While some can flag possible signs of a developing illness, smartwatches generally aren't so hot at diagnosing underlying
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Some features are more clinically useful than others.
Key facts
- Long before you notice the symptoms of, say, the flu or COVID-19, your body starts changing in subtle ways
- If you took Big Tech's marketing at face value, you might conclude that your smartwatch is on the verge of becoming a real-life Star Trek Tricorder
- It wouldn't be a fall Apple event without heartwarming stories of the latest Apple Watch saving lives, for instance
- There are also features that aren't labeled "AI," like Oura's Symptom Radar and Apple's Vitals that piece together information from multiple sensors and compare it with your baseline
Summary
Smartwatches and other wearables have moved far beyond tracking your steps and heart rate. A smartwatch receiving FDA clearance for a new health feature is often accompanied by enthusiastic marketing campaigns implying that it tells you more than it does. So, is wearable health tech hype another example of smoke being blown up their collective keisters? What wearables are best at is noticing breaks from your body's usual patterns. One area where they've already proved themselves is in detecting atrial fibrillation (AFib), an abnormal heart rhythm associated with an increased risk of stroke.