Overview
- The feature launched with watchOS 26 and iOS 26 after regulatory clearance in multiple countries, including availability in Germany.
- Alerts use the optical heart sensor and PPG to analyze daytime patterns over 30 days rather than providing blood‑pressure readings.
- Apple’s validation shows detection in about 30% of Grade 1 and roughly 50% of Grade 2 hypertension cases, averaging around 40% overall.
- Eligibility includes Series 11, Ultra 3, and models from Series 9 and Ultra 2, while Apple Watch SE models do not support the function.
- Apple advises against relying on alerts alone, excludes users under 22, people with diagnosed hypertension, and pregnant people, reports few false positives with some mildly elevated readings, and projects over one million users may receive warnings in the first year.