TIME FLIES:SERIES 6 AND SE TAKE APPLE WATCH TO NEW HEIGHTS

Apple’s annual Fall Event felt a little different this year. For starters, it was held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with no cheers or applause to be heard. But the biggie? No new iPhones. The company already confirmed that the iPhone 12 will launch in October, but in the meantime, Tim Cook and Co used the keynote to show off the all-new Apple Watch Series 6, a low-cost Apple Watch SE, and a bunch of family-focused Watch improvements.

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BREAKTHROUGH CAPABILITIES ON THE APPLE WATCH SERIES 6

The star of the show at this year’s September Special Event was, without doubt, the Apple Watch Series 6. Putting health at the forefront of this release, Apple confirmed the rumored blood oxygen levels monitoring feature, helping users better understand their overall health and fitness levels. Oxygen saturation is measured using clusters of green, red, and infrared LEDs, alongside four photodiodes on the back crystal of the Apple Watch, measuring the amount of light reflected back from the blood. Apple will then use an advanced algorithm to measure blood oxygen levels between 70% and 100%, with periodic measurements taken over time to help users track trends and see how their blood oxygen level changes. Apple has already confirmed it will partner with the University of California, Irvine, and Anthem to measure how the longitudinal measurements of blood oxygen and other physiological signals can help manage and control asthma, as well as the Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research and the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre at the University Health Network to measure how blood oxygen measurements could help with the management of heart failure. The firm also announced a partnership with the Seattle Flu Study at the Brotman Baty Institute for Precision Medicine and faculty from the University of Washington School of Medicine to see how Heart Rate and Blood Oxygen could offer signs of respiratory conditions like COVID-19, that could lead to breakthrough treatments or early warnings.