Australia Approves Apple Watch Hypertension Alert Feature
Australia has granted official approval for Apple to activate its highly anticipated hypertension alert feature on the Apple Watch. This initiative permits eligible users to receive notifications related to heart health within the country, as reported by MacRumors.
The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), Australia’s regulatory authority overseeing medical devices, has incorporated this innovative software into the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods this month. Consequently, the feature is now available for distribution to local Apple Watch users.
This milestone enables Apple to legally implement the hypertension alert system for Australian consumers, aligning the nation with over 150 other territories where this functionality has already been sanctioned and is in operation.
The announcement arrives after months of anticipation, particularly as users in various regions enjoyed early access in 2025. Conversely, countries like Canada and India experienced delays in authorization due to their regulatory frameworks.
Initially unveiled in September 2025 alongside the Apple Watch Series 11, Apple’s hypertension detection feature does not assess blood pressure in the conventional manner.
Instead, it leverages optical heart sensor data from compatible Apple Watch models, analyzing this information over extended intervals to discern patterns potentially indicative of chronic hypertension.
Should these trends reach a substantial threshold, the device prompts users to check their blood pressure with a standard cuff monitor.
This advanced technology employs sophisticated machine learning algorithms and extensive datasets acquired from research initiatives to identify relevant indicators.
Independent clinical validation, involving thousands of participants, has refined the algorithm, bolstering confidence in its efficacy for detecting potential cases of undiagnosed hypertension.
While the system may not detect every occurrence of elevated blood pressure, Apple, along with healthcare professionals, posits that these wearable notifications could assist over a million individuals globally in receiving critical medical attention that might otherwise be overlooked.
To utilize this feature, adults aged 22 and older who are neither diagnosed with hypertension nor pregnant are eligible. The required hardware includes the Apple Watch Series 9 and subsequent models, as well as the Apple Watch Ultra 2 and newer versions operating on watchOS 26.
Furthermore, users must pair the watch with an iPhone 11 or later, equipped with the latest iOS version, to ensure optimal functionality.
Source link: Iphoneincanada.ca.
