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Apple Watch ECG will arrive in next WatchOS update, says report

Be still, my heart.

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Lori Grunin Senior Editor / Advice
I've been reviewing hardware and software, devising testing methodology and handed out buying advice for what seems like forever; I'm currently absorbed by computers and gaming hardware, but previously spent many years concentrating on cameras. I've also volunteered with a cat rescue for over 15 years doing adoptions, designing marketing materials, managing volunteers and, of course, photographing cats.
Expertise Photography, PCs and laptops, gaming and gaming accessories
Lori Grunin
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The optical heart-rate sensor on the back of the Apple Watch Series 4.

Josh Miller/CNET

The current beta of WatchOS , version 5.1.2, looks like it will deliver support for the the ECG/EKG sensor that Apple touted when it announced the Apple Watch Series 4 in September.

MacRumors reportedly got its hands on an Apple in-store training document, which indicated that the app needed to work with the sensor data is in the next version of the operating system, which went into beta in mid-November. The capability will initially roll out in the US.

It also says that it requires iPhone pairing for the actual data collection; that capability supposedly arrives with the next version of iOS, 12.1.1, which is now in public beta. Support requires an iPhone 5S or later.

According to MacRumors, the training doc says Apple Store salesfolk must warn potential buyers that the app is "not intended to be a diagnostic device or to replace traditional methods of diagnosis," and "should not be used to monitor or track disease state or change medication without first talking to a doctor." 

Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Read more: What does the EKG sensor on the Apple Watch Series 4 do?

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