How to measure ambient noise in apple watch with watch OS 6

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A brand-new Noise app for Apple Watch is the built-in decibel meter along with an automatic notification is one of the few interesting hearing health innovations in watch OS 6 which has the potential to help protect people from noise that can easily damage their hearing.

Unfortunately, hearing loss happens so gradually and over longer periods of time that you don’t even notice it until it’s too late. And we all know or should be aware of the fact that keeping your hearing in good condition is key to maintaining your independence as you grow older.

The Noise app uses the microphone in your watch to periodically measure noise levels throughout the day. You can also measure the noise level in real time, a life-saver when in loud environments that could easily negatively impact your hearing.

How to use the decibel meter on Apple Watch

By default, your Apple Watch will warn you when your average sound level over a period of three minutes reaches or exceeds 90 decibels. When that happens, you’ll feel a gentle buzz on your wrist and an alert will pop up on the Apple Watch display.

You can tap the notification to open the Noise app and see more details.

How to check noise level in real time

To check your noise level in real time, do the following:

1) Press the Digital Crown to get to the Home screen, then tap the Noise app icon to launch the app. You can also put the app in your Dock for quicker access or use Siri to open Noise.

2) As the noise level around you changes, the onscreen decibel meter moves dynamically, in real time. The Noise app rates the current noise level as either OK or Loud. To learn more about decimal ranges, scroll down and tap Learn More.

If you’re in a construction zone and the Noise app has warned you of potentially damaging noise levels, move somewhere else as soon as possible. The same goes if you’re at a sporting event, rock concert or some other venue that produces loud noises.

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How to use ECG on Apple Watch

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To take an ECG recording at any time or following an irregular rhythm notification, users open the new ECG app on Apple Watch Series 4 or later and hold their finger on the Digital Crown.

As the user touches the Digital Crown, the circuit is completed and electrical signals across their heart are measured. 

After 30 seconds, the heart rhythm is classified as either AFib, sinus rhythm or inconclusive.

All recordings, their associated classifications and any noted symptoms are stored securely in the Health app on iPhone.

Users can then share a PDF of the results with their physicians.

With watchOS 6, the irregular rhythm notification feature will use the optical heart sensor to occasionally check the user’s heart rhythm in the background for signals of an irregular heart rhythm that appears to be Afib. If irregular heart rhythm such as Afib is identified on five rhythm checks over a minimum of 65 minutes, a notification will be generated to alert the user.

The ECG app’s ability to accurately classify an ECG recording into AFib and sinus rhythm was validated in a clinical trial of around 600 participants.

 The study found the ECG app on Apple Watch demonstrated 98.3 per cent sensitivity in classifying AFib and 99.6 per cent specificity in classifying sinus rhythm in classifiable recordings. The irregular rhythm notification feature was recently studied in the Apple Heart Study. With over 400,000 participants, the Apple Heart Study was the largest screening study on atrial fibrillation ever conducted.

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Apple watch 5 launched but should you upgrade?

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Apple released an entirely new Apple Watch Series 5 which slipped under the radar because it isn’t all that different from its predecessor. The available display sizes remain 40mm and 44mm, and the battery life still clocks in at 18 hours. The starting price of $399 remains the same, and features like the built-in ECG and fall detector work on both models. And as is the case with all Apple Watch models, you can easily attach your favorite bands from the Series 4.

You’ll see the biggest differences when you flip it on, although these differences may not be enough to have you rush out and preorder one right now.

Retina display

This is the biggest difference for some that’s enough to warrant an upgrade. Series 5 has an always-on Retina display, which means the display stays visible even if you don’t touch it or lift it to your face. To optimize battery usage, the display dims when you’re not looking at it, but it won’t actually turn off.

Apple accomplished this by including a light sensor, an energy-efficient display driver, and a low-temperature polysilicone and oxide display.

More storage

If you listen to music and podcasts a lot Series 5 will make a nice upgrade, as it comes with 32GB of storage over the Series 4’s paltry 16GB. That’s a lot for a watch, though, especially when there aren’t many Apple Watch apps that come close to demanding that kind of room. Chances are you won’t need it.

It’s faster

The Series 4 was already way faster than previous models, but Apple equipped the Series 5 with an S5 system-on-chip processor to replace the S4. This should certainly result in faster and better app performance.

Compass

If you’re fond of hiking or exploring, you’ll like this feature. The Series 5 comes with a built-in compass that displays your elevation, incline, longitude, and latitude. It’ll also show which direction you’re heading in. Just keep in mind that it probably only works as long as you have an internet connection.

Emergency calls in other countries

This could be a big reason to upgrade if you often travel internationally. In the past, you could only make emergency calls from a cellular-model Apple Watch if you were in the country where you actually bought the watch. With the Series 5, though, the emergency calling feature works regardless of which country you’re in. This feature will also work if you have fall detection activated on your Apple Watch.

Titanium or Ceramic

There were rumors about Apple Watch would come with ceramic and titanium case options, and it was widely believed they would merely be new options for the Series 4. But they’re here now for the Series 5, and the poor Series 4 misses out on the fun. For $799, you can get the titanium model to match your Apple Card, and $1,299 will once again let you enjoy the Apple Watch Edition casing that Apple discontinued last year. As before, you can also buy the Apple Watch in aluminum or stainless steel.

None of these are earthshaking changes, and you’ll be perfectly fine sticking with a Series 4 unless you really like that always-on display or you think you’ll need emergency calling on your next trip.

If you’re an owner of a Series 3 or earlier, go ahead and take the plunge. The speed should be considerably better, and you’ll get cool recent features like the built-in ECG and fall detector, built into an overall better watch than the Series 4.

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Long term review of Honor band 4

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Here’s my long time review of Honor Band 4, I have been using it for last one month. Priced at Rs. 2,499, Honor Band 4 is engineered to offer high-end fitness-related features to price-conscious consumers in India. 

Available in three color variants - Meteorite Black, Midnight Navy, and Dahlia Pink, the Honor Band 4 feels different on the wrist.

Honor Band 4 comes with a bigger and vibrant color screen which is pleasing to the eyes and offers good outdoor visibility and also feels more fluid to interact. The band sports a 0.95- inch AMOLED 2.5D curved screen with a resolution of 240x120 pixels. It's a full touch panel and offers a better viewing experience. If you prefer colored screens, Honor Band 4 is the most economical band you can buy.

The vibrant color AMOLED display on Honor Band 4 shows a lot of useful information. Honor Band 4 displays the time, date, weather data, device's Bluetooth status, steps taken, calories burnt and battery status. Long tap on the main screen to choose between three different watch faces depending upon the content you want to see on the screen. Besides, slide up and down to check the number of steps, and access other important features such as heart rate, messages, sleep duration, activity function, and settings menu. And while the band can display text messages, and notifications from apps like WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, etc, it cannot show missed call data and weather information which is a letdown. It allows you to answer and rejecting calls which come quite handy in everyday routine.

Honor Band 4 can also track your steps, calories burnt, distance covered, heart rate and sleep data. As far as exercise and activity measurement is concerned, Honor Band 4 offers activity tracking features such as outdoor run/indoor run, outdoor walk, indoor/outdoor cycle, pool swim, and free training. These are tucked inside ‘Workout' tab and largely offer timers to help you keep a tap on your exercise activity.

Honor Band 4 features HUAWEI's TruSleep monitoring technology. In addition to Deep sleep and Light sleep, the band is also capable to track REM sleep, nap time, breathing quality, and sleep time throughout the day. Additionally, to make good use of this data, the band also provides personalized sleep suggestions and 200+ suggestions to improve your sleep cycle which is a great feature.

Honor Band 4 also offers continuous heart rate monitoring. It does that with the help of night infrared heart rate monitoring technology which does not hamper your sleep with bright lights. The band also shares heart rate warnings, which is a nifty feature for users with heart problems.

Honor Band 4 is backed by a 100 mAh battery cell which can last for about two weeks if you don't enable the continuous heart rate monitoring and 24-hour sleep tracking. With these features turned on, the battery life reduces to 4 to 5 days a week max. I am getting an average of 5 days with sleep tracking enabled.

 At a price-point of Rs. 2,499, Honor Band 4 offers a good package of fitness-centric features, a colored AMOLED display, and a durable design. The band can help you lead a healthy lifestyle if you are ready to give wearable technology a chance.

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