Apple Watch could monitor your blood oxygen levels in future as part of new updates rumoured for the wearable smart device this year
- Apple Watch 6 could give blood oxygen readings with a built-in ‘pulse oximeter’
- The feature could even feature on old Apple Watch devices running watchOS 6
- It will work just like existing Apple health apps such as irregular heart rate alerts
Apple is working on a software update that will allow its smartwatches to detect blood oxygen levels, according to reports.
The tech giant is working on new features that will send blood oxygen readings to existing versions of its Apple Watch, as well as the new model, expected to be revealed in September.
When Apple Watch detects low blood oxygen saturation below a certain threshold, a notification will be sent to the wearer much like the current heart rate notification capability, according to 9to5Mac.
The new feature will be enabled by a built-in ‘pulse oximeter’ – a small device that estimate the amount of oxygen carried by red blood cells.
The feature was allegedly revealed via a leak of the code from Apple’s upcoming iOS 14 for its next generation of smartphones, which would carry the accompanying app.
Apple unveiled the Series 5 watch on Tuesday during its product launch event last year. Apple Watch 5 could support a new blood oxygen-reading feature that’s rumoured to be revealed in time for the upcoming Apple Watch 6
The feature could be a major selling point on Apple’s upcoming smartwatch, as many existing blood oxygen reading devices are bulky.
It’s not confirmed what hardware and software will be required for such a feature or how the technology would work.
But it’s likely the feature would come with watchOS 7 – the upcoming operating system for Apple Watch – or even work with watchOS 6, the current version.
Apple Watch hardware already includes a built-in heart rate monitor that is capable of measuring oxygen levels, the report says.
A so-called pulse oximeter has been in place in the back of the device since the original Apple Watch released in 2015 – suggesting it’s been a case of getting the software right to get the feature running.
Pulse oximeters are non-invasive devices that use wavelengths of light to approximate oxygen carried by your red blood cells.
Blood levels between 95 per cent and 100 per cent are considered healthy, while anywhere below 80 per cent may compromise organ functions.
Similar to the current heart rate notifications offered by Apple Watch and associated apps, the new blood oxygen reading feature would send alerts to users’ smartphones if their blood oxygen levels get too low
When blood oxygen levels are low, symptoms include shortness of breath, chest pain, headache and rapid heartbeat.
The new update could help people with hypoxemia – low levels of oxygen in the blood – or for people at higher altitudes, such as those on mountain climbs, when oxygen saturation of the blood decreases.
Apple is also reportedly working on an upgrade to its electrocardiogram (ECG) function, which was introduced with the Apple Watch 4, unveiled in 2018.
The ECG feature records the timing and strength of the electrical signals that make the heartbeat.
It captures heart rhythms when users experience symptoms like a rapid or skipped heartbeat, helping to provide critical data to physicians in an emergency.
However, the feature results in inconclusive readings for heart rates under 50 beats per minute or over 100 beats per minute, Apple says.
Fingertip pulse oximeters that are sold online tend to be fairly bulky and aren’t designed to be worn around the wrist
An update would remove that limitation and will come with an upgraded version of the accompanying ECG app.
Apple is one of nine companies that are part of a government-backed programme to develop heath products and get them to market faster.
The company claims its products ‘transform the way doctors and nurses work with their patients’.
‘I believe, if you zoom out into the future, and you look back, and you ask the question, “What was Apple’s greatest contribution to mankind?’ it will be about health,” Apple CEO Tim Cook told CNBC last year.