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Apple’s long-awaited hypertension detection feature for the Apple Watch has officially cleared a major hurdle. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the technology, setting the stage for its debut next week.
The announcement comes just days after Apple unveiled the Apple Watch Series 11 and Apple Watch Ultra 3 at its 2025 launch event. At the time, executives stated they were awaiting FDA clearance, which has now been granted more quickly than many expected.
The new capability won’t be limited to Apple’s latest hardware. Hypertension alerts will roll out to the Apple Watch Series 9 and later, along with the Apple Watch Ultra 2 and later.
Apple confirmed the feature will be available in the U.S. and more than 150 international markets, although certain regions will still require local regulatory approval before users can access it.
At its core, the feature relies on the Apple Watch’s optical heart sensor, analyzing blood vessel responses over 30 days to spot consistent patterns of elevated blood pressure. Chronic hypertension affects an estimated 1.3 billion adults worldwide and is often overlooked because it rarely produces obvious symptoms.
If the system flags potential concerns, users will be prompted to track their blood pressure over seven days with a third-party cuff and share that data with healthcare professionals.
According to the source, the hypertension alerts feature is expected to arrive with watchOS 26, which begins rolling out on Monday, September 15.
