Tag: apple watch features

Apple Is Working on a New Feature for Apple Watch That Will Send Alerts if the User Is Drowning

Apple Watch in future could be equipped with capabilities to alert nearby users if a person wearing the device begins to drown in a water body. According to a new patent application, the Cupertino-based tech giant is working on a feature that will be able to sense when a user is showing “irregular behaviour” while swimming and is in distress underwater by using the sensors present on the smartwatch. Notably, a recent report has claimed that the Apple Watch Series 10 could feature an upgraded display that offers better battery life.

In a patent application filed with the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), Apple shared details on how this feature would work and highlighted the need for such a feature. The tech giant said in its application that every year, 3,500 people drown and lose their lives just in the US. Calling it the “fifth most common cause of accidental deaths in the country”, Apple said there is a need for drowning prevention systems.

Apple’s drowning alert system as shown in the patent application
Photo Credit: Apple

The company’s proposed feature does not introduce any new sensors to detect when a user is drowning, however. Instead, it relies on the existing sensors on the Apple Watch to interpret data whenever the user might be in distress underwater. As per the patent application, the primary trigger for this will be its inertial sensor which will determine if the head, arms, and torso of the swimmer is positioned in a way that suggests irregular behaviour.

This data will then be corroborated with the Apple Watch’s heart rate sensor or the blood oxygen sensor that will determine if the user’s heart rate has suddenly elevated or the VO2 max levels have suddenly dropped, which could indicate that the user is about to drown. The data from the sensors will be run through a special machine learning algorithm to then predict if the user is really drowning.

In case a user is found to be at risk of drowning, the Apple Watch could send an alert to emergency service providers as well as nearby users and lifeguards. The company also highlighted that the system could also share similar alerts in case a child is swimming in a pool and accidentally goes to the deeper end. It is noted that the feature currently exists as a patent application. It is not certain whether Apple will get the patent for this technology, and when Apple Watch devices may carry the drowning alert feature.

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Apple Watch Series 9, Watch Ultra 2 Lose Blood Oxygen Feature to Dodge US Ban

Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 will no longer offer the company’s blood oxygen feature on both models in the US, according to the company. In order to dodge a looming US ban on its latest smartwatches, Apple has disabled the pulse oximetry feature on its smartwatches, which infringe on patents held by medical technology firm Masimo. As a result, customers who purchase these two models in the US will not be able to measure their blood oxygen saturation (SpO2) levels.

Masimo CEO Joe Kiani told Bloomberg that Apple had not reached out to the medical technology firm to discuss a settlement amid the ongoing legal dispute between both firms. Apple has appealed a ruling of the International Trade Commission (ITC) in October that said the company infringed on Masimo’s patents related to pulse oximetry, a feature that was first introduced with the Apple Watch Series 6.

Earlier this week, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled that Apple could not sell both models with the blood oxygen feature, while refusing to pause the import ban during the appeal period. As anticipated, Apple has disabled the blood oxygen sensor on its Apple Watch Series 9 and Watch Ultra 2 that are sold in the US, to dodge the ban.

This means that both smartwatches in the US will still ship with a blood oxygen sensor, but its functionality will be disabled. The feature will also be disabled via the Watch app. Meanwhile, Apple has also updated its product pages for the Apple Watch Series 9 and Watch Ultra 2 in the US with a banner that informs customers the blood oxygen feature isn’t available on those models, while it has also disappeared from the company’s feature comparison charts for different models.

It is important to note that the restrictions on the blood oxygen feature only applies to customers in the US, which means that the feature will work on the same models sold in other countries, including India. If Apple and Masimo resolve the patent dispute in the future, the iPhone make should be able to activate the functionality once more, as the company has merely deactivated the hardware on these models.

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Apple Watch Could One Day Support Blood Sugar Monitoring, Blood Pressure Trends, More: Report

Apple is reportedly working on several features that could soon make their way to the company’s Apple Watch models. According to a Bloomberg report citing the firm’s employees, the company has been working on adding new health-related features to its smartwatches, while planning services related to fitness and health. However, the company’s top executives are also said to be wary of Apple’s image that could be affected due to mistakes in the health sector, which has resulted in delays in introducing some health-related features on its devices.

Bloomberg reports that Apple is still spending “in the high tens of millions of dollars” per year as the company works towards adding support for blood glucose monitoring to a future Apple Watch model, despite challenges such as varying blood and skin types that affect accuracy of the sensor. The company has reportedly been using resources that also develop chips for its phones and computers to build the technology necessary for non-invasive blood sugar monitoring.

While there have been reports of the company’s efforts to build in support for blood glucose monitoring over the years, Bloomberg reveals that Apple created a company called Avolonte Health in 2011 that only top executives were aware of, and the original Apple Watch was expected to feature support for monitoring not only blood sugar but also blood oxygen saturation (SpO2) and EKG levels — support for the last two health parameters eventually made their way to Apple’s smartwatches.

Just like the blood sugar monitoring feature, Apple is also working on adding blood pressure monitoring — albeit on a much more limited basis, showing trends (like increasing blood pressure) instead of actual figures. It is unclear from the report whether Apple will use existing hardware to achieve this functionality or introduce more advanced sensors on future models.

According to the report, other Apple-branded accessories that could work in tandem with the Apple Watch were also mooted by the company, such as an advanced watch strap that could collect even more information from the other side of the wearer’s wrist, a smart weighing scale, and wearable accessories that could provide better tracking while sleeping. There’s no word from Apple on whether it is actively working on any of these products, or whether they will be shipped at a later date.

Meanwhile, another wearable device from Apple — its first spatial computer, the Vision Pro — will soon offer features related to fitness and health, according to the report that claims the premium Fitness Plus service will make its way to the headset. The firm was also toying with the idea of health clinics — rival Amazon acquired One Medical earlier this year as part of its efforts to provide healthcare services — but there’s been no announcement from Apple on whether it plans to compete with Amazon and offer healthcare services.

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