When the Apple Watch Series 4 arrived in September 2018, its killer feature was (potentially) saving your life – but soon you’ll be able to get an electrocardiogram reading from a wearable that costs less than half the price. Like the Apple Watch, the Withings Move ECG lets you take an ECG (which can help spot serious heart conditions) by placing your fingers on its bezel for 20 seconds. Except Withing’s health tracker will cost $130 (£102) when it goes on sale in the second half of 2019, compared to £399 for the Apple Watch. And that makes it something of a watershed wearable. There are a couple of hurdles for the Move ECG to overcome before it goes on sale – namely, the FDA and CE, which respectively need to approve the feature for sale in the USA and Europe. Withings told me that it expects this stamp of approval to arrive by around April 2019, but there is always the chance of delays. The Apple Watch’s ECG feature, for example, still isn’t available in the UK, with some reports claiming it could even take ‘years’ to be approved. Smartwatch-based ECG readings aren’t without their critics either. Some medical professionals voiced concerns after the Apple Watch 4 launch that its comparatively simple readings (a normal ECG takes readings from ten different electrodes all over the body, rather than just from one one limb) are too simple to detect conditions like an impending heart attack and may unnecessarily send hordes of the ‘worried well’ to their doctors. Related: Best fitness trackers But like Apple’s smartwatch, the Withings Move ECG is focused more on detecting atrial fibrillation (or AFib), which is said to affect up to a million people in the UK and is responsible for around a third of strokes. Having that feature available on a $130 wearable is pretty incredible, not to mention potentially revolutionary when you consider possibility of aggregating user data. When you take a reading on the Move ECG it’ll alert you if it thinks you need to consult a specialist. It also gives you the option of sending a PDF of the report to your doctor via email, text message or, if you’re on particularly informal terms with your quack, WhatsApp. State of the heart I think this all makes the Move ECG significant for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it shows that important health tech features aren’t just reserved for well-heeled tech fans who can afford premium wearables like the Apple Watch. Not everyone wants their watch to track their ticker’s health, but if you do, there’ll soon be a very affordable one that doesn’t talk exclusively to pricey iPhones. And secondly, it proves this kind of advanced health-tracking needn’t come at the expense of battery life. The Move ECG’s coin cell battery can keep going for 12 months without needing a recharge, even if you take a couple of ECG readings a day. We’re now at the point where smartwatches can look and act like their analogue forebears, while secretly doing some pretty incredible health-tracking on the side. Of course, the Withings Move ECG isn’t without its limitations. For a start, it doesn’t offer optical heart-rate tracking for runners or those who like to use heart-rate training zones. You also obviously don’t get the Apple Watch’s wealth of third-party apps or notifications. But it is a kind of next-gen fitness tracker, with these heart monitoring features coming alongside sleep tracking, exercise logging (with automatic recognition of walking, running and swimming) and 50-metre waterproofing. After seeing the Move ECG in the flesh at CES 2019, I was impressed with its design (there are two colour options, black and blue-and-white) and how thin it is too. Let’s just hope that CE approval clearance comes as quickly as Withings seems to think it will, otherwise it might again just be US-based hearts that get the latest health-tracking features. What do you think, are you excited about the prospect of a $130 analogue watch that can monitor your heart? let us know on Twitter @TrustedReviews.<doc-sep>Withings is back under its own control after stepping out from under the control of Nokia. At the 2019 Consumer Electronics Show, AppleInsider got to try out its new Core BPM, Move, and Move ECG wearables to see how the company plans to excel in 2019. First, the Core Blood Pressure Monitor. This new device builds a bit on what Withings had in the past but adds many new features. On the inner wall, there is a new digital stethoscope used to take a recording of your heart and to identify heart valve failure. On the inside of the cuff itself, there is a metal electrode which coupled with the outer metal tube is able to take an ECG, similar to the Apple Watch. While administering a test, it will let you know to place your hand on the end of the tube and wait for the reading to commence. While taking an electrocardiogram, a real-time heart rhythm is displayed on the side of the tube attached to the cuff. Lastly, it takes your blood pressure as expected. All of this data is displayed on the not-so-bright cuff, and fortunately synced back to your phone for later viewing or sharing with your doctor, since it's hard to see on the device itself. Next, Withings showed off two new analog smartwatches. Move and Move ECG look like a simplified version of the Steel HR without a few aspects like the screen. Instead, steps are displayed on a wheel within the watch face and synced to your phone. It tracks sleep as well, and packs a battery that will last well over a year. The ECG model, which is currently under evaluation with the Core BPM by the FDA, works by placing a finger on the side of the metal frame, just like Apple Watch. One difference is that Withings is able to complete the ECG in only 20 seconds, rather than 30. Move is entirely customizable, with the face, bezel, and band completely interchangeable and designed on Withing's website.<doc-sep>
Withings The year of electrocardiogram tech is underway. You didn't think it would just be the Apple Watch, did you? Withings' newest fitness watch, the Move, was announced at CES 2019 in Las Vegas. It has the ability to take electrocardiograms, a chart of your heartbeat often abbreviated to EKG or ECG. It's also a regular-looking analog watch -- and at $130, it's about a third the cost of an Apple Watch S4. (Converted, that's about £100 or AU$95.) Withings makes a number of health and wearable devices, including blood pressure cuffs. The Move ECG is the company's first watch that's supposed to be able to check for atrial fibrillation. It's expected in Q2 of this year, pending FDA and CE clearance. Now playing: Watch this: Withings adds ECG to its newest watches and blood pressure... The Move ECG looks like an evolution of the Withings Steel fitness watches that have been available for years, minus the Steel HR's optical heart-rate monitoring and LED display. Instead, the Move ECG leans on analog dials to show fitness and step tracking. You tell it to take an ECG by touching the sides of the steel bezel, and it shows results on your phone through the connected app. The watch is water-resistant to 50 meters, measures steps and sleep, tracks elevation and has a one-year battery life (it's not clear if the watch has a replaceable battery or recharges, but it might be the former). Like previous Withings watches, it also connects with Apple Health and Google Fit. A version of the Move without ECG and heart rate is available now for $70, but only ships to the US, Canada and Mexico. Nokia acquired French health technology company Withings in 2016 and rebranded it as Nokia Health. The company was bought back by Withings' co-founder in 2018, however. To be clear, lower-cost ECG devices have been available before the Apple Watch. AliveCor's KardiaBand ECG watch band for the Apple Watch debuted at the end of 2017. But the Move ECG looks like one of the most promising signs that ECG tech could start entering more affordable fitness wearables this year. Withings Withings is also putting ECG into its newest blood pressure cuff, the Withings BPM Core, which combines standard cuff-based blood pressure measurement with an ECG sensor and a digital stethoscope that promises to measure for heart valve health. The $250 BPM Core is also under review for FDA and CE clearance, with the same Q2 targeted release date. CES 2019: See all of CNET's coverage of the year's biggest tech show. CES schedule: It's six days of jam-packed events. Here's what to expect.