Apple’s ECG announcement was likely years in the making, but its timing was remarkable

Yesterday, Apple dropped a bombshell on the digital health world, as it is prone to do in its highly-produced launch events. While the announcement included fall detection on the Apple Watch and some improvements to heart rate monitoring, the headline was definitely the announcement that the Apple Watch Series 4 would contain an FDA-cleared ECG sensor.

While much of the reaction has been positive, longtime watchers of Apple’s health initiatives noticed a few things that didn’t add up: Apple CTO Jeff William’s questionable claim that the ECG is the first of its kind, and the uncanny timing of the announcement and clearance that...