Rumor has it that the next generation Apple Watch will be capable of detecting if you are likely to have a panic attack and warn you well in time for you to be able to take corrective measures. The said feature, which leakster Jon Prosser revealed during his Geared Up podcast will be relying on a blood oxygen sensor that the new Apple Watch is expected to feature and the future watchOS 7 will have support for.
According to what Prosser said, the forthcoming Apple Watch would be including a sensor for monitoring blood oxygen levels. That data coupled with the heart rate will let the device detect if you are hyperventilating, something that you do when you are too excited.
The above condition is also equated with panic attacks, and the Apple Watch 6 will be able to predict if it is likely will happen. That way, you can hold on to whatever you were doing and regroup all over again. For instance, if you were driving, the device might as well warn you to pull over and suggest breathing exercises to do so that you are able to regain your composure sooner than expected.
However, it is not known when the Mental Health Capabilities are expected to show up in real. While it is likely to be part of Apple Watch 6 itself due later in the year, chances are that we will get to hear about the same in the WWDC event itself when watchOS comes up for discussion.
Further, even if watchOS 7 indeed comes with Mental Health Capabilities, it isn’t clear if the current Apple Watch 5 or earlier models will be able to make the most of it.
For that is only going to be a possibility if the Watch 5 or any of its previous gen devices came with the sensor to detect blood oxygen level.
If that be the scenario, then upgrading to watchOS 7 should be enough for the watch to predict panic attacks.
We will have to wait at least till the WWDC 2020 event to find out how things pan out on this. Till then, it is all a guessing game.
