Apple Watch competitor brings blood pressure feature to the US after many years

Seven years ago, Samsung announced plans to bring blood pressure monitoring to smartwatches. This week, the feature has been cleared for users in the United States for the first time. Apple Watch has since added its own blood pressure monitoring capabilities, but the two approaches differ in scope.

Samsung will monitor blood pressure … if you already have a blood pressure monitor

Back in 2019, it seemed notable that Samsung was tackling blood pressure monitoring before Apple Watch.

The feature apparently started rolling out the following year, but it lacked regulatory approval in the U.S. Samsung announced today that the ability to “monitor and track” blood pressure is now available to U.S. users.

The technology hasn’t really changed, though. For example, you’ll still need regular access to actual blood pressure monitoring hardware to use the feature with a Samsung smartwatch.

As an Apple Watch user, I still wouldn’t mind this trade off. Using an upper arm cuff once per month and having access to more insight on the Apple Watch could be helpful.

Apple Watch supports hypertension notifications

For now, Apple’s approach has been more straightforward. Apple Watch monitors for signs of hypertension, then notifies you if you may be showing signs of high blood pressure.

If so, the next step is to use a blood pressure monitor to track your readings twice per day over the span of a week. This is basically what a doctor would tell you to do at home before making a hypertension determination.

Hypertension notifications is a feature supported on Apple Watch Series 9 and newer, as well as Apple Watch Ultra 2 and newer.

Does Samsung’s approach to blood pressure monitoring appeal to you? Should Apple consider a similar feature in a future software update? Share your thoughts in the comments.