Apple’s new hypertension detection feature for Apple Watch has officially received FDA clearance and will begin rolling out next week, according to 9to5Mac. The tool, announced alongside the Apple Watch Series 11 and Apple Watch Ultra 3, will debut as part of watchOS 26 on Monday, September 15.
Wide Device Support
The feature won’t be limited to Apple’s latest models. It will be available on:
- Apple Watch Series 9 and later
- Apple Watch Ultra 2 and later
It will launch in the U.S. and more than 150 countries worldwide, though some regions may require additional regulatory approval.
How It Works
Using the Apple Watch’s optical heart sensor, the feature tracks vascular responses over 30-day periods. If it detects consistent patterns linked to chronic high blood pressure, users will receive a hypertension alert.
Hypertension (high blood pressure) affects an estimated 1.3 billion adults globally and is known as a “silent killer” since it often presents no symptoms until serious complications occur.
Apple trained its machine learning models on studies involving over 100,000 participants and validated the system in clinical trials with more than 2,000 participants. The company expects the feature could identify over 1 million undiagnosed cases of hypertension within its first year.
What Happens If You Get an Alert
Apple advises users who receive a notification to:
- Measure their blood pressure for seven days using a third-party cuff.
- Share the results with a healthcare provider.
This aligns with American Heart Association guidelines for confirming a diagnosis.
