Apple is testing continuous heart rate tracking for future Apple Watches

The Apple Watch already keeps a close eye on your heart during workouts, but Apple may be preparing to make that level of monitoring an all-day affair. According to Bloomberg’s latest Power On newsletter, Apple is testing a feature that would let the Watch continuously collect heart rate data throughout the day.

Currently, the sensor works continuously during workouts, while readings outside exercise are taken periodically depending on what you are doing. The new approach would essentially keep workout-style heart rate monitoring running all the time. That could turn out to be a much more useful upgrade than it initially sounds.

Your Apple Watch could understand your entire day better

Continuous monitoring would give Apple a much denser picture of how your heart responds throughout the day, including activity that never gets recorded as an actual workout.

A long walk, a physically demanding day at work, or even several short bursts of activity could all contribute to your cardiovascular load. This is something competitors such as Whoop already do well, using all-day heart rate data to calculate how much strain your body has taken on.

This is one area where Apple has lagged behind some of its rivals. We previously compared the Apple Watch Series 10 with the Pixel Watch 3 and found that Google’s watch measures heart rate once every second throughout the day, while the Apple Watch checks less frequently outside workouts.

Apple may be going after Whoop and Oura

More frequent heart rate data could also give Apple room to build better recovery, stress, and daily wellness metrics. Bloomberg says Apple is separately working on changes to its fitness and health software that would display more wellness information in a style similar to Whoop and Oura.

There is no confirmation that the two projects are directly connected, but they fit together rather neatly. Better wellness insights need better underlying data, and continuous heart rate monitoring would give Apple considerably more of it.

The feature is still being tested, so there is no guarantee it will arrive with the Series 12 or Ultra 4. Battery life could also become a concern, since continuously running the heart rate sensor requires more power. Still, if Apple can make it work without killing battery life, this could make the Watch much better at understanding what your body is doing outside the gym.