Apple has expanded several AirPods and Apple Watch Health Features to additional countries.
Apple has announced that hypertension notifications from the Apple Watch are now available in United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Vietnam. Hearing Test and Hearing Aid functionality is now available in Bahrain, Costa Rica, and Paraguay, while Sleep Apnea notifications are available in Colombia.
Hearing Aid functionality with automatic Conversation Boost has been expanded to several European countries, including the UK, Germany, Austria, Poland, Switzerland, Finland, Norway, Ireland, and Denmark.
The hypertension notifications feature uses data collected from the Watch’s heart sensor, and uses a new algorithm to determine if there are signs of high blood pressure.
Hypertension alerts require 30 days of data, starting when the user sets up Hypertension Notifications in the Health app on the iPhone. If hypertension is identified within the last 30 days of heart data, users will get a notification.
Hypertension alerts are available on the Apple Watch Series 9 and later and the Apple Watch Ultra 2 and later.
The feature is intended for users 22 years or older, that are not pregnant, and that have not already been diagnosed with hypertension. If you don’t meet those criteria, you should not enable it.
Apple Watch sleep apnea detection uses a new Breathing Disturbances metric, that uses the accelerometer to detect small movements at the wrist associated with interruptions to normal respiratory patterns during sleep. Every 30 days, Apple Watch will analyze breathing disturbance data and notify users if it shows consistent signs of moderate to severe sleep apnea so they can speak to their doctor about next steps, including potential diagnosis and treatment.
Breathing Disturbances can be used to determine restfulness of sleep. Breathing Disturbances can be influenced by alcohol, medications, sleep position, and more. Users can view their nightly Breathing Disturbances in the Health app, where they are classified as elevated or not elevated, and can be viewed over a one-month, six-month, or one-year period.
Hearing Test and Hearing Aid functionality allow AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods Pro 3 to be used as hearing aids for individuals with mild to moderate hearing loss. The hearing test uses tones at different frequencies to detect hearing loss, and if issues are detected, users can turn on hearing assistance.
