Apple announced three new iPhone models and an Apple Watch at its overnight event in San Francisco.

The Apple's new Watch Series 4 has garnered a lot of attention among fitness enthusiasts and those with heart ailments as it comes with an advanced heart-rate monitoring system that includes an electrocardiogram (ECG) to aid users to take an ECG anytime, anywhere.

The existing fitness wearables offered by peer brands measure heart rate using green LED lights embedded in the device. The lights reflect on the skin to detect the pulse and changes in blood volume and measured as heart rate number.

The Apple Watch Series 4, on the other hand, has electrodes built into the device's Digital Crown and the back of the device to read a person's electrical signals.

By touching the Digital Crown, users will be able to generate an ECG waveform in just 30 seconds, which can detect both regular and irregular heart rhythms.

The ECG system is approved by the US Food and Drug Administration. Apple will separately release an ECG app for its watch later this year. At present, data will be recorded into Apple Health app.

The latest technology is reportedly an improved version of its heart monitoring system from the previous Apple Watch Series 3.

Apple has partnered with Standford University since last November to run the Apple Heart Study to investigate atrial fibrillation.

The Apple Watch Series 4 starts at $399 for the Series 4 model, and $499 for the LTE model.

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First Published:Sept 13, 2018 9:59 AM IST