AN INCREASING FOCUS ON HEALTH
As is often the case with Apple, the company
wasn’t the first technology giant to enter into
the healthcare space but its contributions have
so far been more important than its rivals,
with Apple Health now installed on billions of
users’ iPhones, offering a great deal of data on
everyday health metrics like weight, allergies,
COVID-19 vaccination status, and for those with
an Apple Watch, activity tracking, blood oxygen
monitoring, and ECG readings to boot. That’s,
in part, thanks to the Apple Watch dominating
the smartwatch market, with Apple responsible
for more than a third of smartwatch sales over
the past five years. In fact, the Apple Watch is
so successful that the company has overtaken
established brands like Rolex to become the
world’s biggest watch manufacturer, and as
new iterations of the wearable are released
every year, it’s clear that Apple is showing no
signs of slowing down or giving competitors a
chance to catch up.
Apple previously received FDA clearance
for the ECG function of its smartwatch last
year, and since then has been working on
validating its efficacy in a number of studies.
Earlier in the year, Mount Sinai researchers
said the Apple Watch’s heart rate variability
monitor could help spot new COVID-19 cases
before a molecular diagnosis, demonstrating
its huge potential in future disease control
and prevention. A separate study conducted
by Stanford University found that the cardiac
metrics from the Apple Watch is as good as
clinical tests, which is a huge leap forward for
those suffering from cardiovascular disease,
creating a new point-of-care hub for patients