Intro: Apple recently announced the launch of the Apple Watch Series 8. The big health additions to this upgraded version include a new temperature sensor focused on women’s health, a crash detection feature, and AFib History.
Why it’s Notable:
Wearables are becoming more advanced, allowing users to monitor more aspects of their health. Apple’s temperature sensor in the new Apple Watch Series 8 has long been rumored. While Fitbit and Samsung have added temperature sensing capabilities to their wearable devices, Apple’s watch takes a different approach with two sensors (one under the display and other closer to the skin) to remove environmental bias.
Not only more features and sensors are getting added to wearables, increasingly the detection algorithms powering these devices are also receiving FDA approvals which makes them more clinically and scientifically acceptable than ever before. As a recent example, Fitbit has received FDA approval for a photoplethysmography-based (PPG) detection algorithm to allow for detection of atrial fibrillation, a feature which Apple has also received FDA approval for.
The upgrade of Apple watch to include a temperature sensor is extremely timely, especially for women’s health, as the temperature sensing capabilities will allow for women to track their own ovulation. Privacy became a concern within period tracking apps in the wake of the overturning of Roe vs Wade, however, Apple has openly stated they will encrypt cycle tracking data, potentially reducing these privacy issues.
Industry Implications:
Gaining FDA approvals for algorithms will likely become more mainstream in the wearables market going forward. As the demand for consumers to have more understanding of their personal health data from wearables increases, companies will need to continue to increase their offering. Apple’s smartwatch has an FDA-cleared electrocardiogram, and has been used for data collection in decentralized clinical trials to reduce risk of stroke and early detection of atrial fibrillation.
As wearables continue to provide more insights into users' health, there may be issues related to access and interpretation of data. Giving clinicians access to medical data collected through wearable may infringe on the privacy which Apple is striving to increase. However, clinician trust in wearable data may hinge on access to this data.
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Find out more about Apple and other tech companies digital health strategy in HealthXL’s upcoming big tech report. The report will be released on the HealthXL platform on Thursday 22nd.