Monitor your wellbeing and get in shape.
From calories to cardio, Apple technology allows you to monitor all aspects of your health and fitness
The complex array of sensors that Apple has crammed into the iPhone and the Apple Watch can compile an amazing amount of data about your exercise habits (or lack thereof). They can track how far you run, walk, or swim, and calculate the number of calories you burn while you’re at it. The Apple Watch can even monitor your heart rate in case you overdo things a bit.
For most people, that level of info is all they need to keep on top of their health and fitness regime. However, there are plenty of other smart devices that can connect to your iPhone and help you to monitor your health, and that of other members of your family.
Of course, you don’t need an iPhone or iPad to weigh yourself or check your blood pressure, but the advantage of using “smart” bathroom scales or a blood pressure monitor is that you can use an
iPhone app to monitor your health data over a period of time. That can give you a helpful indication of the progress that you’re making and – even more importantly – the app may be able to spot vital early warning signs if there’s an unexpected change in your data.
On the sc ales
Withings has long been one of the top names in digital health devices – so much so that last year it was taken over by Nokia, which plans to put the company’s health products at the heart, so to speak, of its strategy for the Internet of Things (IoT). Withings makes a wide range of health products, including smart bathroom scales and sensors for heart rate, blood pressure, and oxygen levels – and it’s even announced a smart hairbrush that claims to “optimize sebum [oil] distribution and avoid tangles.”
However, the company’s most well known product is probably its range of Body scales. As well as simply allowing you to weigh yourself, the standard Body scale ($100) can also monitor your Body Mass Index (BMI), fat, muscle, and bone mass, and can store up to eight separate profiles for different members of your family. There’s also a Body Cardio model ($150) that can check your pulse and heart rate, too. Withings’ success here has spawned a number of imitators, with the most affordable being the Koogeek S1 at $50. Garmin and Fitbit also make smart scales, so the Fitbit Aria ($128) or Garmin Index ($150) will be a good choice if you’re already using fitness trackers or watches from those companies.
There are three key sets of data that can be used to detect and monitor a wide range of health problems: heart rate, blood pressure, and blood oxygen levels. The Apple Watch can monitor your heart rate, as can many other smartwatches and fitness bands, but the cheapest alternative we’ve seen for checking your heart rate is the Wahoo Tickr ($50), which includes a stretchy strap that allows you to attach it to your wrist, or wear it around your chest while you’re exercising.
It’s been reported that the heart rate sensor inside the Apple Watch is capable of measuring
the a pp maybe able to spot vital early warning signs if your data changes
blood oxygen levels too, so that feature might be something that Apple is preparing for the next version of the Watch. In the meantime, you can buy a basic blood oxygen sensor, such as the Withings Pulse O2, for around $100. There’s also the more sophisticated Masimo MightySat, which costs a hefty $400 but is a professional-quality sensor that clips onto your finger – just like the ones used in hospitals – and can also monitor oxygen saturation and other important details.
Under press ure
When it comes to blood pressure monitors, there’s actually quite a wide choice available. Philips’ healthcare division makes a number of blood pressure monitors, including a compact Connected Wrist Monitor ($90) that is small enough to slip into a bag and carry around with you. And, of course, Withings also has a product for this, in the form of the more traditional armband design of its Wireless Blood Pressure Monitor ($130).
A less well known name is Qardio, which was only founded in 2014, but which has made quite an impact with its emphasis on heart care products – including its QardioArm blood-pressure monitor ($100). The QardioArm can also detect irregularities in your heartbeat, and can send notifications to your Apple Watch or a friend or family member. For more specialized needs, Qardio will soon release a device called the QardioCore ($449), which enables you to perform a detailed electrocardiogram (ECG) at home.
There are, of course, plenty more specialized health devices available, such as glucometers that can monitor blood sugar levels and display them as a graph on your iPhone, but the products we’ve looked at here can monitor the key data that most people need to keep an eye on their health. With Apple pushing forward with its CareKit and ResearchKit software for the iPhone and Apple Watch, you will soon be able to rely on your Apple devices to provide advice and information tailored to suit you.