Technologies

Apple Watch: 5 ways to check your blood pressure

Do it yourself, at home.

You already know how important it is to monitor your blood pressure on a daily basis if you’re worried about high blood pressure or have hypertension. If you own an Apple Watch ($560 at Best Buy), you already have a good starting point for tracking your blood pressure at home.

Daily tracking can help you establish a baseline for your version of «normal,» and chart any changes to your levels over time. Work and life stress can cause a spike in your readings, and so can some of the foods you eat. Tracking your blood pressure can also help with early diagnosis and false readings (like if you only have high BP at the doctor’s office), and help you keep an eye on the effects of any new blood pressure medication.

While at-home monitoring won’t replace a visit to the doctor’s office, it can give you the data you need to know when it’s time to go in.

The Health app on your Apple Watch is a convenient way to sync your blood pressure data in one place on a device that’s always with you.

The smartwatch isn’t equipped to measure your blood pressure alone, but there are tools and devices you can pair it with it that can — usually wireless monitors that connect to your iPhone ($752 at Amazon) or Apple Watch and come with an arm cuff and their own app. These devices will automatically sync the data with your Apple Watch’s health app.

Here are some ways your Apple Watch can help keep your blood pressure and health in check.

Blood pressure devices that work with Apple Watch

These five wireless blood pressure monitors sync to your Apple Watch’s Health app.

Omron Evolv Wireless Blood Pressure Monitor ($90): This portable monitor takes clinically accurate readings, and has a built-in screen that shows your readings so you don’t have to consult your phone screen each time. The Omron BPM syncs to your Apple watch via the Omron Connect mobile app using Bluetooth.

$90 at Omron

Withings Wireless Blood Pressure Monitor ($100): Provides instant color-coded feedback and creates a chart of all your past measurements for easy tracking in its Health Mate app. You can sync your Withings BPM to your Apple Watch via Bluetooth.

$100 at Withings

QardioArm Wireless Blood Pressure Monitor ($99) — Geotracks your readings across locations. Measures your systolic and diastolic blood pressure and can detect an irregular heartbeat. You can set up reminders to notify you when it’s time to check your blood pressure. Connect your QardioArm BPM to your Apple Watch via Bluetooth.

$99 at Qardio

iHealth Feel Wireless Arm Blood Pressure Monitor ($100) — Offers up to 200 offline readings. Shows your systolic and diastolic blood pressure on the iHealth App and lets you know if your reading is normal or above average. The iHealth blood pressure monitor syncs to your Apple Watch using Bluetooth.

$100 at Amazon

A&D Medical Ultraconnect Wireless Wrist Blood Pressure Monitor ($100) — Has fit and movement sensors designed to ensure your readings are accurate. It can store up to 100 readings in the device and unlimited readings in the A&D Connect app. Connect the blood pressure monitor to your Apple Watch via Bluetooth to monitor your health.

$100 at Amazon

Control your blood pressure through exercise

It’s well known that regular exercise can help your heart stay strong and healthy.

You can use your Apple Watch to count your steps so you know if you’re hitting your goal.
Your watch can track your heart rate with the sensor on the back to help you get fit — you’ll know you’re reaching your goals when your resting heart rate is getting lower.
You can track your workouts — the watch offers 12 workouts you can choose from, or you can begin any workout and the watch will automatically detect it.

While working out, you can easily monitor your heart rate and set up heart-rate thresholds that notify you in case your heart rate is too high or low.

Keep an eye on your heart rate

If you monitor your blood pressure regularly, you’ll likely also want to keep tabs on your heart’s health. The Apple Watch 4 has FDA clearance for its an ECG feature that records your heart rate rhythm to detect if you have atrial fibrillation (AFib) or another abnormal heart rhythm.

You can use the new ECG app (this is the same as EKG, an electrocardiogram) on your watch if you have WatchOS 5.1.2, after setting up the ECG feature in the Health app. We also recommend importing your health records so you can stay on top of any changes.

Johnson & Johnson is using the Apple Watch in its stroke prevention research to test if an app can quickly diagnose AFib. The watch has already been able to detect irregular heartbeats on some users — it’ll be interesting to see how Apple turns future iterations of the Apple Watch into even more of a medical device.

Monitor fitness goals without breaking the bank.

We’ll help you find the best deal on your next smartwatch or fitness tracker.

Technologies

iOS 17 Cheat Sheet: Your Questions on the iPhone Update Answered

Here’s what you need to know about new features and upcoming updates for your iPhone.

Apple’s iOS 17 was released in September, shortly after the company held its Wonderlust event, where the tech giant announced the new iPhone 15 lineup, the Apple Watch Series 9 and the Apple Watch Ultra 2. We put together this cheat sheet to help you learn about and use the new features in iOS 17. It’ll also help you keep track of the subsequent iOS 17 updates.

iOS 17 updates

Using iOS 17

Getting started with iOS 17

Make sure to check back periodically for more iOS 17 tips and how to use new features as Apple releases more updates.

17 Hidden iOS 17 Features You Should Definitely Know About

+15 More

See all photos

Technologies

Get Ready for a Striking Aurora That Could Also Disrupt Radio Communications

Don’t expect the storm to cause a lingering problem, though.

A geomagnetic storm is threatening radio communications Monday night, but that doesn’t mean you should be concerned. In fact, it may be an opportunity to see a colorful aurora in the night sky.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has issued a geomagnetic storm watch after witnessing a coronal mass ejection from the sun on Saturday. The watch, which was issued over the weekend and will expire after Monday, said the onset of the storm passing over Earth on Sunday night represented a «moderate» threat to communications. As the storm continues to pass through, it could deliver a «strong» threat on Monday night that could cause radio communications to be temporarily disrupted during the worst of it.

Even so, NOAA said, «the general public should not be concerned.»

A coronal mass ejection occurs when magnetic field and plasma mass are violently expelled from the sun’s corona, or the outermost portion of the sun’s atmosphere. In the vast majority of cases, the ejection occurs with no real threat to Earth. However, in the event the ejection happens in the planet’s direction, a geomagnetic storm occurs, and the Earth’s magnetic field is temporarily affected.

In most cases, geomagnetic storms cause little to no disruption on Earth, with radio communications and satellites affected most often. In extreme cases, a geomagnetic storm can cause significant and potentially life-threatening power outages — a prospect that, luckily, the planet hasn’t faced.

Switching poles

Every 11 years, the sun’s magnetic poles switch, with the north pole and south pole swapping positions. During those cycles, the sun’s activity ramps up as it gets closer to pole-switching time. The height of its activity is called solar maximum, and scientists believe we either may be entering the solar maximum or may be already in it.

During periods of heightened solar activity, sunspots increase on the sun and there’s an increase in coronal mass ejections, among other phenomena. According to NOAA, solar maximum could extend into October of this year before the sun’s activity calms and it works towards its less-active phase, solar minimum.

Even when geomagnetic storms hit Earth and disrupt communications, the effects are usually short-lived. Those most affected, including power grid operators and pilots and air traffic controllers communicating over long distances, have fail-safe technologies and backup communications to ensure operational continuity.

But geomagnetic storms aren’t only about radios. In most cases, they also present unique opportunities to see auroras in the night sky. When the storms hit, the plasma they carry creates a jaw-dropping aurora, illuminating the night sky with brilliant colors. Those auroras can be especially pronounced during the most intense phases of the storm, making for nice stargazing.

If you’re interested in seeing the aurora, you’ll need to be ready. The NOAA said the «brunt of the storm has passed» and even if it lingers into Tuesday, there won’t be much to see after Monday night.

Technologies

Last Total Solar Eclipse for 20 Years Is Coming: How to See and Photograph It

It’s your last chance until 2044.

Get your eclipse glasses ready, Skygazers: the Great American Eclipse is on its way. On April 8, there’ll be a total eclipse over North America, the last one until 2044.

A total solar eclipse happens when the moon passes between the Earth and the sun, blocking the sun and turning an otherwise sunny day to darkness for a short period of time. Depending on the angle at which you’re viewing the eclipse, you may see the sun completely shrouded by the moon (called totality) or some variation of it. The more off-angle you are and the further you are from the path of the eclipse, the less likely you’ll be to see the totality.

The 2024 total solar eclipse will happen on Monday, April 8. The Great American Eclipse will reach the Mexican Pacific coast at 11:07 a.m. PT (2:07 p.m. ET), and then traverse the US in a northeasterly direction from Texas to Maine, and on into easternmost Canada. If you want a good look at it, but don’t live in the path of totality, you shouldn’t wait much longer to book accommodation and travel to a spot on the path.

Or how about booking a seat in the sky? Delta Airlines made headlines for offering a flight that allows you to see the entire path of totality. Its first eclipse flight, from Austin, Texas, to Detroit sold out quickly. But as of Monday, Delta has added a second flight from Dallas to Detroit, which also covers the path of totality. The airline also has five flights that will offer prime eclipse viewing.

Not everyone can get on one of those elusive eclipse-viewing flights. Here’s a look at other options to nab a chance to see this rare sight and what to know about it.

Total solar eclipse path

The eclipse will cross over the Pacific coast of Mexico and head northeast over mainland Mexico. The eclipse will then make its way over San Antonio at approximately 2:30 p.m. ET on April 8 and move through Texas, over the southeastern part of Oklahoma and northern Arkansas by 2:50 p.m. ET.

By 3 p.m. ET, the eclipse will be over southern Illinois, and just 5 minutes later, will be traveling over Indianapolis. Folks in northwestern Ohio will be treated to the eclipse by 3:15 p.m. ET, and it will then travel over Lake Erie and Buffalo, New York, by 3:20 p.m. ET. Over the next 10 minutes, the eclipse will be seen over northern New York state, then over Vermont. By 3:35 p.m. ET, the eclipse will work its way into Canada and off the Eastern coast of North America.

Best places to watch the Great American Eclipse

When evaluating the best places to watch this year’s total eclipse, you’ll first want to determine where you’ll have the best angle to see the totality. The farther off-angle you are — in other words, the farther north or south of the eclipse’s path — the less of an impact you can expect.

Therefore, if you want to have the best chance of experiencing the eclipse, you’ll want to be in its path. As of this writing, most of the cities in the eclipse’s path have some hotel availability, but recent reports have suggested that rooms are booking up. And as more rooms are booked, prices are going up.

So if you want to be in the eclipse’s path, and need a hotel to do it, move fast. And Delta’s eclipse-viewing flight from Dallas to Detroit has just four seats left at the time of publication.

Eclipse eye safety and photography

As with any solar eclipse, it’s critical you keep eye safety in mind.

During the eclipse, and especially during the periods before and after totality, don’t look directly at the sun without special eye protection. Also, be sure not to look at the sun through a camera (including the camera on your phone), binoculars, a telescope or any other viewing device. This could cause serious eye injury. Sunglasses aren’t enough to protect your eyes from damage.

If you want to view the eclipse, you’ll instead need solar viewing glasses that comply with the ISO 12312-2 safety standard. Anything that doesn’t meet that standard or greater won’t be dark enough to protect your eyes. Want to get them for free? If you’ve got a Warby Parker eyeglasses store nearby, the company is giving away free, ISO-certified solar eclipse glasses at all of its stores from April 1 until the eclipse, while supplies last.

If you don’t have eclipse viewing glasses handy, you can instead use indirect methods for viewing the eclipse, like a pinhole projector.

Read more: A Photographer’s Adventure With the Eclipse

In the event you want to take pictures of the eclipse, attach a certified solar filter to your camera. Doing so will protect your eyes and allow you to take photos while you view the eclipse through your lens.

There’s also a new app to help you both protect your eyes and take better photos of the eclipse on your phone. Solar Snap, designed by a former Hubble Space Telescope astronomer, comes with a Solar Snap camera filter that attaches to the back of an iPhone or Android phone, along with solar eclipse glasses for protecting your eyesight during the event. After you attach the filter to your phone, you can use the free Solar Snap Eclipse app to zoom in on the eclipse, adjust exposure and other camera settings, and ultimately take better shots of the eclipse.

2024 eclipse compared to 2017

The last total solar eclipse occurred in 2017, and many Americans had a great view. Although there are plenty of similarities between the 2017 total solar eclipse and the one coming April 8, there are a handful of differences. Mainly, the 2024 eclipse is going to cover more land and last longer.

The 2017 eclipse started over the northwest US and moved southeast. Additionally, that eclipse’s path was up to 71 miles wide, compared with a maximum width of 122 miles for this year’s eclipse. Perhaps most importantly, the moon completely covered the sun for just 2 minutes, 40 seconds in 2017. This year, maximum totality will last for nearly four-and-a-half minutes.