Apple Watch ECG Feature Likely Coming Soon to Japan and Brazil

[Marlon DLTH :)]

México??? Maybe never

I hope soon. I’m also waiting for Apple Pay

 

[Wyckham]

I have put off Apple watch purchases after taking an interest in them in 2018 with the heart monitor. I wont purchase an Apple watch until I can buy it with this feature. I am in an EU country.

WHy cant they just enable the feature globally and warn the user its no more than to be considered a toy until the areas become FDA or similar have approved it?

 

[locksmack]

Maybe you should ask Australian regulators about that 🤷🏻‍♂️
[automerge]1591551277[/automerge]

And you have proofs about your claims, right?

Err...proof? Not sure why the burden of proof would be with me, but okay...

Quoted from the TGA website:
---
The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) is part of the Australian Government Department of Health, and is responsible for regulating therapeutic goods including prescription medicines, vaccines, sunscreens, vitamins and minerals, medical devices, blood and blood products.

Almost any product for which therapeutic claims are made must be entered in the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods (ARTG) before it can be supplied in Australia.
---

They have a publicly accessible register on their website - no application has been made by Apple for the ECG function on the Apple Watch. How can they approve something that hasn't been submitted to them?

Seriously...I hate government bureaucracy was much as the next person, but from the information at hand, the issue is squarely with Apple.

 

[Itada]

Unfortunately, not strictly correct based on my experience - international roaming in the UK Jan 2020 - ECG functionality did not work.

Where is your watch from? It has to be from a region where ECG is available.

 

[Led-zep]

Maybe you should ask Australian regulators about that 🤷🏻‍♂️
[automerge]1591551277[/automerge]

And you have proofs about your claims, right?

yes. There has been no certification lodged by Apple AUS subsidiary to the Australian medical board that certified devices as medical use.

Any more proof you need or do you work in this area as well?
[automerge]1593226700[/automerge]

So basically all of Europe and US approved it (and called it accurate) but you are saying Australia is saying otherwise...
Pretty credible...

im saying Apple has not gone through certifications in Australia. That’s a fact

if they truly thought this would pass through Australia’s strict guidelines they would’ve done so. We are very strict on what can and cannot be constituted as a medical approved device , one of the few government areas that cares about our citizens health.
I would know been in the game of regulations for decades.

 

[cdcastillo]

I would love to see this in México. However, having the inept administration we have now, I won't have my hopes up.

I mean, they can not even do their work to ensure children with cancer have access to chemotherapy. What can we expect about clearing a watch.

 

[iswamy]

The activation for ECG is verified by checking whether the iPhone is currently connected to a cellular network in one of the activated countries (using the cell phone tower's country code identifier), and that the Watch hardware region code is from an activated region. No GPS is used, and the hardware region code of the Watch doesn't need to match the country code identifier of the cell tower.

Australia and NZ happen to share a single hardware region code ("X") for Apple Watch, so any Watch bought in Australia can already be activated by taking it to any other country that has ECG approved and connecting the paired iPhone to the local phone network (even by just using international roaming).

e.g. buy a Watch in Australia and activate ECG in Hong Kong. Buy a Watch in Canada and activate it in the USA. Buy a Watch from NZ and activate it in Hong Kong.

Hi,

I brought my Apple Watch 5 in Australia and activated in India. Indian Region seems to have ECG functionality but I am not able to get the ECG till now, can You help.

 

[robfoll]

I really don't get why countries are being so damn slow regarding the approval of Apple's ECG. It's been almost two years since they introduced it and yet there are only so many countries who actually support that feature among other health related ones. If it took US to get that feature so quickly (I believe it was ready at launch?), then the rest of the world can do it too. Or maybe Apple prioritises which countries should get it before others?

Does anyone know the answer for Australia?
Maybe we could start a campaign, petition to Australian health authorities to get off their arses?
If most Anglic countries have approved it there is nothing but inertia or protectionism in the way

 

[locksmack]

Does anyone know the answer for Australia?

Read previous comments in this thread. Apple hasn't applied for approval to the relevant Government body in Australia, so it appears (at face value) to be Apple's fault.