In our modern age, it’s easier than ever to track specific vital health metrics, and the Apple Watch Ultra 2 is an excellent example of this, especially for seniors. As someone who has older family members in his life, I know the stress of actively caring for them can take a tremendous amount of physical and mental energy. While this device isn’t going to replace a doctor or a caretaker, there’s still a plethora of health and accessibility reasons why some may consider this Apple device essential for their older loved ones.
Apple Watch Ultra 2: Why It’s Great for Seniors
Below, I take a look at several reasons why the Apple Watch Ultra 2 can be great for seniors. Of course, you don’t have to completely take my word for it. You can also checkout our article detailing reviews that shows this, and you can also learn more about the device here.
1. Health Monitoring
Personally, this is one of the largest reasons I went with the Apple Watch in the first place. The health monitoring features found within the Ultra are not only great for older folks, but they can be great for anyone.
In addition to being able to check and detect your heart rate, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 can also monitor for irregularities in your heart rhythm. Receiving a notification that there’s something off about an individual’s heart rate can ensure it’s being taken care of by a professional before things get too serious. There are also added benefits such as medication reminders, blood oxygen monitoring, ECG, and sleep monitoring, among others.
This is on top of the Ultra 2 being able to track fitness as well. Anyone concerned about their loved one’s health may want to consider the Apple Watch for these reasons alone
2. Fall Detection
If you’ve read any of my work, you already know that checking out Fall Detection on an Apple Watch was one of my first priorities when it was announced. While I tested it extensively on roller coasters, it’s a life-saving feature. Keep in mind that this feature is enabled automatically for those over 65.
Recently, a relative of mine had a bad fall while in the shower. While it was fortunate that a loved one was around to take care of them, this may not always be the case. For my family, it became a legitimate concern that another fall could have serious consequences. In this case, I’m heavily promoting the idea of getting an Apple Watch Ultra 2 to make sure folks can stay safe. The Fall Detection feature is capable of implementing Emergency SOS should the need arise, making it critical for seniors who live alone.
You can also learn how to set up Fall Detection here.
3. Emergency SOS
If you read up on Apple News at all, you’ve likely already seen an article covering how Emergency SOS is saving lives. Essentially, this feature allows you to call medical services easily during an emergency. Activating this feature is as simple as holding down a button on the device and dragging the Emergency SOS slider to the right.
Once emergency services are called, they’ll be able to access medical information on the device. Users have the ability to add certain medical information to the device, providing emergency services with the information they need when it matters most.
You can learn more about the Health app here.
4. Third-Party Health Apps
Along with the many health features baked into an Apple Watch Ultra 2, third-party apps can also help increase the health functions of the device. For example, apps like BoundaryCare can help enhance safety and address the vulnerabilities of certain individuals. It’s an app specifically designed to work with caregivers, giving you options to share information with them when you need to.
Thanks to Apple’s ever-expansive App Store, there’s numerous health apps you can install to enhance the Watch’s capabilities of the Watch, ensuring that it can be a great tool to help the folks that need it. I would recommend doing some research within the App Store to see what is available for the specific needs of your loved ones.
5. Cross-Compatibility and More
Remember that one of the great things about the Apple ecosystem is that the company’s devices all play well together. Honestly, it’s one of the things that made me an Apple fan in the first place. Starting a task on my iPhone and easily continuing it on my Mac is convenient, but measuring health metrics on your loved one’s iPhone and transferring them to the Watch can be a literal lifesaver.
Let’s also remember that Apple products are typically incredibly easy to use: this is part of what made the iPhone famous, after all. The cliche “it just works” is a cliche for a reason. Of course, not everything has to be about an emergency, as the Apple Watch Ultra 2 is great outside of its health and critical features as well. It can help a senior in your life stay connected with the world and your family. I didn’t even have space to discuss the Watch’s excellent accessibility features.
At the end of the day, I truly love my Apple Watch. Not only is it great for tracking my own health metrics, but I know that it can also help the family members in my life who may need them more. In the long run, the health of your family members and loved ones matters.