Apple(NEW YORK) — Apple is focused on big screens — and even bigger medical applications — at its event, which introduces 3 new iPhones and a revamped Apple Watch with powerful diagnostic tools that have received government approvals.
Apple moves further into heart health with its latest smartwatch, offering a portable, over-the-counter electrocardiogram, or ECG, to monitor heart rate abnormalities, Jeff Williams, Apple’s chief operating officer announced.
The company said it has two Food and Drug Administration approvals for the watch as a medical device — for the do-it-yourself ECG and for the monitoring of irregular heart rate, which can be a sign of atrial defibrillation.
The new watch aims to help with the injuries that come from falls, too. It will be able to detect falls and take a 30-second echocardiogram, the first over-the-counter and portable monitor to do so.
The American Heart Association’s president Ivor J. Benjamin took the stage to talk about how devices that offer real-time heart information are “changing the way we practice medicine.”
He said, “patients report symptoms that are absent during their medical visits,” and that the device would help monitor symptoms during real life activity.
The Apple Watch Series 4 is also thinner and has a larger screen. The new watch starts at $399 for GPS models, $499 for cellular — which will be supported by 16 carriers — and the Series 3 would sell at $279 per order. Series 4 orders can start on Friday, Sept. 14 and will be available on Sept. 21. It will be available in three finishes: stainless, gold and black. There’s a fire face, water face and vapor face for display.
Apple is also releasing three new versions of its signature phones — with the largest screens to date — at its annual event on Wednesday.
The new models are the iPhone Xs, iPhone Xs Max and iPhone XR.
The company is doubling down on the large screen with the Xs Max at 6.5 inches and the update to last year’s iPhone X — the iPhone Xs — at 5.8 inches. They’ll be available in silver, black and gold and with storage options of 64 GB, 256 GB or 512 GB.
The iPhone XR, sports a 6.1 inch-screen, will come in black, white, red, yellow, coral and blue with available storage at 64 GB, 128 GB and 256 GB.
All three new phones have eleminated the ‘Home’ button.
The event began at 1 p.m. EDT at the company’s new Cupertino campus, Apple Park.
For those choosing not to be early adopters, or anyone devoted to the home button, price cuts are expected on the older phones.
This is a developing story, please check back for updates.
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