Apple releases watchOS 8.3 with support for Apple Watch ECG feature in China
Apple has released watchOS 8.3 to Apple Watch users, bringing bug fixes and improvements with the expansion of the wearable’s ECG feature to users in China.
watchOS 8 was first shown off in June. The update brought a new Mindfulness app that replaces Breathe, bringing new features including new visualizations and tips, Mindful Minutes to keep track of your Mindfulness sessions, and more.
Today’s watchOS update is relatively minor, with no new features discovered during the software’s beta cycle asides from the addition of the Apple Watch’s ECG feature expanding to customers in China, allowing Apple Watch users to perform an electrocardiogram with their Apple Watch Series 4 and above to show whether their heart rhythm indicates signs of atrial fibrillation, a serious form of irregular heart rhythm, or a normal sinus rhythm.
Apple has been slow in enabling Apple Watch’s ECG functionality around the world since it launched initially in 2018, largely down to each country requiring individual approval before the technology can be legally released.