Apple just announced a bunch of new health tracking features alongside its new smartwatch lineup — but you might not need to upgrade your device to get access to them. With the launch of watchOS 26 next week, Apple will bring hypertension notifications, live translation, and the new wrist flick gesture to the Watch Series 9 and newer, along with the last-gen Watch Ultra 2.
Apple’s new hypertension notifications use data from the watches’ existing optical heart sensor to “analyze how a user’s blood vessels respond to the beats of the heart.” An algorithm will then review this data over a period of 30 days and will notify users if it detects signs of high blood pressure. Apple says it expects clearance from the FDA and other regulators this month. It will roll out in more than 150 countries and regions.
Additionally, Apple’s upcoming Sleep Score feature is coming to a wider selection of watches beyond the new Watch Series 11. Next week, it will roll out to the Watch Series 6 and later, in addition to all Watch Ultra models and the 2nd-gen Watch SE and later. This feature uses your heart rate, wrist temperature, blood oxygen, and respiratory data to rate the quality of your sleep when used with an iPhone 11 or later.
These features will arrive with watchOS 26 on September 15th.