Apple Watch update will include blood oxygen feature
Apple said in a press release that it will update Apple Watch Series 9, Series 10 and the Apple Watch Ultra 2. These models will get the redesigned Blood Oxygen feature.
"Apple's teams work tirelessly to create products and services that empower users with industry-leading health, wellness, and safety features that are grounded in science and have privacy at the core," Apple said in a statement. "Apple Watch Series 9, Series 10, and Apple Watch Ultra 2 also offer users irregular rhythm notifications, the ECG app, Sleep Apnea Notifications, Fall Detection, sleep tracking, wrist temperature sensing, the Vitals app, the Noise app, the Medications app, and the Mindfulness app, among many other helpful tools, helping users live a healthier life."
The International Trade Commission in October 2023 ruled in favor of a request to halt sales of the Apple smartwatches by medical technology firm Masimo Corp. Masimo officials say Apple co-opted its patented technology and poached several workers who helped to develop it.
Apple then paused the sale of some of its watches and began selling modified versions of them without the blood-oxygen feature.
The update is possible thanks to a recent U.S. Customs ruling, the company said.
There will be no effect to Apple Watch units previously purchased that include the original Blood Oxygen feature or to Apple Watch units purchased outside of the U.S., Apple said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Tom's Guide
7 minutes ago
- Tom's Guide
Samsung Galaxy S26 Edge: All the rumors so far
Samsung shook up its flagship phone lineup this past year by introducing the Galaxy S25 Edge, a device that earned plaudits for its thin-and-light design while still offering the kind of premium features you'd expect from a high-end handset. So what will the Galaxy S26 Edge do for an encore? Details are already leaking out about the Galaxy S26 phones — including the Galaxy S26 Edge. And by the time Samsung releases its ultra-thin phone follow-up, the Galaxy Edge should have competition from the rumored iPhone 17 Air. If the rumors are true about Apple's upcoming device, the Air figures to be even thinner than the Galaxy S25 Edge. The arrival of an ultra-thin phone from Apple should ramp up the pressure on Samsung to continue to innovate with the Galaxy S26 Edge. Here's what we've heard so far about how Samsung plans to respond to the challenge. The Galaxy S25 Edge made its debut as an extension of the Galaxy S series. But the follow-up may take the place of another long-standing member of the flagship family. Multiple reports claim that the Galaxy S26 Edge will take the place of the Galaxy S Plus model in Samsung's 2026 smartphone lineup. It's certainly a move that makes sense — the Galaxy S25 Edge and Galaxy S25 Plus share many features including a 6.7-inch display. The two phones cost about the same, too, though the Edge does cost $100 more than $999 Plus. It's undeniable that recent Galaxy S Plus models have struggled to stand out in Samsung's lineup, as the phone is essentially just a bigger-screen version of the standard Galaxy S flagship. The Edge would offer a few more premium features, plus that thinner design to go with the large screen that Plus customers demand. Assuming the Galaxy S26 Edge turns out to be the replacement for the Galaxy S26 Plus, you'd expect the phone to debut alongside Samsung's other Galaxy s26 models. This would be a departure from how Samsung handled the Galaxy S25 Edge's launch. That phone received a teaser at the January launch event for the rest of the Galaxy S25 lineup. The S25 Edge didn't get its own release until May. Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. The last few Galaxy Unpacked events introducing the latest Galaxy S models have taken place in January. We'd expect the 2026 edition to follow suit, meaning we'd likely see a Galaxy S26 Edge hit stores no later than early February. It's unclear what price Samsung will charge for its new Edge, though the $1,099 starting price of the Galaxy S25 Edge seems like a good guide. At 5.8mm thin, the Galaxy S25 Edge cuts a slender profile. But Samsung seems to think it can make an even thiner phone. Leaker Ice Universe claims the Galaxy S26 Edge will shed 3mm off its predecessors thickness, giving it a 5.5mm-thin frame. That would beat the iPhone 17 Air's rumored 5.65mm profile, though it still wouldn't be as thin as the Galaxy Z Fold 7 is when that phone is unfolded. We haven't heard any rumors about the Galaxy S26 Edge display, making us think that Samsung will keep the 6.7-inch panel in place. The Galaxy S25 Edge hit a peak brightness of 1,997 nits when we measure it with a light meter. That's pretty bright, but phone makers seem to be focused on boosting brightness as of late, so we could see an improvement there. There's talk of the Galaxy S26 Ultra adopting anti-reflective glass to cut down on the glare from its screen. It's unclear if that feature will find its way to the Galaxy S26 Edge, but that's a development worth keeping an eye on. For the Galaxy S25 Edge, Samsung turned to the same 200MP main sensor featured on its Galaxy S25 Ultra flagship. That's likely to remain in place for the next version of the Edge, though Samsung could increase the aperture of the main camera to let in more light. That improvement happens to be rumored for the Galaxy S26 Ultra, so it could effect the next version of the Edge, too. Otherwise, we'd expect a similar two-lens setup on the back of the Galaxy S26 Edge. With Samsung looking for ways to make the next version of this phone even thiner, finding space for a telephoto lens to go with the current main and ultrawide cameras seems like a low priority for the phone maker. Every new Samsung phone launch seems to trigger some sort of Snapdragon-or-Exynos debate over whether the phone maker will use Qualcomm's silicon or its own chipsets. Leaked Geekbench test results may have tipped Samsung's hand in regard to the Galaxy S26 Edge. Specifically, a phone with the Galaxy S26 Edge model number has been spotted in the database of Geekbench results for the unannounced Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2 system-on-chip. That device, which sported 12GB of RAM, posted single-core and multicore scores of 3,393 and 11,515, respectively. For context, the Snapdragon 8 Elite-powered Galaxy S25 Edge had respective scores of 3,129 and 9,916 on those CPU tests. Assuming that's an actual Galaxy S26 Edge running an actual Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2 chipset, you'd imagine that the next version of Qualcomm's flagship silicon will power next year's Edge model. We should find out more about the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2 next month when Qualcomm holds its annual Snapdragon Summit. Galaxy AI figures to be an important part of the Galaxy S26 story, given Samsung's ongoing push into AI-powered features. The Galaxy S25 Edge supported all of the same capabilities introduced with the rest of the Galaxy S25 series, and you'd expect that to continue with the S26 phones. There could be more kinds of AI features on the S26 models, though. Choi Won-Joon, president and COO of Samsung's mobile division, has confirmed that the company is talking to multiple vendors about adding their AI services to the S26 series. If there's one consistent complaint about the Galaxy S25 Edge, it comes down to the phone's battery life. While the S25 Edge performed well enough on our battery test, it fell short of the kind of longevity other Samsung flagships provide — a by-product of the smaller battery Samsung is forced to use in its thin phone. But Samsung could be taking steps to change that with the Galaxy S26 Edge. A Galaxy Club report claims that the new phone will feature a 4,200 mAh battery, a step up from the 3,900 mAh power pack in the current model. That, plus any power efficiency gains from the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2, should help the Galaxy S26 Edge improve its staying power. For now we've got plenty of time for more Galaxy S26 Edge rumors to emerge. But what we've heard so far — from the thinner design to the larger battery — is encouraging, as it suggests that Samsung isn't about to rest on its ultra-thin laurels. Follow Tom's Guide on Google News to get our up-to-date news, how-tos, and reviews in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button.
The Verge
9 minutes ago
- The Verge
Google isn't petitioning the Supreme Court yet — it's appealing Epic again to the appeals court first.
Epic v. Google: everything we learned in Fortnite court See all Stories Posted Aug 15, 2025 at 5:46 AM UTC Google isn't petitioning the Supreme Court yet — it's appealing Epic again to the appeals court first. Document here. Google argues it shouldn't be 'subject to dramatically different antitrust regulatory regimes based on diverging opinions from different panels of this Court,' so it's asking for en banc review, where the full Ninth Circuit (not just the previous three-judge panel) can decide whether it won on appeal. Follow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates. Sean Hollister Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All by Sean Hollister Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Gaming Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Google Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All News Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Policy Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Tech
Forbes
9 minutes ago
- Forbes
3 AI Prompts That Turn ChatGPT Into Your Friend And Therapist
A Harvard Business Review study recently revealed that the most popular use for generative AI is therapy and companionship, not coding or content creation. This underscores AI's emerging role as a primary emotional support tool. On the face of it, this makes perfect sense. Most people have an instinctive need to speak about their problems to a friendly listener. Chatbots such as ChatGPT, or any of the many therapy or companionship-specific platforms, are always available, instantly accessible and ready to offer a non-judgmental ear. Of course, this gives rise to some very important questions: What are the implications for privacy when so many of us are ready to share our deepest thoughts with AI companies? And can AI be trusted to act in the ethical way we would expect of a human therapist or friend? But with loneliness endemic in many societies, and the challenges that often block access to professional mental health services, there are clearly opportunities to use AI here. So here are some tips and advice for anyone looking to improve the quality of supportive and friendly assistance they get from AI, as well as some sample prompts to get started. Prompting Tips For Better Support And Companionship Chats Getting AI to do what you want all comes down to the level of detail and personalization you put into your prompts. Asking it to help you out with supportive chat and friendship is no different. Firstly, be upfront about what you want it to help you achieve. As with a human therapist or counselor, clearly telling them what you want to get out of the session, such as understanding your reaction to a challenging experience, will help it guide you to better outcomes. Another important part of the process of therapy or friendship is sharing. With AI, this means sharing data that helps it to understand you. This could include a journal, mood log, sleep tracking data or transcripts of previous therapy sessions. Therapy often works best when it follows a structure or framework, such as cognitive behavioral therapy or mindfulness practice. Researching and understanding different methods and techniques means you can tell the AI exactly how you want it to work with you. And lastly, but crucially, don't try to override built-in safety features of AI in order to get it to give you advice it isn't happy to give. Many AIs are clever enough to know that they aren't actually therapists. If they think it's for the best, they might tell you that they aren't qualified to help in a specific situation, or that you should talk to a professional. If you insist it ignores these concerns and carries on with a session or giving advice, you run the risk of making it say something that could be dangerous or harmful. Great Prompts For Therapy And Companionship These prompts are just intended to give an idea of how to structure a request to an AI to act as a therapist, counsellor or buddy. Of course, hopefully, it goes without saying you shouldn't rely on these for help in situations where people's physical or mental safety is at risk. But those who just want to unload or chew the fat can give them a try, or modify them to make something they think will be more useful. Prompt 1: Virtual Therapist Act as an empathetic, compassionate therapist and non-clinical mental health expert. Use an evidence-based approach to guide me through a conversation about what's on my mind. Start by asking what I want to talk about, then use open-ended questions and encouragement to help me resolve the issue or concern and understand my reaction to it. Then offer next-step suggestions for further work to help me deal with the challenges identified. Stop the conversation and direct me to professional mental health services if you identify a risk or danger to any person. Prompt 2: Daily Mood Reflection Take the role of a non-clinical, supportive CBT coach and begin by asking me to share a daily update focusing on instances where I have noticed my mood or felt anxious. After I have shared my update, summarize patterns or observations from your perspective as a therapist, offer CBT reframing advice and share a practical step to take over the next 24 hours to address any issues you can identify relating to mood and anxiety. Prompt 3: Mindful Journal Please act as my intelligent mindfulness journal. Every time I say I want to make an entry, ask me for three observations from today, one sensory, one emotional, and one thought, and ask me to provide a calmness rating from 1 to 10. Then give me a question that acts as a prompt for me to write an entry in my Mindful Journal. After I write my entry, give me your thoughts and insights into my thoughts and behaviors and suggest a daily mindfulness exercise that you feel will be of benefit to me. Generative AI And Everyday Mental Wellbeing Used thoughtfully and in combination with other elements of a mentally healthy lifestyle, genAI therapy and companionship can be a useful tool for coping with the stresses of everyday life. We might not be sure that it really understands us in the same way a human can. But simple guided conversations with AI can encourage us to structure our thoughts in ways that help us to understand and process them. With more and more of us turning to AI for help in this area, we're likely to see many new and innovative therapeutic and companionship-based use cases emerging. Learning to prompt it effectively and safely is key to unlocking its potential for building resilience and positive mental health.
