouldn’t be too long before it makes its public debut. However, the ECG app hasn’t appeared in the beta either.
While it’s not clear when a full public release on both will occur, we can anticipate that it’ll come soon, especially with Apple having promised the ECG app is coming this year.
