For more than a decade, the latest Apple products have been the annual must-have holiday gift for the tech-savvy. That raises the question: Is the newest Apple Watch on your list 鈥� either to give or receive 鈥� this year?
At first glance, the watch appears to be an ideal present for Apple鈥檚 most familiar market: the hip early adopters. Its promotional is full of svelte young people stretching into yoga poses, kickboxing and playing basketball.
But when Apple unveiled its latest model in September 鈥� the Series 4, which starts at $399 鈥� it was clear it was expanding its target audience. This Apple Watch includes new features designed to detect falls and heart problems. With descriptions like 鈥減art guardian, part guru鈥� and 鈥渄esigned to improve your health 鈥� and powerful enough to protect it,鈥� the tech giant signaled its move toward preventive health and a much wider demographic.
鈥淭he health care market is obviously important to Apple,鈥� Andy Hargreaves, an Apple analyst with KeyBanc Capital Markets, wrote in an email. The fall prevention and electrocardiogram apps are a 鈥減lay to sell people more stuff鈥� and bring health-monitoring apps beyond just 鈥渇itness people鈥� to baby boomers who want to keep themselves and their parents healthy, he added.
This watch could be a perfect present for those older people, said Laura Martin, a senior analyst with Needham. 鈥淧eople who wore watches their whole lives, plus fall monitoring?鈥� Martin said. 鈥淰oil脿! It creates another on-ramp for another consumer in the Apple ecosystem.鈥�
The Inner Workings
The fall-monitoring app uses sensors in the watchband, which are automatically enabled for people 65 and older after they input their age. These sensors track and record the user鈥檚 movements, and note if the wearer鈥檚 gait becomes unsteady.
If a fall is detected, the watch sends its wearer a notification. If the wearer doesn鈥檛 respond within a minute by tapping a button on the watch to deactivate this signal, emergency services will be alerted that the wearer needs help.
That minute also gives the wearer time to prevent false alarms, such as a dropped watch.
Many geriatricians and medical experts agree that this app could help older consumers.
Falls can cause fractured hips and head injuries, but even fear of falling can prevent older people from living on their own or participating in activities.
Fall deaths in the U.S.聽 for older adults in the past decade, and 3 million older people go to the emergency room for fall injuries each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Dr. Armin Shahrokni, an internist with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center who describes himself as 鈥渢ech-savvy,鈥� is excited that older patients might get into wearable technology.
鈥淚n older cancer patients, my area of expertise, all the chemo can make them fall more,鈥� he said, making detecting falls and balance important.
The other app, the ECG monitoring app, also uses sensors in the wristband to monitor a patient鈥檚 heartbeat and send alerts if it gets too fast or too slow. Specifically, the app is meant to detect atrial fibrillation, which is a type of arrhythmia, also described as a problem with the speed or rhythm of the heartbeat.
Here is how the app works:
The watch鈥檚 sensors can detect a heart rhythm in 30 seconds, creating a 鈥渨aveform鈥� readout. It also allows the user to note how they are feeling 鈥� lightheaded, winded, full of energy 鈥� at that moment. This combination, according to Apple, will help people have better conversations with their doctors about symptoms and heart patterns.
The Food and Drug Administration cleared this function for people 22 or older. However, it鈥檚 rare for anyone younger than 50 to be diagnosed with atrial fibrillation, noted Eric Topol, a cardiologist at the Scripps Research Institute.
Doctors have expressed concern that scores of panicked Apple Watch users would flood emergency rooms with every heart rhythm notification and blip.
鈥淚t鈥檚 mass use of a tool, and with that is going to come lots of unintended consequences,鈥� Topol said. 鈥淚t鈥檒l lead to a lot of anxiety and expense and additional testing, and even then some people will get blood thinners inappropriately,鈥� he added.
鈥淭his is the opposite of individualized medicine, where you are using something on exactly, precisely the right person,鈥� Topol said.
Wearables Unleashed
The watch represents the beginning of what analysts agree will be a wave of new health apps and wearable health trackers.
Consumers can expect more ways to track vital signs, like blood sugar, and more apps that will use those numbers to help people prevent medical emergencies, said Ross Muken, an analyst with Evercore ISI. While health tracking isn鈥檛 a new concept, putting that data into an algorithm to help change behavior and get ahead of a health crisis is the next big frontier for wearable health technology products.
Experts caution, though, that while the FDA 鈥渃leared鈥� these new apps, it hasn鈥檛 actually 鈥渁pproved鈥� them, which is a bureaucratic distinction that means they haven鈥檛 faced as much rigorous testing as something that has gained the agency鈥檚 formal OK.
For example, there are no findings from studies or trials that offer evidence of the fall prevention or ECG apps鈥� benefits, Topol said. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 have any data to review. These are unknowns.鈥�
Someday, he added, he expects the 鈥渕edicalized smartphone鈥� to be more common, cheaper and accessible to seniors. Right now we鈥檙e seeing the very beginning of this technology be put into use. 鈥淭echnology is way ahead of medical practice,鈥� Topol said.
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