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Apple Watches' hypertension alerts just put every smartwatch rival on notice

Hypertension is one of the most common, difficult to detect, and deadly conditions in the world. This new feature is a compelling one.

But since Samsung has never gotten FDA approval — and several clinical studies with Galaxy Watches showed"insufficient accuracy" and"substantial pre-post calibration BP difference" — it's not something I'd actively recommend to at-risk relatives, even if I could. (Image credit: Apple)For something like sleep apnea or AFib, a smartwatch alert is obviously useful, but at least these conditions have physical symptoms that you could detect on your own. But Samsung's Vascular Load graph is more about pointing out how lifestyle choices like sodium intake or drinking cause heart strain in the short term, and while that's valid, it also puts the onus on the user to get better scores when the true cause might be genetic.

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