Apple
Apple SVP introduced the Apple Heart Study, a program to monitor Apple Watch users' heart rates for irregularities, in September.
- Apple is developing a new heart monitor for the Apple Watch that would work like an electrocardiogram, according to a new report.
- The feature would play into Apple's broader ambition to turn the Apple Watch into a clinical-grade health monitor.
Apple is working on new technology for the Apple Watch that would let the device monitor a wearer's heart similar to a clinical-grade electrocardiogram, Bloomberg's Alex Webb reports.
Apple is still testing the feature and it may not be released at all, according to the report. The advanced Apple Watch would reportedly require the user to grip the outside of the Apple Watch, which would send an electrical current through the body to accurately monitor the heart's condition.
The current Apple Watch already has a heart-rate monitor, but it's not as accurate as clinical-grade monitors used by medical professionals.
Apple has hinted in the past that it would like to add more health-monitoring features to the Apple Watch. In September, the company announced it partnered with Stanford University for a program called the Apple Heart study. The study would monitor Apple Watch users for irregularities in their heart rates that could be symptoms of a heart condition.