Why the launch of the Apple Watch 4 could mark a turning point in medical science

Wednesday’s presentation of the Apple products was not particularly interesting or impressive: the feeling was, basically, that we had spent two hours to see three phones and a watch: not much compared to some previous events. However, there are some aspects that are interesting to highlight and that have to do fundamentally with the fourth iteration of the Apple Watch, a product so successful that, with 4.7 million units sold in the last quarter alone and 28 million so far this year, it’s become not only the best-selling wearable, but is now the world’s best-selling watch overall, surpassing the sum total of heavyweights such as Rolex, Omega or Swatch.

Apple’s decision to kick off the event with the Apple Watch 4, ahead of an iPhone that represents the bulk of its income, clearly indicates that the most interesting devices that Apple manufactures today are not smartphones, which are increasingly difficult to differentiate, but products such as its watch, which still have much more room for innovation.

What are the implications of the launch of Apple Watch 4? Basically, the consolidation of the importance of wearables to monitor health. When the first version of Apple Watch was unveiled in September 2014, the brand announced that the most important use of such a device was not going to be in gyms, but in hospitals, which can now be confirmed by what was undoubtedly the most surprising thing about yesterday’s presentation: the approval of the device by the FDA, the first time for a device of this type and for testing electrocardiograms (ECG).

Sure, there are other consumer devices capable of carrying out an ECG: I enjoy reasonably good health, but there is history of cardiovascular problems in my family, which is why I have been using WIWE for almost a year: a device the size of a credit card that provides a complete ECG in a minute, and has been bought by organizations such as the Hungarian Cardiology Society or Britain’s NHS to be used in health centers. There is also a specific device, KardiaBand from AliveCor, which obtained FDA approval in November of 2017.

Apple Watch’s move into the field of cardiovascular health by almost placing a doctor on our wrist may not make it a pioneer, but bearing in mind the brand’s ability to reinvent categories, it could be very important in accessing the consumer electronics market. Sponsoring the presentation of the device was the president of the American Heart Association and practicing cardiologist Dr. Ivor Benjamin, and although other cardiologists such as Ethan Weiss seem unsure about whether this was the best or worst day in the history of cardiology, everything indicates that bringing a device into the consumer market capable of alerting us to some — not all — irregularities in the functioning of our heart could play a very important role in combatting the world’s number one cause of mortality. In fact, there are already people who have publicly thanked Apple for having helped them detect early ailments such as atrial fibrillation. Even if this type of device could lead to an increase in false positives or unnecessary treatment, overall, it will help save lives and raise awareness about our cardiovascular health.

Let’s not kid ourselves: the Apple Watch is not a permanent guard against all heart diseases and problems, but it will definitely raise the level of conscience of the average wearers when it comes to the health of their hearts. It will not signal the end of the cardiovascular diseases, of course, but it will definitely be a good thing.

Apple’s relationship with the world of health, both through its devices and the relationships with research teams to use its data, could be becoming one of the most important forces in the transition from today’s conception of palliative health, which means ​​going to the doctor when something hurts, to a preventive health model where the doctor calls us because she detects something unusual in the readings of the sensors we wear. Such a transition may take time, but undoubtedly represents the future evolution of medical science.

(En español, aquí)