The New Apple Watch Series 4 Sports Useful Medical Alert Features

When the popular tech giant announced its fourth generation smartwatch, it turned everyone’s head. The new Apple Watch was not only redesigned from the ground up – receiving a much larger touchscreen and top-notch hardware for smooth speed – but several health safety features were implemented too. In the past, the Apple Watch already doubled as a medical alert help button due to the SOS messaging function, but the company stepped up its game with the addition of fall detection and ECG measuring. This begs the question: is the Apple Watch Series 4 now better than a dedicated medical alert device?

The built-in electrocardiogram is the other trick up Apple’s sleeve. Even though it wasn’t available for the U.S. audience at launch and was planned to be added later on, the ECG measures your heart rate. The corresponding app then saves the data for evaluation and offers the ability to share it with your physician. This feature is very convenient for patients with heart problems and seniors who need to measure their ECG multiple times a day since the smartwatch on their wrist is capable of doing the measurement literally everywhere. However, the accuracy of the result is highly questionable and it’s possible that health practicians won’t accept the data unless it comes from a verified healthcare product.

Even though it’s commendable that Apple has put medical alert and health safety features into its popular product, we are still hesitant to call it a worthwhile alternative to medical alert systems. Heavily sedated patients recovering from a serious illness and especially seniors would find it difficult and frustrating to fish out the SOS app from a pool of superfluous software.

During a medical emergency time is of the essence and fiddling with the small touchscreen could mean the difference between life and death. Certain medical alert providers – such as Medical Guardian – offer their own smartwatch that includes must-have features like a help button – both physically and in app form – GPS, weather forecast, and a medication reminder.