Apple: unveiled the latest update to its Watch wearables on Monday at its Worldwide Developers Conference 2023. Apple watchOS 10 will include new tools for mental health, vision health, and fitness.
WatchOS 10 will allow users to record their emotions and daily moods through the Mindfulness app. Users will be able to turn the Digital Crown to choose a shape to describe and track their feelings.
Commonly used depression and anxiety assessments will also be available in the Health app. Users can create a PDF with the assessment results and then join mental health resources in their area and share these results.
There will be new fitness-focused features for cycling, including exercise reminders and fall detection. When a cycling workout begins, the user’s iPhone screen will automatically show the start of the live activity and display heart rate, altitude, race route, specific workouts and cycling speeds.
Another aspect of the new watchOS focuses on vision health, allowing users to measure time spent outdoors, which The company says it can benefit a person’s physical and mental health, but also increases the risk of nearsightedness with more sun exposure. Data related to time spent outside will be visible through the Health app on iPhone or iPad.
The watch will also include an add-on to the medication app, where follow-up reminders can be sent 30 minutes after users need to register for medication.
Apple also announced its updated iOS17 and iPadOS17, which will include an updated Health app that helps users identify whether lifestyle factors such as sleep or exercise may be contributing to their mental state.
In addition, the tech giant announced iPhone and iPad features that use the TrueDepth camera, the same camera used by its FaceID technology, to measure how far a user holds the phone from their eyes. Users will be prompted to hold the device more than 12 inches away if the camera determines that it has been held too close to the user’s face for an extended period of time.
Finally, the tech giant introduced Apple Vision Pro and the visionOS platform, an augmented reality headset system. Vision Pro includes entertainment and spatial audio, collaboration methods, and real-time video capture, among many other features.
The device uses Optic ID to scan the eyes to unlock the device. The eye-tracking technology also allows payments via eye gaze, although the company says eye gaze is private to app developers for user privacy. The AR headset will be available early next year and will start at $3,499.
THE BIGGER TREND
In 2020, AliveCor, a medical device company that makes personalized EKGs, sued Apple, alleging that the tech giant’s tools included in its Series 4 and later watches infringed on AliveCor’s patents.
In March of last year, AliveCor introduced antitrust suit against the tech giant, months after Apple sued AliveCor over alleged patent infringement.
In December, the US Patent and Trademark Office The Patent Examination and Appeal Board ruled that three of AliveCor’s patents for detecting heart conditions, such as cardiac arrhythmias, were unpatentable.
Later that month, the US International Trade Commission ruled Apple watches with ECG functionality infringed two AliveCor patents.
ITC issued a limited exclusion order barring further importation and a cease and desist order against Apple. It also imposed a bond of $2 per unit imported or sold during the presidential review period. However, enforcement of the orders, including the bond, has been stayed pending resolution of the case before the US Patent and Trademark Office’s Patent Examination and Appeals Board.
decision of the ITC in February Cleared the presidential review, and Biden allowed the ICC decision to stand. The companies are still battling it out in court.