What you need to know
- New Zealand, Chile, and Turkey are all getting ECG support.
- Apple Watch wearers will get the watchOS 6.2 update next week.
- The feature allows wearers to carry out an ECG on-demand.
Apple has announced that Apple Watch wearers in New Zealand, Chile, and Turkey will be able to take advantage of the ECG feature once watchOS 6.2 is made available next week.
The announcement was made via a press release, with no indication as to when the update will arrive other than "next week".
The ECG app on Apple Watch Series 4 and later will be available in New Zealand next week with iOS 13.4 and watchOS 6.2. The feature marks the first direct-to-consumer product that enables customers to take an electrocardiogram right from their wrist, capturing heart rhythm in a moment when they experience symptoms like a rapid or skipped heart beat and helping to provide critical data to physicians. The irregular rhythm notification feature on Apple Watch Series 1 or later will also occasionally check heart rhythms in the background and send a notification if an irregular heart rhythm that appears to be atrial fibrillation (AFib) is identified.
The ECG feature has already been proven to save lives in countries where it was already available, and by bringing it to three new countries Apple will hopefully be allowing users to detect issues that they didn't know were there. The more that happens, the more able to seek the medical help required.
Wearers of Apple Watch Series 4 and newer will be able to take the new feature for a spin once they have updated to watchOS 6.2. I'd suggest doing exactly that, too.
The Series 5 Apple Watch is more than just a watch, and for the first time in its existence, it actually acts like a watch.
