Australia Approves Apple Watch's Hypertension Notifications

Australia has granted approval for Apple to enable its Apple Watch hypertension notification feature in the country, Information Age reports.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), Australia's medical device regulator, has approved Apple's hypertension notification feature for use on Apple Watch, formally listing the software as a medical device on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods earlier this month.

Apple announced hypertension detection in September. The feature is designed to identify patterns associated with elevated blood pressure rather than directly measuring blood pressure itself. It uses data collected by the optical heart sensor on the back of supported Apple Watch models to analyze how blood vessels respond to heartbeats over rolling 30 day periods. If the system detects consistent indicators associated with possible hypertension, the user receives a notification advising follow-up using conventional blood pressure measurement methods.

The system is intended for adults aged 22 and older who are not pregnant and who have not previously been diagnosed with hypertension. It requires an Apple Watch Series 9 or later or an Apple Watch Ultra 2 or later running watchOS 26, paired with an iPhone 11 or later running the latest version of iOS.

Apple can now legally activate the feature for Australian users, although the company has not yet confirmed when it will become available. In previous cases involving regulated health features, Apple has enabled functionality either through a subsequent software update or by remotely activating the feature once regulatory clearance has been obtained. Hypertension notifications have already rolled out in more than 150 countries.