[imagesource:apple]

They’re going to have to start saying an Apple Watch a day keeps the doctor away.

Even though the Apple Watch has been a little polarising in the past, it looks like a new app has caught the attention of social media users.

Following last month’s iOS 11 software update, many users are astounded by their device’s uncanny ability to detect early signs of illness, flagging potential ailments like COVID or the common cold before symptoms even arise.

The startlingly accurate health assessment from the Apple Watch’s Vitals App — available on the Series 8 model and above — harnesses critical metrics taken over a week while a user is asleep, according to Mac Rumors.

“If multiple metrics are outside your typical range, you receive a notification along with context for factors that may be involved — like medications, elevation changes or illness, for example,” Apple notes.

The Vitals App not only shows your key health metrics, but it gives you a ‘deeper understanding of your daily health status’. Some of the factors monitored are your heart rate, respiratory rate, blood oxygen, wrist temperature, and sleep duration from the previous night, according to the App Store.

Quite a few people shared their personal experiences online regarding the intuitive technology, including one Reddit user who wrote, “The Vitals app knew I was sick 3 days before I did” with a screenshot of its detections.

Image: Reddit

In this person’s case, the app caught three “outliers” within their wrist temperature, which can be additionally viewed on iPhones and iPads.

“I started using Vitals when it first came out on the beta and since then I’ve gotten sick about twice,” another user commented, before adding that “both times it knew a couple days in advance and I hadn’t felt anything wrong.”

Someone else shared a screengrab in the same post that showed their Apple Watch:

“knew I wasn’t 100% after my COVID and Flu jabs” and had spotted irregularities in not just wrist temperature, but also heart and respiratory rates.

Another user on X, Rory Evans, posted that his Series 9 Watch “detected a few things with my vitals days before I tested positive for COVID” as well.

“So clever and very useful tech to have — especially in such a fast-paced world.”

Apple does caveat that readings can be impacted depending on how you keep your watch fastened.

“Wearing your Apple Watch with the right fit — not too tight, not too loose, and with room for your skin to breathe — keeps you comfortable and lets the sensors do their job.”

If you feel like it’s worth getting ahead of your body’s vital signs and any incoming sickness, then you might want to stop over at your nearest Digicape, South Africa’s largest independent Apple retailer.

They have the Apple Watch Series 10 Sport for as low as R9,899, which will do more than the trick.

Plus, all watches bought through Digicape include a FREE DPP basic 2-year warranty.

[source:nypost]