A lot of Apple Watch users have reported that, ever since installing the new Watch OS 1.0.1, their heartbeats have become irregular. Does it mean that Watch OS 1.0.1 damaged everyone’s cardiovascular systems?
No, says the new Apple press release. The change is intentional – the new Apple Watch system measures your heartbeat rate every 10 minutes, excluding the time when you or your hand is moving. Before the update was implemented, Apple Watch would simply measure every 10 minutes, moving or resting, which led to pretty consistent heartbeat rates. Calculating the average was the norm.
What is the reasoning behind this? Simple – your heartbeat rate when you’re resting is more accurate. It gets accelerated when you’re on the move or, say, running, so the readings at such time periods would show much higher rate. Of course, we can also simply assume that Apple wanted to save on it’s woefully short battery life, and this is simply one of the ways to extend it. Not that it will have a huge impact, of course.
In the end, it all ends up to a matter of perspective. Would you rather have your heart rate with or without motion rates? Which one is more accurate? Which one is better for you? Of course, motion is always better for our health, but it does not always have to be the case.
The best approach would be to simply choose the arrangement that fits you the most, not impose certain modalities on all the users at the same time. However, at this time, we can only complain to the company and hope it listens.
On the bright side, the Workout App will still measure your heartbeat rate at every 5 seconds, so you have no worries whether the readings are accurate during your sport activities. Anything else would spell doom for the app.
Based on everything that has been outlined so far, what do you personally think about the latest developments regarding the Apple Watch? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.
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