Apple Watch hypertension notifications get FDA approval

The latest health feature for recent Apple Watch models has cleared the FDA, meaning Apple can switch it on and ship it with Apple Watch Series 11.

Apple Watch has become a powerful health companion that tracks a lot of metrics to give users helpful insights. Each generation seems to bring some kind of new metric to track, and Apple revealed hypertension notifications alongside the Apple Watch Series 11.

A report from 9to5Mac notes that Hypertension notifications have now made it past the FDA and can be activated on compatible Apple Watch models. It is a feature that will ship with Apple Watch Series 11 and Apple Watch Ultra 3 on September 19.

The feature is coming to older Apple Watches — Apple Watch Series 9, Apple Watch Series 10, and Apple Watch Ultra 2. Though it’s tough to say exactly when that feature will arrive.

Apple could activate it over the air or via the watchOS 26 update going out to the public on Monday.

Hypertension notifications use data gathered over a 30-day period about how blood is flowing through your blood vessels. The new system is able to determine if blood pressure is higher than expected and keep track of the severity of the condition.

This isn’t measuring blood pressure nor providing that data. It can notify users of potential hypertension, which gives them a chance to consult a doctor or start taking blood pressure measurements with a cuff.

Apple is rolling out watchOS 26 and iOS 26 on September 15, then shipping the latest Apple Watch and iPhones on September 19. The new hypertension notification feature is expected to notify 1 million users in the first year.