New Health Features for Apple Watch
The Food and Drug Administration has approved a new hypertension detection tool for the Apple Watch. This feature was one of the main highlights at Apple's September iPhone event and is designed to alert Apple Watch users of potential signs of high blood pressure, a dangerous condition that can lead to heart attack or stroke. It is estimated that millions of people suffer from undiagnosed hypertension.
In addition to the FDA approval, Apple has announced that the hypertension detection feature will be available on its watches starting next week in 150 countries, including the US, European Union, Hong Kong, and New Zealand. The feature was introduced alongside the Apple Watch Series 11 and Apple Watch Ultra 3. While many assumed it would be exclusive to the latest high-end models, it will also be available on the Apple Watch Series 9, Apple Watch Ultra 2, and newer models.
This development comes as wearable competitors like Oura, Google, and Samsung are introducing more health-focused features. For example, the Galaxy Watch 8, released earlier this summer, includes a skin-based antioxidant index. However, Apple's hypertension tool isn't the only new health addition to its watches. There is also a Sleep Score that grades the quality of your rest on a 0-100 scale.
Both these features will be part of the WatchOS 26 update next week. The hypertension alerts are not a full blood pressure monitoring system, but they use existing sensors to address a serious health concern: a potentially fatal, silent condition that many people don't even realize they're living with. Apple estimates that this feature will notify over 1 million people with undiagnosed hypertension within the first year.
Similar to Apple's irregular heart rhythm and sleep apnea notifications, hypertension alerts work in the background and don't require any extra steps. After a 30-day analysis period, the watch will send an alert if it detects patterns consistent with high blood pressure. Apple emphasizes that this is not a diagnosis. The feature has been cleared by the FDA, but the goal is to provide an early warning that sparks a conversation with a physician.
If an alert appears, the Apple Watch will recommend confirming the results with a traditional blood pressure cuff. All related data can be logged in the Health app on your iPhone and exported as a PDF for your doctor. This process eliminates the typical "wait and track" cycle often required after a doctor's visit and allows you to walk in with actionable data in hand.
The feature will be preloaded onto the new Series 11 and Ultra 3 and will be included in the WatchOS 26 update on Monday for the Apple Watch Series 9, Series 10, and Ultra 2.
Understanding Sleep Score
The Apple Watch has tracked sleep for years, measuring duration, sleep stages, and overall consistency. However, it has not provided an actual score like some of its competitors such as Samsung, Oura, and Garmin. That changes with the introduction of Sleep Score.
Sleep Score takes your nightly data and assigns a rating from 0-100 (or from "low" to "excellent") based on three main criteria: duration, number of interruptions (such as kids or pets), and bedtime consistency — which Apple says is one of the biggest contributors to quality sleep.
The timing of this rollout is no accident. Apple has a history of waiting until it has both scientific backing and enough data to justify launching a new health feature. Sleep Score uses guidance from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, the National Sleep Foundation, and the World Sleep Society. The algorithm itself was built and validated using over 5 million nights of sleep data from the ongoing Apple Heart and Movement Study.
Each morning, Apple Watch owners will see their score in the Sleep app on their iPhone, as a complication on their watch face, or directly within the Health app. A deeper breakdown reveals how each of the three factors influenced your score, along with explanations of what went wrong (or right). For instance, going to bed later than usual could lower your score in the bedtime category.
Even better, Sleep Score works retroactively. If you've been logging sleep for a while, past data will be automatically updated with scores once you install the new software.
Sleep Score will be available on the Apple Watch Series 6 and later, SE 2 and later, and all Ultra models when paired with an iPhone 11 or newer running iOS 26.
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