My parents’ health was a concern. An Apple Watch solved that and more

When I first got my parents an Apple Watch each, my 70-year-old mother still signed her own text messages “love, Mom” and wouldn’t be caught dead with anything other than her delicate analog watch and carefully curated selection of bracelets on her wrist. My more tech-savvy and curious father saw the Apple Watch as a pointless waste of money that he would never wear.

I’ve spent more than a decade teaching people how to use technology at CNET, and I like to think I’m pretty good at it, but nothing is more humbling for a technology reporter than trying to teach your own parents how to use a new device, let alone one they have no interest in. Selling the Apple Watch wasn’t easy, but it was worth it because I can now keep an eye on my aging parents, even though we live miles apart.

In the 10 years since the Apple Watch was announced, the device has found its niche by turning away from fashion and focusing more on health monitoring. Features include heart rate notifications, AFib history, fall detection, cycle tracking and more. Analysts expect that focus to continue in the next model, which many believe will be announced at an Apple event later this year.

Life alarm on your wrist

My parents may be in their 70s, but they are still fully mobile and can move around the house and beyond. If they were to suggest that I wear a Life Alert-like device to monitor falls, it would be downright insulting to them. The Apple Watch spared me the awkward conversation because it does this discreetly, regardless of age.

The Apple Watch (Series 4 or later, SE and Ultra models) can detect when the wearer has taken a hard fall – whether at home or while out hiking – and will call emergency services if they’re unresponsive for more than a minute. It will also send a text message to emergency contacts (in this case, me) with their exact location. Fortunately, I don’t have first-hand experience with this feature, but I’ve written about others who’ve been saved by it.

ECG and Heart Health Alerts

The one health feature that caught my attention was the electrocardiogram, which is available on Series 4 or later and the Ultra models (no SE models). When I tested the ECG function on the Apple Watch Series 4 against a hospital ECG in 2018, the doctor noticed an irregularity in my chart. Both the Apple Watch ECG and the hospital ECG showed that my heart was occasionally skipping a beat. Upon further investigation, it turned out to be stress-induced and completely harmless, but the experience showed how well the Apple Watch performed compared to a medical device. This feature, along with heart rate alerts to warn the wearer when their heart rate drops or rises above a healthy threshold and irregular heart rate notifications that flag irregular heart rhythms, were my biggest selling points when I pitched the watch to my parents.

Sure enough, about a year after I started wearing it, my dad started getting low heart rate notifications on his Apple Watch after runs. My stoic father, who would rather run with a broken ankle than admit defeat and avoids doctors unless absolutely necessary, voluntarily underwent a full heart check thanks to the Apple Watch. His condition wasn’t serious, but he now knows to pace himself to avoid putting undue strain on his heart.

The rings that sealed the deal

I’m a millennial with near 20/20 vision, and I still find the Apple Watch’s screen small and difficult to use. Now imagine a 6-foot-1 baby boomer with swollen fingers and poor eyesight, and the chances of him choosing this over his analog wristwatch for everyday wear were slim to none, despite its impressive health features.

Enter his competitive streak. The Apple Watch tracks physical activity using a three-ring system that takes into account movement, exercise, and step rate. The goal is to close your Activity rings daily to earn badges and compete with friends. Users are notified when someone on their list completes a workout or closes their rings, and are given the option to engage in some friendly competition. This worked for my dad. We started competing to see who could close their rings more often, and when that got old (he usually beat me) he kept it to himself.

My mom, while not as obsessed with tying her rings, uses the watch as a barometer to gauge how much or how little she moves throughout the day. Unlike other trackers she’s tried and forgotten about, the Apple Watch gives her a visual cue right on the watch face and sends her notifications when she’s falling behind.

Find my phone, find my mom

The benefits of having a piece of technology on your wrist almost 24/7 is that it’s easy to find, which means you are. The time saved by the Find My feature on the Apple Watch is worth its weight in gold, especially when we’re all rushing out the door. With a single tap, you can ping your iPhone or locate other devices and people using the Find My apps.

I’ve also set up location sharing with my parents, which means I can use the Find My app on my iPhone or Apple Watch to locate them even if they forget their phone.

With my parents hooked on the Apple Watch and my ego inflated, I set my sights on my in-laws. The following Christmas, my husband and I got them two Apple Watches (SE). We gave them the same talk as my parents and waited with anticipation to see if we would get the same results.

It’s been over a year now, and…we’re still waiting. Because they don’t Mine Parents, I can’t be as pushy with them as I was with my own, and I’m not sure my father-in-law would find the friendly ring-close competition as funny as my own father. For them, I may have to resort to other persuasion tactics, like sharing a certain CNET article about the benefits of the Apple Watch for seniors. I’ll be sure to report back when I do.