I’ve written about Apple Watch for a decade: Here’s the rumored upgrade to the Apple Watch 12 I’m most excited about
Apple could be switching to continuous heart rate monitoring, taking on the likes of Oura and Whoop
Apple is set to unveil its new products during a "Surprise and Shine" event in just 48 hours. I will be reporting on the event from Cupertino. Rumors suggest the upcoming Apple Watch 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4 will retain a similar design to their predecessors, the Apple Watch 11 and Ultra 3. However, a significant upgrade could be a continuous heart rate sensor, which would enable the watch to monitor health and fitness metrics around the clock, similar to Oura Ring 5 or Whoop 5.0.
Currently, the Apple Watch measures heart rate every few minutes and only enters continuous tracking during workouts to conserve battery. This continuous tracking would provide more precise data and potentially a wellness score, a feature lacking in other wearables like Garmin and Fitbit. While Apple's "Vitals" app introduced in watchOS 11 was a step in this direction, continuous heart rate and heart rate variability (HRV) readings would offer higher quality data to compete with devices like Oura.
The battery life of the Apple Watch has been a concern, with the Apple Watch 11 offering 18 hours of battery life compared to the Oura Ring or Whoop, which last four to seven days. The impact of continuous heart rate tracking on battery life is uncertain at this point. Apple's event is imminent, and we eagerly await the announcement.
Written by urgent.news from Tom's Guide's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
