Author: Okunloye Abiodun Segun

Kenya Power Announces Fixed Internet Service by 2023

Kenya Power, the state-owned company that operates most of the electricity transmission and distribution system in Kenya has affirmed that it will begin offering fixed broadband internet services by June 2023

According to Report, the State-owned power utility has been testing fixed internet access for a select group of its corporate customers for the past few months, putting it in direct competition with telcos and igniting new price hikes in the contest for a share of the market.

Most people may be baffled by the company’s decision to enter the internet business, but it makes sense to some degree. Getting started is not difficult because the company has all of the necessary infrastructures in place across the country.

Kenya Power Next Move

This change occurs at a time when Kenya Power is struggling with lowering power tariffs, which will have a negative impact on the utility’s earnings.

In January, the government decreased power tariffs by 15 percent in an effort to ease the financial burden of electricity bills on households and businesses. It is estimated that this reduction will leave gaps in the account of the company equal to twenty-six billion Kenyan shillings (Sh26 billion).

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A year earlier, Kenya Power had reported a net income of Sh138 million, but in the six months leading up to December of last year, the company reported a net income of Sh3.8 billion. The 15 percent reduction in tariffs will have a negative impact on the full-year performance for the period that just finished last month.

When Kenya Power enters the fixed internet market, it will shake up the internet service providers (ISPs) that have been selling data via the Kenya Power network. This will give the energy distributor an advantage in the competition to serve rural Kenya.

Kenya Power believes that the revenue it would get from selling data to its corporate clients will allow it to diversify its revenues and assist it in addressing the issues that are being faced by the energy division.

When compared to the current model, which consists of the power utility leasing fiber-optic cables attached to its transmission lines to internet service providers (ISPs), entry into the fixed internet market will be an improvement.

Geoffrey Muli, who is acting as Kenya Power’s managing director, said that the company will launch the service before the end of the current budgetary year. This will put Kenya Power in competition with market leader Safaricom, Wananchi-owned Zuku, and

“Our plan is to launch our Lit Fibre business in the course of this financial year,” Muli said.

What Kenya Power to Expect

As soon as Kenya Power is up and running, it will be taking on Internet Service Providers like Safaricom, which currently holds a market share of 37% when it comes to fixed internet services. Wananchi comes in second with 29.2 percent, according to data from the Communications Authority of Kenya, as reported by Business Daily (CA).

Thus, Kenya Power will compete against established industry players like Safaricom, Wananchi, Jamii Telecoms, and other ISPs.

Kenya’s fixed internet market, according to the Communication Authority, is largely untapped, and Kenya Power believes it has an opportunity to grow its revenue in this area.

Kenya Internet Service Provision

There has been a dramatic increase in internet service demand over the last two years as people have turned to remote working and online education as a means of curbing the spread of Covid-19 pandemics.

According to the CA, the fixed internet sector is mostly unexplored, which provides telecommunications companies and Kenya Power with the potential to increase profits.

Observations

Internet service providers have been leasing fiber-optic connections that are connected to the transmission lines owned and operated by the state-owned utility company. According to Business Daily, in 2010, Kenya Power signed a leasing arrangement with Safaricom for the use of a pair of fiber cables that was valued at Sh421 million ($3.6 million). The agreement was for a duration of 20 years.

Furthermore, It also made agreements with the telecommunications companies Wananchi Group and Jamii Telecoms, wherein both companies signed leases for a period of five years with a total value of Sh403 million.

The corporation also has plans to begin providing internet service directly to houses, particularly those residences located in more remote sections of the country.

July 13, 2022
Vodacom Launches App to Connect SA Youth to Jobs

Inquest to solve the high unemployment rate in South Africa, Vodacom, the South African mobile communications company has launched the App named Get-a-Gig to connect SA Youth to jobs.

Get-a-Gig was launched by Vodacom through NXT LVL with the goal of helping one million young people find employment or gigs within the next three years, which will be accomplished in 2024.

According to Worldometer elaboration of the latest United Nations data, South Africa is populated by 60,793,223 people and also unemployment among young people in South Africa is among the highest in the world.

According to Vodacom, the youth unemployment rate is still shockingly high at 65.5%.

Data from Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) shows the country’s economy is in a precarious position. The unemployment rate rose to 35.3% in the first quarter of 2022 from 34.9% in the fourth quarter of 2021. Since the Quarterly Labor Force Survey (QLFS) was launched in 2008, this has been the highest.

Get a Gig

In light of these huge statistics and as part of Vodacom’s ongoing commitment to empower the South African youth, Vodacom’s Get A Gig initiative matches job seekers (youth) with job opportunities or gig opportunities within Vodacom and its partners, allowing them to Grow, Learn, and Earn while at the same time giving them the opportunity to work.

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Get-A-Gig was released as an expansion of Vodacom’s recently updated NXT LVL (pronounced next level), which is a platform designed to address the challenges that young people face by providing them with opportunities to connect with one another, learn new skills, and earn money, as well as providing them with access to the appropriate tools that will assist them in reaching their full potential.

What Vodacom is saying

Vodacom speculates that NXT LVL will also give young people the ability to navigate through their lives and into adulthood. This is particularly important at a time when young people are looking for work and unemployment is at an all-time high.

Jorge Mendes, Chief Officer of Consumer Business at Vodacom affirmed that “Our vision is to make sure that we leave no one behind, especially young people who form a critical part of the country’s future.

The launch of Get-A-Gig is yet another way that we at Vodacom strive to fight the rising youth unemployment rate,”

Furthermore, Mendes added that “As we innovate, and bring new propositions to the market, we are mindful of the challenges that are faced by consumers at large. The revamp of the NXT LVL platform and the launch of Get-A-Gig are some of the initiatives we introduced, aiming to make a meaningful difference in the lives of young South Africans”.

How to Get a Gig

Get-A-Gig is accessible for NXT LVL customers via My Vodacom and VodaPay at no cost.

Customers who are new to NXT LVL need to download the My Vodacom or VodaPay app, sign up for NXT LVL, and click on the Get A Gig tile to sign up and create a profile, search for available Gigs in their area, and apply for them.

Existing NXT LVL customers can sign up for Get-A-Gig by logging into the My Vodacom App or VodaPay super app, clicking on the Get-A-Gig tile to register and create a profile, and then searching and applying for available Gigs in their area.

July 8, 2022
Nomanini Launches StockNow App to help Africa Stock Retailers

The pioneering fintech platform Nomanini, which connects financial service providers and fast-moving consumer goods companies with retail SMEs, has launched StockNow, an app that allows micro and small-scale retailers to buy stock digitally.

StockNow will serve as a new supply chain finance solution that links FMCG companies and financial service providers to scale-up serving Africa’s informal retailers.

Nomanini’s CEO, Vahid Monadjem, says, “In response to challenges we saw retailers face during the pandemic and related lockdowns, we established the opportunity to accelerate the development of our digital working capital solutions to provide tools to help retailers keep their shelves stocked with essential goods.”

Stock Retailer Challenges

The expansion of FMCGs into emerging markets is fraught with difficulties. Many informal retailers experience periods when they are unable to pay their suppliers to restock their inventory because of a lack of cash flow.

High operational costs are incurred as a result of stock being returned to the depot unnecessarily and this is what StockNow is out to resolve.

According to a statement released by the company, even though global FMCG value chains reach ten million informal retailers in Africa, there is a lack of access to responsible and affordable finance solutions for these retailers, which makes it difficult for them to keep their shelves stocked, attract customers, and grow their businesses.

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The Fintech company explains that “By digitizing the supply chain, StockNow enables FMCGs to increase operational efficiency by unlocking trade data and gaining visibility into the sales and preferences of informal retailers. Automating settlements and incentivizing e-payments within the value chain also lead to improved efficiencies,”

Nomanini : Idea Behind StockNow

To overcome this, retailers will benefit from responsible working capital. The StockNow app will enable informal retailers to acquire goods using stock advances to keep their shelves stocked with necessary commodities, ensuring company continuity and support for customers in the last mile of the distribution chain.

For Nomanini, the launch of StockNow signifies a significant transition away from enterprise B2B technology solutions and toward a move toward embedded stock advancements in the FMCG value chain.

“COVID really highlighted how important these retailers are to their communities,” explains Nomanini’s CEO, Vahid Monadjem. “And unfortunately, their lack of access to responsible business finance solutions means that they are particularly vulnerable during and after times of crisis.“

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“In response to challenges we saw retailers face during the pandemic and related lockdowns, we established the opportunity to accelerate the development of our digital working capital solutions to provide tools to help retailers keep their shelves stocked with essential goods.” He continued.

StockNow Availability

Retailers operating in the informal sector demand consistency, and working capital solutions such as the StockNow app, which can be downloaded on android devices as well as feature phones, can give better resilience and act as a buffer against shocks. They will also be able to construct a more robust financial track record, as well as trade with more confidence and volume over the course of time.

StockNow is now operational and is being rolled out to thousands of informal retailers in Tanzania. Plans are currently being developed to scale the solution across the Africa continent, from Mozambique to Uganda, and from the Democratic Republic of the Congo to Egypt.

Observations

With the launch of StockNow in Tanzania, Nomanini has formalized its partnership with Nestlé ESAR, a crucial partner, to alleviate some of the issues faced by retailers in Africa’s general market, especially as they recover from the pandemic.

June 30, 2022
Twitter Tests New Long-Form Tweet Format Called ‘Notes’

For now, Twitter is mainly known for its 280-character limit for posting a tweet, in which most of its users must restrict their content to the character limit or chain multiple posts under the primary tweet called a thread.

Twitter has confirmed that it is testing a new feature on the platform called Notes. With this feature, Twitter users will be able to write long-form text on the site which is more like blogs instead of cramming their information into a ‘tweet’ of 280-character.

“Twitter Write is a composer tool that lets writers create stories and other long-form content, called Notes, for their followers to engage with—all on Twitter”

https://twitter.com/TwitterWrite/status/1539640956915290112?t=8dQlLsoWnyS2bdQ6DX4lcQ&s=19

However, not quite long that they got sued and fined $150 Million by US Government’s Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for Data Privacy Violation

About Twitter Note Feature

The news is not exactly surprising considering that rumors of Twitter working on a long-form writing feature have been making their way around the internet for the last several months.

Note will be a distinct part inside the app that users of Twitter will be able to access in order to compose their lengthy content and then save it under the ‘Write’ tab. This longer text may then be published by embedding it into a tweet at a later time.

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Notes’ rich-text editor will enable writers to structure their words in a variety of ways, including bolding, italicizing, and other techniques, with the goal of providing Twitter users with greater flexibility and control. The titles of Notes are restricted to 100 characters, but the body of a Note can contain as many as 2,500 words before Twitter ends the post. This provides more than enough room for users to describe their interests.

“A Note title is limited to 100 characters, and the body of a Note is limited to 2,500 words.”

How To View Notes

Notes can be viewed inside or outside Twitter, to read the information, click on the Note card, then Twitter domain will launch a new mobile browser web page for the user’s convenience where the notes will be displayed, or as an alternative, you may go directly to a writer’s profile to view their written notes.

Observations

As the feature is still being tested, it is only available in a few places right now, like the US, the UK, Ghana, and Canada.

Twitter also remarked that a group of writers has been assisting the site in testing the new feature by posting long-form posts that include a mixture of other tweets, images, and videos.

“A small group of writers are helping us test Notes. They can be read on and off Twitter, by people in most countries.”

June 29, 2022
Amazon To Expand to Nigeria and South Africa by 2023
Amazon, an American multinational technology firm that specializes in e-commerce, cloud computing, digital streaming, and A.I will be expanding its e-commerce platform to five new countries in Africa, Europe, and South America while retaining its headquarters in the United States.

According to a report by Business Insider, the five countries are as follows: Belgium, Chile, Colombia, Nigeria, and South Africa.

“Amazon plans to launch its online marketplace in 5 new countries by early next year, even as it dials back parts of its retail business in the US”

Read Also : Shoprite Group Launches SMME Division

What Does This Mean?

This year, the company has made a series of moves toward overtaking the e-commerce space, and this move its expansion to those countries will be a threat to local e-commerce platforms,

“The moves will likely mean more competition for local e-commerce companies, including Jumia, which operates across Africa, and Mercado Libre, a leading online marketplace in Latin America.”

Amazon Expansion Details

According to the report, the rollouts will occur between the years 2022 and 2023, per a detailed timeline.
- Belgium’s marketplace, called Project Red Devil, is slated for late September.
- The one in Colombia, dubbed Project Salsa, is scheduled for February 2023.
- South Africa, codenamed Project Fela, is also expected in February 2023.
- The marketplace in Nigeria is due to launch in April 2023. That project shares the codename Project Fela with South Africa.
- Chile is planned for April 2023, too. That shares the Project Salsa name with Colombia.
What To Face In Nigeria

In Jan 2022, the federal government ordered non-resident companies (NRC) to give 6 percent of their revenue from digital services they provided to Nigerian customers.

Amazon and other businesses that offer services through apps, trading platforms, online advertisements, etc. are required to charge customers for value-added tax (VAT) and remit the funds to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).

“All they need is that arrangement with FIRS where they collect VAT on behalf of FIRS and remit to FIRS.

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“And also, to clarify, that FIRS may appoint persons including non-resident companies for the purpose of VAT collection and to clarify again that appointed persons may collect and remit taxes to FIRS, pursuant to the relevant tax laws.

“The core rationale for this is to modernize the taxation of ICT and digital economy in line with the National Development Plan 2021-2025, to enhance administrative modalities for the taxation of non-resident taxpayers and also to reduce incompliance by non-resident payers to reduce the compliance burden.”

Observation

NIPC reported that In the past few years, the American company has been expanding into more countries around the world.

“According to a report sighted by NIPC Intelligence, Amazon has singled Nigeria and South Africa, believing them to be places they can easily hit the market running. Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Morocco, and Egypt are Africa’s top five largest economies. Online retail is booming in these markets thanks to companies like Jumia, Konga, Takealot, and more.”

They grew up in Poland and Egypt last year. They had grown in Saudi Arabia, the Netherlands, and Sweden the year before. They have been in India for a few years, and reports say they have invested more than $7 billion there.

Moreover, all countries plan to open their marketplaces and give people access to Amazon’s Fulfillment by Amazon service.

According to that document, Amazon’s Prime membership program should be available at launch in Belgium. It should also be available soon after launch in other countries.

The report added that “Belgian shoppers, who are already able to sign up for Prime through some of Amazon’s other European sites, will get their own dedicated Prime service for a more consistent pricing and shopping experience”
June 26, 2022
Telkom Kenya Plans Credit Program For SMEs

T-Kash Loan: Telkom, an integrated telecommunications provider company that provides integrated solutions to individuals, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), Government, and large corporates in Kenya is planning a credit product called T-Kash Loan.

According to a blog post by Telkom, T-Kash is Telkom’s mobile financial service, which simplifies and lets customers transact money, pay bills, and purchase things swiftly and on the go. However, as the business prepares to introduce the T-Kash Loan, this might provide them an advantage in the mobile money clashes, which favor Safaricom’s M-PESA.

About T-Kask Loan

Kenyans are well-known for how much they like to use mobile loans. However, this will also be Telkom’s first product of its kind. While Safaricom, on the other hand, offers this product in three ways through its M-PESA mobile money service: Fuliza, KCB M-Pesa, and M-Shwari. Local banks (KCB and NCBA Kenya) and the telco work together to make the products.

Read Also : Amazon To Expand to Nigeria and South Africa by 2023

Moreover, it is not yet known if the telco will work in conjunction with financial institutions to promote this product; nonetheless, this is the approach that the vast majority of telcos choose to pursue. Because of this, regular users of T-Kash will soon be able to file loan applications directly from the app. This will bring even more easy mobile banking services for Africans, who are renowned for being big lovers of mobile banking.

T-Kash Loan is a product that can be viewed on the smartphone app that the product comes with. The app also works as a utility service for clients of Telkom.

Nevertheless, the loan product has not yet been made available for use, although the business has indicated that it would be “coming soon.”

The product is likely to attract customers to T-Kash

Observation

According to the report, the lack of growth in the Kenyan market has impeded both T-Kash and Airtel Money. This might give Telkom’s mobile app a better chance over M-PESA, which currently holds 99 percent of the country’s market share.

In a previous regulatory intervention, the Central Bank of Kenya encouraged Safaricom to provide bill payment interoperability between itself, T-Kash, and Airtel Money, allowing consumers to send and receive money from any network interchangeably. However, this has had little effect since most consumers choose M-PESA over this method.

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There are plans to additionally enable agent interoperability, which would allow consumers to withdraw or deposit monies at any mobile money agent using any mobile money wallet.

On agent interoperability, M-PESA by Safaricom is the market leader with over 260K mobile money agents.

T-Kash ranks third with 8,0K agents, followed by Airtel Money with 22,8K agents.

June 26, 2022
Shoprite Group Launches SMME Division

Shoprite, the African largest supermarket retailer, operating more than 2,943 stores across Africa has introduced a new division known as Shoprite Next Capital, which will contribute to the growth of small and medium-sized businesses that are commercially viable while also providing access to its market for those businesses.

The Shoprite Group asserts that Shoprite Next Capital is the formalization of the crucial role it plays in the success of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMMEs) by providing access to its consumer market.

Maude Modise, GM for Enterprise & Supplier Development at the Group explained that “With Shoprite Next Capital our aim is to further enhance the participation of small and emerging suppliers in our business. Our focus will be on their specific needs and how best we can assist them,”

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Also, the entrepreneurs will be supported with marketing opportunities, working capital assistance, packaging and labeling support, data sharing, product range, and geographic expansion.

“This new division will provide SMMEs with easier entry into the Group’s retail market with direct access to buyers that understand their needs combined with personalized growth plans that will assist suppliers to scale up gradually,” Modise adds.

Remarks

During Modise’s remarks at the launch event held in Johannesburg on Tuesday evening, he explained that Shoprite Next Capital is a continuation of the retailer’s mutually beneficial partnership with its small suppliers.

“In the last fiscal year, we procured 32% more than in the previous year, from small suppliers, this has facilitated the expansion of a number of these suppliers both geographically and via product extension,” Modise explained.

According to the Group, its goal is to develop, capacitate, sustain, and grow small South African businesses, create jobs, and increase the localization of goods.

Shoprite Next Capital will serve as a one-stop-shop for SMME partners, offering marketing opportunities, working capital assistance, packaging and labeling assistance, data sharing, product range and geographic expansion, and potential private label partnerships.

Shoprite Partners With Suppliers

Shoprite has always worked with small and medium-sized businesses, but the creation of this division brings with its staff and resources that are solely devoted to meeting the requirements of SMMEs.

“The Group has always partnered with small suppliers, but now we are giving them additional focus and allocating dedicated buyers, essentially creating a separate value chain to the bigger supply chain system,” says Modise.

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Shoprite’s current suppliers include farming couple Nonhlanhla Mokoena Chimhandamba and Simbarashe Chimhandamba, who provide products from their Urban Grown Organics business, and Eiren Drake’s chicken feet and neck canning business Tin Stuf.

Observation

Shoprite opened its first stores in 1979 and has been thriving over the past 40 years with more than 2 943 stores across Africa and over 149 000 employees which serves local communities of 24 million people with the lowest price promise.

June 26, 2022
Telegram Unveils New Premium Features

Telegram, a platform for sending encrypted messages that combines private messaging and social networking in a unique way, has announced the launch of its Premium paid subscription service for its users.

In a post, the instant messaging app also said that it now has more than 700 million monthly active users and will be one of the top five most downloaded apps in the world in 2022, even though it doesn’t have a way to make money.

“Telegram became one of the top-5 downloaded apps worldwide in 2022 and now has over 700 million monthly active users.” This growth is solely from personal recommendations—Telegram has never paid to advertise its apps.

As Telegram keeps growing at rocket speed, many users have expressed their will to support our team. Today we’re launching Telegram Premium – a subscription that lets you support Telegram’s continued development and gives you access to exclusive additional features. “

Furthermore, they revealed that this came into existence because users have also been requisitioning those features.

“This will allow us to offer all the resource-heavy features users have asked for over the years while preserving free access to the most powerful messenger on the planet.”

Telegram Premium Subscription

Although the company has not yet disclosed how much it will charge for the premium tier, it appears that the monthly subscription will cost between $4.99 and $6. However, there’s no pressure on the user to go for it. The free version will still get improvements.

At the beginning of this month, Pavel Durov, the founder and CEO of Telegram, said that the decision to launch a premium tier was made because users wanted more storage and bandwidth.

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“After giving it some thought, we realized that the only way to let our most demanding fans get more while keeping our existing features free is to make those raised limits a paid option,” he said.

With this move, the Dubai-based company wants to make sure that its growth is “driven primarily by its users, not by advertisers,” it said. It’s also the first time a messaging app with hundreds of millions of users has added a paid subscription. Some of Telegram’s biggest competitors, like Signal, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Apple’s Messages, and Google’s Messages, don’t have a premium service.

The New Features and Benefits

With a Telegram Premium subscription, the user can get things like doubled limits, 4 GB file uploads, faster downloads, exclusive stickers and reactions, better chat management, and more.

Also, people who don’t pay for Premium will be able to use some of its features, like downloading extra-large files and seeing stickers sent by Premium users. They will also be able to tap into premium reactions already added to a message to make the counter go up.

The New features include

4 GB Uploads

Subscribers to Telegram Premium can now send 4 GB files, which is enough space for 4 hours of 1080p video or 18 days of high-quality audio.

Double Limit

Premium users can do almost everything in the app and more. With Premium, you can follow up to 1000 channels, create up to 20 chat folders with up to 200 chats each, add a fourth account to any Telegram app, pin 10 chats to the main list, and save up to 10 favorite stickers.

Voice-to-Text

Voice messages can be converted to text if you don’t want to listen. Ratings help improve transcriptions.

Chat Management

There are new ways to organize your chat list with Telegram Premium. For example, you can change your default chat folder so that the app always opens in a custom folder or, say, Unread instead of All Chats.

Animated Profile Pictures

Everyone will be able to see the profile videos of premium users everywhere in the app, even in chats and on the chat list. Show off your new look or show off your creativity with a unique animation that loops.

Premium Badges

All premium users get a badge that shows up next to their name in the chat list, chat headers, and member lists in groups. This shows that they help support Telegram and are part of a club that gets special features first.

And More

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Observations

Through the sale of 5-year pre-IPO convertible bonds beginning in March 2021, Telegram was able to raise more than $1 billion from a variety of investors, including Mubadala and Abu Dhabi Catalyst Partners.

Premium users won’t see any ads anywhere in the app, including in chats and the main chat section on the homepage.

Most of the new improvements are for iOS, iPad OS, and macOS. They include public group join requests, new animations in file-sharing; bot improvements; 120Hz ProMotion support; and bug fixes.

June 23, 2022
UBA Redeems $500million in a 5-year Eurobond Note

United Bank for Africa Plc, a pan-African financial services group with headquarters in Lagos and also known as Africa’s Global Bank, redeemed its $500 million 5-year Eurobond notes on June 8th, 2022.

The investment bonds with a maturity of five years and a coupon rate of 7.75 percent were issued in 2017.

More About The Eurobond Note

A cash tender offer was used in November 2021 by the Group to repurchase $310.9 million worth of the notes. This action was part of the liability management strategy implemented by UBA. Both the outstanding part, which was $189.1 million, and the coupon, which was $7.3 million, were paid when the bond matured.

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Kennedy Uzoka, GMD/CEO of UBA said “The Group’s selective participation in international debt markets is a testament to UBA’s robust and prudent liquidity management strategies, coupled with a very strong and diversified asset and liability management process.”

Uzoka added, “Our significant customer base, diversified geographical spread, and multiple decades of proven track record, continue to ensure that UBA is the preferred destination for investors, individuals, and businesses alike”.

Observations

UBA is a leading African financial institution that provides banking and financial services to over 33 million customers all over the world. It has a presence in 20 African countries, one of which is Nigeria, as well as operations in France and the United Kingdom, and it is the only sub-Saharan African bank that has a deposit-taking license in the United States. This makes it the only bank in Africa that falls into this category.

June 16, 2022
Apple unveils watchOS 9 New Health Features

Apple has released a major update to watchOS 9 during the WWDC 2022 keynote which includes new health features. Apple will introduce new apps such as AFib history, a workout app, a sleep tracking app, and so on.

Apple’s VP of health Dr. Sumbul Desai, operations chief Jeff Williams, and VP of fitness technologies Jay Blahnik spoke with TechCrunch’s Darrell Etherington following the WWDC 2022 keynote last week about new health features in watchOS 9. During this interview, they discussed elaborately the new and improved health-related functions that are available in watchOS 9.

New Health Features for WatchOS 9

The Apple Watch’s new health features include:

AFib History

This feature allows people who have been diagnosed with atrial fibrillation to see how often their heart is in this type of arrhythmia.

Apple states that the feature is intended for individuals diagnosed with atrial fibrillation who are at least 22 years old. Desai confirmed that the AFib History feature received FDA approval in the United States following clinical validation.

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“As Jeff alluded to, everything we do in health is based on the science, and AFib history was validated in a clinical study, with participants wearing both Apple Watch and an FDA-cleared reference device,” said Desai. “In that study, the average difference in weekly measurements between the two devices is actually less than 1%.”

Sleep Stage Tracking

Additionally, the Apple Watch is equipped with sleep stage tracking, which enables the wearer to view the amount of time spent in each of the three stages of sleep (REM, core, and deep sleep), as well as the time at which they may have awakened. (Apple uses the term “core sleep” to refer to what is commonly referred to as “light sleep.”)

“Prior to sleep stages, we were really focused on helping people meet their sleep duration goals since that’s really important — that consistency — but we wanted to go a little further and dig into the science, and provide users with more information around their sleep cycles,” said Desai. “So using the signals from Apple Watch’s accelerometer and heart rate sensor, users will now be able to see their sleep stages while they’re in REM, core, and deep sleep.”

Fitness Tracking

The company developed its fitness features from relatively simple activity tracking to an advanced suite of metrics management and a variety of professional, guided workouts. This includes three new metrics for runners that can help avoid injuries, including stride length, ground contact time, and vertical oscillation

With this app, you can keep track of a variety of personal data, including your heart rate zone, power, and elevation.

According to Blahnik, this application will be beneficial for “advanced as well as beginner athletes.”

June 16, 2022