Apple today told The Canadian Press that it is aiming to bring ECG functionality to Apple Watch Series 4 devices in Canada "as quickly as possible."
The news comes after Health Canada this month approved the ECG app and irregular heart rhythm notifications on the Apple Watch Series 4, clearing the way for the features to be released in the country.
Health Canada classified the Apple Watch Series 4 as a Class II medical device, which places it in the "low-to-medium risk" category alongside other products like contact lenses.
The ECG app is designed to allow Apple Watch Series 4 readers to place a finger on the Digital Crown to get a single-lead ECG reading, which can detect atrial fibrillation, a condition that can be indicative of major health problems. Irregular heart rhythm notifications are a separate feature, meant to let users know if an unusual heart rhythm is detected so medical attention can be sought.
Apple did not provide specific timing on when we can expect ECG and irregular heart rate notifications to be available in Canada, but it could perhaps come in the watchOS 5.3 update, which is being beta tested right now, or it could be incorporated into watchOS 6, which will be announced at the Worldwide Developers Conference on June 3.
Thursday June 19, 2025 11:28 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, providing a convenient and contactless way to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps.
Unfortunately, this feature continues to roll out very slowly since it was announced in 2021, with only nine U.S. states and Puerto...
Last week, we reported that iOS 26 introduces an opt-in Adaptive Power Mode on the iPhone, alongside the existing Low Power Mode.
Apple says that Adaptive Power Mode can make "small performance adjustments" when necessary to extend an iPhone's battery life, including slightly lowering the display brightness or allowing some activities to "take a little longer."
The full description of...
The iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are three months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices.
Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of June 2025:Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone X through iPhone 14 Pro have a...
Apple is hiding a new ringtone within iOS 26.
The new ringtone is an alternative version of the existing Reflection ringtone, which has been the default ringtone since the iPhone X was released in 2017. It was discovered within the code for the first developer beta of iOS 26, but it remains hidden, so you will not find it in the list of ringtones available in the Settings app for now.
It...
Apple will finally deliver the Apple Watch Ultra 3 sometime this year, according to analyst Jeff Pu of GF Securities Hong Kong (via @jukanlosreve).
The analyst expects both the Apple Watch Series 11 and Apple Watch Ultra 3 to arrive this year (likely alongside the new iPhone 17 lineup, if previous launches are anything to go by), according to his latest product roadmap shared with...
Wednesday June 18, 2025 10:24 am PDT by Juli Clover
Apple today seeded the first betas of upcoming iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 updates to public beta testers, with the betas coming just a few days after Apple provided the betas to developers.
Testers who have signed up for beta updates through Apple's beta site can download iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 from the Settings app on a compatible device by going to General > Software Update.
When the...
Spotify appears to be gearing up to launch its long-awaited lossless music tier.
Chris Messina (via TechCrunch) and Spicetify (via The Verge) spotted new lossless references within the code for Spotify's desktop app and web player.
With assistance from Aaron Perris, MacRumors has confirmed that the latest beta of the Spotify app for the iPhone also contains new lossless-related code....
Apple is running a new promotion that offers free AirPods to qualifying customers.
Now through September 30, college and university students in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Singapore can receive free AirPods 4 when they purchase an eligible new Mac or iPad from Apple. AirPods Pro 2 are also available at a discount.
If you do not want AirPods, the promotion also offers various other...
Wednesday June 18, 2025 8:10 pm PDT by Joe Rossignol
Every year between 2015 and 2024, at least one Apple executive agreed to be interviewed by Daring Fireball's John Gruber for a special WWDC episode of his podcast, The Talk Show. Last year, for example, Apple's software engineering chief Craig Federighi, marketing chief Greg Joswiak, and top AI researcher John Giannandrea joined Gruber on stage at the California Theatre in San Jose to discuss...
I just wish they'd hurry up and approve it in Australia... now that it has CE certification it should be automatically accepted and not require additional TGA approval. The cynic in me thinks that the TGA will insist on special approval so they can take a chunk of Apple's cash, when it's absolutely unnecessary.
I get Apple has to be certified by different countries' health regulators... but with their money and influence you'd have thought they would at least have Canada, the UK, Australia and New Zealand approved before launch.
I don’t know why Canada, the UK, Australia and New Zealand should get special treatment. They aren’t even Apple’s largest market. Besides, it looks like they were tweaking the software right until the launch.i would much rather have a staggered release than no release for another year for a feature like this.
Because our regulatory, political and institutional systems are most similar. You know, the Anglosphere.
Because the UK has a National Health service it won't approve any nonsense a watch says with out a Doctors approval. The watch is a dumb toy
And Australia, NZ and CA don't have a national health service? Sorry, I must've been paying thousands of dollars f[SIZE=3]or my GP + hospital visits without realising.[/SIZE]
I pre-ordered series 4 Watch at launch due to the ECG features announced during the keynote. I rushed to the hospital last year twice due to chest pain. Both times the hospital didn't find anything but I was expecting that if there is anything the Watch will be able to detect. However, the ECG feature wasn't released at launch but it was expected that it will be with a software update soon so I didn't return the watch in 30 day period. Now after 9 months, ECG is still not available in Australia. This is false marketing by Apple and if Apple didn't work on regulatory approvals for launching this feature, they shouldn't have used this as a marketing point in the keynote for series-4.
I'm not sure what the marketing message was in Australia, but to be fair Apple did say at the keynote, ECG was available to US customers only. They didn't specify a time frame, but that other countries would follow.
Biggest design overhaul since iOS 7 with Liquid Glass, plus new Apple Intelligence features and improvements to Messages, Phone, Safari, Shortcuts, and more. Developer beta available now ahead of public beta in July.
