14 DAY TRIAL // On Wednesday, Apple held a special event where it unveiled three new iPhone models and the fourth generation of its Apple Watch smartwatch, which promises breakthrough fitness and health capabilities.
At first sight, the Apple Watch Series 4 looks to be a revolutionary device that you might want to buy right away, especially because of its "revolutionary" health capabilities, which include the ability to generate an electrocardiogram (also known as ECG or EKG) using a built-in electrical heart rate sensor and a new ECG app.
According to Apple, the ECG feature is possible thanks to electrodes built into the Digital Crown, which you need to press with your finger to take an ECG, as well as a new electrical heart rate sensor in the back crystal, which is also capable of analyzing heart rhythms and notify you of irregular heart rhythms, also known as AFib.
ECG and irregular rhythm notification are US-only
FDA (Food and Drug Administration) granted Apple a De Novo classification for Apple Watch Series 4's ECG capabilities, but it looks like only in the United States. During yesterday's keynote, Apple told us that Apple Watch Series 4 won't launch with the ECG feature because the ECG app isn't available yet.
The company said that the ECG app is coming later this year, but they didn't mention the fact that it will only be available in the United States. Furthermore, we discovered that the irregular rhythm (Afib) notification is also coming later this year and it's limited to the United States.
We realize this may come as bad news for many of you out there, including us, as the ECG and irregular rhythm notification features are the top selling points of the Apple Watch Series 4, besides the larger display and a new watch face. So if you plan on buying a new Apple Watch or upgrade your current model, you might want to hold off.
Without these two breakthrough health features, which might save your life one day, the Apple Watch Series 4 isn't worth the upgrade. You're better off buying an Apple Watch Series 3, whose price will soon fall due to the new models arriving soon on the shelves of Apple Stores around the globe.
We can only hope that Apple will extend the ECG and irregular rhythm notification features of the Apple Watch Series 4 to other markets in the world during the coming months as it probably still awaiting for regulatory approval outside of the United States, otherwise Apple Watch won't be the "number one watch period" anymore.