During Apple's "Time Flies" event on Tuesday, Apple played a heartwarming video depicting stories of how Apple Watch has changed, and in some cases saved, the lives of some people who wear the device.
The short video has since been shared on Apple's official YouTube channel, and we've embedded it here below.
The video includes an athlete with Type-1 diabetes who uses Apple Watch to check insulin readings, which has given them a newfound sense of liberation from their condition.
Another person in the video was able to come off expensive medication for high blood pressure and hypertension by getting into shape with the help of Apple Watch, while a 26-year-old was alerted by Apple Watch to a high heart rate which led them to seek medical help before they went into cardiac arrest, potentially saving their life.
Apple is pitching the Apple Watch Series 6 as a health, fitness, and safety device like never before, and with the introduction of blood oxygen measuring, it is joining forces with researchers to conduct health studies in the hope that signals from apps on Apple Watch could serve as early signs of respiratory conditions like influenza and COVID-19.
Blood oxygen level is a key indicator of overall wellness and can help you understand how well your body is absorbing oxygen, as well as the amount of oxygen delivered to your body. The new sensor and app in the Apple Watch Series 6 enables users to take on-demand readings of their blood oxygen as well as background readings, both during the day and at night.
Apple says the Blood Oxygen app is only available in certain countries and regions, but we're still waiting to learn where the Blood Oxygen app is available.
Apple Watch Series 6 (GPS) starts at $399 and Apple Watch Series 6 (GPS + Cellular) starts at $499. Preorders are currently being taken with availability starting Friday.
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I had issues with SVT for years but was never able to get it properly diagnosed until the Apple watch series 4 came out. About 10 years ago I was getting ready to work out and my heart rate spiked. I didn't take an energy drink or pre-work out drink. Was just sitting down and it spiked. My doctor got me an event monitor for 6 months and of course it never happened while I had it. A few months after I returned my event monitor it happened again. They put me through every test they knew and couldn't figure it out, so they said to go to the ER the next time it happened.Oh, I didn't know that. When I had it, it felt like I was dying. Called 911 within minutes of onset (it woke me up from sleep). I guess it's possible I had it before when I was younger and could tolerate higher pulses better. I've had long-term cardiac monitoring and it only came back one other time, and I definitely felt it that second time again.
The next time it happened I had my series 4 Apple watch with the ECG feature. My wife was driving me to the hospital and I took multiple ECG readings to capture the event. By the time we got to the parking lot, my heart rate was back to normal. I made an appt with my cardiologist and showed him the information I captured on my watch, and he was instantly able to diagnosis me. It was an incredible feeling to finally know what was going on after all these years.
See my post above. It's not playing with people's emotions... they are releasing real tools that help people better understand their health. What's disgusting is your critical view of a company who's actually trying to make a difference.Playing people's emotions to sell them non-medical devices. Disgusting. Do better Apple.
I’m a type 1 diabetic - It’s not about being rich, it’s about value. $300 is what I spend on sensors each and every month. Something that helps me avoid being ‘Dead-in-Bed’ (please Google), $300 is nothing.I feel Apple is hinting that "If you have diabetes, you'd better get an Apple Watch because it can save your life". I don't know what to say about this -- sure there is some truth there, but are you going to spend $300 on an FDA-cleared device that does not guarantee anything other than promising that it does not hurt you? (please Google FDA clearance vs approval.) If you are rich and do not care about $300, of course, but to many people that is a good amount of investment, and Apple's marketing weighs more than whatever actual technology in there, just like so many other medical devices.
Diabetes isn‘t like gluten intolerance... No insulin equals dead in days. Too much insulin equals coma, Not enough insulin equals blindness, amputated limbs & and the exacerbation of pretty much every medical complication. Anything that can help me dance that line between too low, and too high... $300 ? No problem.
So walking into a doctors office and being diagnosed with SVT from a cardiologist using information directly taken from an Apple product is being "baited".... cool story man.Apple is a public traded company. They care about profit margins. If you buy into any "good feel" then you got baited big time.
I actually thought were pretty much over-praising a multi-billion dollar companies and how they are always looking to get bigger, fatter, and richer.
There are studies that provide insightful data on the impacts of decision fatigue, and specifically diabetics.The insulin pump story is nice, but it only seems tangentially related to any tech Apple makes.
When I wake in the morning, I need to know my blood sugar levels - it helps know where I am and informs me how well my basal insulin dose has been.
When I have breakfast I check again, it helps me calculate a corrective dose based on my personal carbohydrate ratios And current blood glucose levels. I then calculate the amounts of carbohydrates in this specific breakfast and the required amount of bonus insulin + corrective dose if required - making any adjustments for insulin I may already have in my system using a personal calculation of my insulin profile (how much of my insulin is active after 1 hour in my body, after 2 hours etc.) It also helps to retain the carbohydrate count of regular foods (croissant, 48g, but the high fat content changes it’s glycemic index - yup, gotta factor in the glycemic index!)
Check my blood levels again 2 hors later to make sure that was all okay. Repeat all steps for almost every snack (pre & post), for every meal (pre & post) then calculate any night time dose with enough confidence to avoid worrying about dying in my sleep while avoiding high blood sugar, which over time may turn me blind, make me lose a foot or stop my dick from working.
Catch a cold, and throw the whole effing thing out the window because that will change my insulin rations in an unpredictable way.
Then, adjust the ratios slightly based on season.
Then, adjust the ratios based on recent lockdown weight gain.
****, I mowed the lawn and forgot to have a snack - Hypo time, get ready to ride the blood-sugar-roller coaster.
Be polite. Remember not everyone is comfortable watching you take your shot. Where did you take your last shot? it’s important to rotate your injection sites. Do you have your glucose monitor, testing kits & lancets?
Then read some daft stuff on the internet while your blood sugar is too high and get way too involved in forum, which you‘d normally just let go...
If that was a long read, do it every couple of hours, every day for the rest of your life.
I make SO MANY small decisions every hour, of every the day... the ability to glance down at my watch is not tangentially related... It’s deeply connected to me feeling like a normal human being.
The Apple Watch isn’t the perfect health tool - but HealthKit, the Apple Watch, my CGMi, Carb counting Apps all work together to help improve my quality of life... not in a tangential way, in a tangible way.
*Rant over, waiting for my sugar levels to come down... too much carby pizza tonight !*
PS> Dear Tim... Keep pushing built in glucose monitoring please !
Then a few months ago, having recently turned 40, I noticed I felt weird. Just out of curiosity I felt my pulse, and it had a resting rate of 90-100. Intrigued, I checked the records in the Health app and noticed a trend upwards.
Then I started receiving high pulse rate alerts (over 120) on my S3 watch when standing idle. So I made an appointment with my GP who confirmed the watch’s readings.
I’m now having tests to find out what’s going on. Had a 2-wire ECG monitor fitted for a week and am awaiting the results.
Chances areI just need to work on my fitness and deal with a few bits of stress at work. But there’s a not-insignificant chance that there’s something that needs to be addressed medically. And if that’s the case, then I’m incredibly glad that I had the data available to me to act on.
I almost certainly would have ignored feeling crappy and just put it down to a bad night’s sleep without those high-rate alerts coupled with the historic data in Health.