Regulatory Approval
Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), the nation’s medical‑device regulator, has given the green light for Apple’s hypertension notification feature on the Apple Watch. The approval follows the feature’s announcement in September and confirms it meets Australian health‑device standards.
How the Feature Works
The system taps into data from the optical heart sensor on supported Apple Watch models. Over rolling 30‑day periods, it analyses how blood vessels respond to each heartbeat. When consistent patterns that suggest possible hypertension are detected, the watch delivers a notification urging the user to verify their blood pressure with a conventional measurement method.
Eligibility & Device Requirements
The feature is intended for adults aged 22 and older who are not pregnant and who have not previously been diagnosed with hypertension. To use it, you need:
- Apple Watch Series 9 or later, or Apple Watch Ultra 2 or later
- watchOS 26 or newer
- An iPhone 11 or later running the latest iOS version
Availability & Next Steps
Apple can now legally enable the feature for Australian users, though the company has not announced a specific rollout date. In prior rollouts of regulated health features, Apple has either pushed a software update or remotely activated the functionality once clearance was secured. The hypertension notifications are already live in more than 150 countries, and this approval means Australian users will soon be able to benefit from the same health‑monitoring capability.
