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Apple previews watchOS 3 that can function as medical ID bracelet
Can contact emergency services, and features wheel-chair dedicated workouts Courtesy: Apple
At last week's Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), the tech giant previewed the watchOS 3, a new operating system for the Apple Watch that may increase the device's value from a medical standpoint.
In the following video from WWDC, Kevin Lynch and Jay Blahnik discuss some of the new features that are included in the update that will be available this fall.
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One of the features, SOS, allows the wearer to get help during an emergency by pressing a button on the side of the watch. After holding down the button, the watch will start a countdown to let the user know that it is calling emergency services.
The feature will call either from a cell phone, or — if the watch is connected to Wi-Fi — directly from the watch. SOS will also automatically notify the person’s emergency contact and provide the emergency contact with a message and a mapped location of where the distressed person is.
“After sending the message, your watch [will] actually show your medical ID, which is also a new feature in watchOS,” says Kevin Lynch, in the video. The person can enter personal data, medical conditions, notes, allergies, medications and more.
SOS will work both within the U.S. and internationally, and the watch is able to automatically recognize location. Lynch said tha,t hypothetically, if the wearer travels to Hong Kong and needs help, he or she may not know the emergency service number of that area, but the watch will know, and once the SOS function is activated, the watch will dial the appropriate number.
Jay Blahnik spoke about creating features that would allow more people to use the activity and workout apps, and a group that Apple has been “thinking a lot about” is wheelchair users.
“Many wheelchair users have to tuck away their iPhone securely throughout the day,” he said. “To have a great activity and workout experience, we also recognized that we couldn’t just use the same algorithms that we’ve used for non-wheelchair users because the biomechanics are completely different.”
The company had used the help of two organizations dedicated to promoting physical fitness for people in wheelchairs, and conducted studies with the organizations’ help. The “time to stand” notifications changed to “time to roll”, where the watch will alert the user to roll around for a designated time set by the person.
There will also be two specific workouts in the workout app dedicated to wheelchair users and the Activity app will be “optimized” for wheelchair pushes.
An all-new app, Breathe, was mentioned by Blahnik. “[It] is designed to guide you through simple, deep breathing sessions that can help you quiet your mind, relax your body and just better deal with everyday stress,” said Blahnik. “You’ll be guided by beautiful visuals that make it really easy to follow along.”
