Apple Watch's healthcare run can go on for miles
The Apple Watch's path into healthcare is a different route from its original fashion focus, but the pivot has led to the prospect of future designs loaded with even more fitness-related features

The Apple Watch has received praise for helping many people take more care of themselves, as well as potentially saving lives in the process. Frequent reports have surfaced over the years covering events where people were alerted to possible issues, such as heart conditions via the ECG function, which prompted users to seek advice from medical professionals.
However, this healthcare-focus of the Apple Watch wasn't its original intention, a report into the future of the wearable device by Wired reminds.
"We never sat back, as a company, and said "Let's do healthcare," said Apple VP Sumbul Desai, who joined Apple's health team in 2017. "Our journey in health started with the Health app, and that was really our first step," Desai proposes, rather than the Apple Watch.
A change in the usage of the optical heart rate sensor in the Apple Watch Series 3 to more accurately measure heart rate is credited by Desai as being the main reason behind the Apple Watch's pivot.
"We put the PPG sensor on the watch to actually make sure that we were accurate in our calculation of calories because, using heart rate top be able to drive the accuracy of the calorie calculations, is the right way to do it," admits Desai. "We never had the intention to measure heart rate."
Feedback provided to the team in 2017 relating to how the Apple Watch helped reveal undiagnosed medical conditions led to a focal change, and the development of new features. These included the high heart rate notification, the development of irregular heart rhythm notifications, and an ECG in the Apple Watch Series 4.
Changes to watchOS have also added improvements to what people can monitor, including menstrual cycle tracking and the Noise app. Clinical trials have also taken place, centering on the Apple Watch and the data it collects.

The ongoing development of the Apple Watch and its capabilities has led to many rumors about it being able to measure glucose levels in a user in the future, along with oxygenation levels and blood pressure. When combined, these could provide greater insights into fitness in general and the human body, as well as guiding physicians and medical professionals about a user's underlying conditions.
For example, the blood pressure monitoring feature, as revealed in a May patent filing, could enable users to test their levels without requiring a separate cuff or other device. Measuring blood pressure could be used to determine instances of hypertension that could indicate health issues.
An update this fall could include a swathe of mental health features and a blood oxygen sensor to detect if the user is hyperventilating, which when combined with an elevated heart rate reading could warn of a user undergoing a panic attack. By monitoring these elements over the long term, there is even the possibility of the Apple Watch warning users of an imminent panic attack ahead of time.
Anxiety monitoring and sleep tracking have been tipped for inclusion in the Apple Watch Series 6 and watchOS 7. A rumored kids mode could enable the Apple Watch to be worn by younger users, with modified Activity Rings that measure more appropriate data points for their age, rather than the current adult-centric ring system.
There has even been the proposal of a detection system for when the user is potentially drowning, and to automatically call for help.
With the continued appearance of Apple Watch patent filings pointing to potential future features, along with other leaks and rumors about upcoming additions, it's evident that Apple has a lot planned for its wearable device. Other filings have also suggested other products may gain similar health-tracking features, such as AirPods with extra sensors, which gives Apple another avenue to travel down on its healthcare journey.
The big question is working out which direction it wants to go.

The Apple Watch has received praise for helping many people take more care of themselves, as well as potentially saving lives in the process. Frequent reports have surfaced over the years covering events where people were alerted to possible issues, such as heart conditions via the ECG function, which prompted users to seek advice from medical professionals.
However, this healthcare-focus of the Apple Watch wasn't its original intention, a report into the future of the wearable device by Wired reminds.
"We never sat back, as a company, and said "Let's do healthcare," said Apple VP Sumbul Desai, who joined Apple's health team in 2017. "Our journey in health started with the Health app, and that was really our first step," Desai proposes, rather than the Apple Watch.
A change in the usage of the optical heart rate sensor in the Apple Watch Series 3 to more accurately measure heart rate is credited by Desai as being the main reason behind the Apple Watch's pivot.
"We put the PPG sensor on the watch to actually make sure that we were accurate in our calculation of calories because, using heart rate top be able to drive the accuracy of the calorie calculations, is the right way to do it," admits Desai. "We never had the intention to measure heart rate."
Feedback provided to the team in 2017 relating to how the Apple Watch helped reveal undiagnosed medical conditions led to a focal change, and the development of new features. These included the high heart rate notification, the development of irregular heart rhythm notifications, and an ECG in the Apple Watch Series 4.
Changes to watchOS have also added improvements to what people can monitor, including menstrual cycle tracking and the Noise app. Clinical trials have also taken place, centering on the Apple Watch and the data it collects.

The ongoing development of the Apple Watch and its capabilities has led to many rumors about it being able to measure glucose levels in a user in the future, along with oxygenation levels and blood pressure. When combined, these could provide greater insights into fitness in general and the human body, as well as guiding physicians and medical professionals about a user's underlying conditions.
For example, the blood pressure monitoring feature, as revealed in a May patent filing, could enable users to test their levels without requiring a separate cuff or other device. Measuring blood pressure could be used to determine instances of hypertension that could indicate health issues.
An update this fall could include a swathe of mental health features and a blood oxygen sensor to detect if the user is hyperventilating, which when combined with an elevated heart rate reading could warn of a user undergoing a panic attack. By monitoring these elements over the long term, there is even the possibility of the Apple Watch warning users of an imminent panic attack ahead of time.
Anxiety monitoring and sleep tracking have been tipped for inclusion in the Apple Watch Series 6 and watchOS 7. A rumored kids mode could enable the Apple Watch to be worn by younger users, with modified Activity Rings that measure more appropriate data points for their age, rather than the current adult-centric ring system.
There has even been the proposal of a detection system for when the user is potentially drowning, and to automatically call for help.
With the continued appearance of Apple Watch patent filings pointing to potential future features, along with other leaks and rumors about upcoming additions, it's evident that Apple has a lot planned for its wearable device. Other filings have also suggested other products may gain similar health-tracking features, such as AirPods with extra sensors, which gives Apple another avenue to travel down on its healthcare journey.
The big question is working out which direction it wants to go.
Comments
I predicted the cellular aspect (when it was first released), though was skeptical whether they could pull that off. (They did, but pretty short capability. That's enough for emergency, though.)
If I ever end up getting one, the health aspect will probably be the reason. IMO, that should be separated from the 'fitness' aspects, though, as I think those are based off faulty principals (aside from exercise = good, generally). Trying to measure calories is kind of pointless, or basing your health off of them. But, I'm glad that morphed into the much more useful health-tracking aspects.
fashion? Pffft!
Should Apple continue to add “Health” related features to their wearables they should not be sold as such based on flimsy FDA certification. Far more stringent and lengthy clinical trials would need to be conducted otherwise consumers will start getting sucked into buying cheap knock-offs which will use the FDA’s prior example standards shortcut. Next, people will be buying potentially dangerous snake oil which would undo any benefits such products could provide.
1. A high quality time piece.
3. A “comprehensive health and fitness” device.
And, from a marketing perspective, that was probably smart: They kept it from being perceived as something only nerds of jocks would want.
the only way the iKnockoff shops like Samsung and Huawei/Xiaomi can ever do something like this is to literally ignore IP laws and steal Apple’s tech. China for sure is just waiting.
Watches are fashion accessories and Apple made of point of aligning it's product with watches rather than the wearable tech market for broader appeal which was absolutely a smart thing to do. A watch with technology added on is easer to market than technology with a clock as one of its features. And the different materials and ability to customized bands make it more appealing than plastic bands that came in a few colors that Fitbit and the like were offering. I am not down playing any of that as marketing points. What I think is inaccurate is to say they pivoted away from fashion to focus on fitness. That is just completely inaccurate. Apple still focuses on the fashion piece. They sell aluminum, stainless steal, titanium and ceramic watches that all come in multiple colors. They updates the bands seasonally like any fashion line. They add watch faces. This is all about personalization and presentation. They also keep adding health and fitness features. So, no, they didn't away pivot from fashion to health and fitness. They started with both and they are continuing with both.
The main thrust was on fashion rather than tech or fitness. They felt they were competing against the existing high end watch brands -- which all compete mostly on fashion. They even adopted their terminology.
THIS!!!
How likely do you think an elderly person is to be freaked out by the idea of accidentally triggering the 911 call, though? I'm used to paying attention to my devices, so that if a false-positive happens, I would probably catch it and stop it. But, I could imagine my dad being fairly oblivious to that. Is much tech-knowledge necessary? Otherwise, this is something we should push for, as my dad is now home alone.
And, yes, it is something I'll probably consider, if not for the more advanced heart monitoring and stuff, if I eventually start doing more kayaking/hiking, etc.
This is why I noted above that health/fitness need to be separated. There's a big difference between FitBit kind of stuff and heart-condition monitoring. I'm sure they intended the running-tracking kind of stuff, but admitted they hadn't considered the other.
Yes, but that would have been a nearly useless data point, if they hadn't run across the other health aspects. Again, that falls more in FitBit territory.