Apple Watch ECG gets green light in China: Report

Beijing: China has officially approved the Apple Watch electrocardiogram (ECG) feature that first arrived with the Series 4 wearable.

The regulatory green light means Apple could launch the functionality with a software update for users in the country any time now.

Meanwhile, those running the second watchOS 8 developer beta in China can try it out now, 9To5Google reported.

The company announced its ECG feature along with Apple Watch Series 4 back in the fall of 2018 with the capability rolling out in the US in December 2018.

Apple Watch ECG has slowly continued to roll out to more countries over the last few years with Australia and Vietnam gaining it with watchOS 7.4, the report said.

Apple Watch ECG on Series 4 and later can detect atrial fibrillation (Afib) and has proven to be accurate enough to have been credited with saving lives in many cases over recent years.

Spotted by MacRumors, China’s National Medical Products Administration has revealed that Apple Watch ECG has been approved in the country this week.

That gives the green light to Apple to launch the feature any time, according to the report.

Notably, ECGs are working for Apple Watch users in China (via ITHome) who are running the watchOS 8 beta 2.

It’s unclear if Apple will wait until this fall to bring the functionality to China or if it will come sooner.

Electrocardiograms work in watchOS through the dedicated ECG app on Apple Watch.