Apple introduced groundbreaking features in health tracking with the new Apple Watch models, the Series 11 and Watch Ultra 3, introduced alongside the iPhone 17 series. Among the most notable innovations are high blood pressure detection and sleep score. However, you don’t need to buy a new watch to take advantage of these innovations; these features are also coming to older Apple Watch models with the watchOS 26 update.

The new Apple Watches stand out with their health features.

The Apple Watch’s high blood pressure detection feature analyzes blood vessel responses over a 30-day period using an optical heart sensor and alerts users to potential signs of chronic high blood pressure. Apple developed this technology using data from more than 100,000 participants.

It has also been validated in clinical trials involving more than 2,000 people. Apple estimates that this feature will alert more than one million people with undiagnosed high blood pressure in its first year. Users who receive this alert are advised to measure their blood pressure with a blood pressure monitor for seven days and share the results with their doctor.

The high blood pressure detection feature will be available on Apple Watch Series 9 and later models running watchOS. It is expected to be available in more than 150 countries this month. However, Apple’s official comparison list does not include “high blood pressure detection” on the Apple Watch Series 11 and Watch Ultra 3 in Turkey.

The new sleep score feature gives users a clear picture of their sleep quality. This score is determined by sleep duration, consistent sleep hours, frequency of awakenings, and time spent in each sleep stage.

The algorithms used to determine the sleep score are based on current guidelines from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, the National Sleep Foundation, and the World Sleep Society. Apple used more than five million nights of sleep data from the Apple Heart & Motion Study to develop these algorithms. This feature is also coming to older Apple Watch models with the watchOS 26 update. Apple will release watchOS 26 on September 15th.