One of the “killer” features of the Apple Watch Series 4 that really puts it head and shoulders above the competition is a built-in ECG monitoring tool. While Apple is not the first company to introduce a wearable ECG monitor for smartwatches, they are the first to actually incorporate it into the smartwatch itself.
Now Apple had previously stated that the ECG feature will not be available at launch, but unfortunately it seems that Apple Watch Series 4 owners might still have to wait a little bit longer. This is because according to reports, the third beta of watchOS 5.1 still does not have the app/feature yet, meaning that it is starting to become more than likely that the feature might only be coming in a much later update.
It is possible that there could be a fourth beta for watchOS 5.1 that could include the ECG feature, but for now it certainly doesn’t seem promising. It is unclear as to why this is taking longer than we thought. It could be due to regulatory approval in which Apple has yet to fully clear it with the FDA. The company mentioned that the feature had been granted de novo status which basically means that they have been given the clear to market it.
It could also be possible that the company is still tweaking it further to ensure that it works as advertised. Either way for those who are looking to buy the Apple Watch Series 4 specifically for the feature, you’ll have to wait a little bit longer. In the meantime this also doesn’t bode well for international customers who are still waiting for their local regulators to clear the feature.
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