New Vision Health Features Available on Apple Products

HOT TOPIC

Apple has announced the arrival of new health features in iOS 17, iPadOS17, and watchOS 10. New vision health features encourage healthy behaviors that help reduce the risk of myopia, and the Health app, available on iPhone and iPad, gives users new ways to see their health data.

With watchOS 10, Apple Watch introduces the ability to measure time spent outside in natural daylight using the ambient light sensor. Users can then view the amount of time spent in daylight detected by the watch in the Health app on iOS 17 and iPadOS 17. Parents can also pair their own iPhone to their children’s watches to monitor the amount of time their children are spending outside.

The Screen Distance feature on iPhone and iPad is another exciting new aspect that uses the iPhone and iPad’s TrueDepth camera (the technology that powers FaceID) to encourage users to move their digital device farther away after holding it closer than 12 inches for an extended period of time.

In addition to the new vision health features, new mental health features allow users to log their momentary emotions and daily moods, see valuable insights, and access assessments and resources. (Read more here.)

OUTSIDE THE LANE

The Ultimate VR Headset

In other Apple news, the company recently unveiled its own virtual reality headset, the Vision Pro, to be launched in early 2024. Apple isn’t calling the Vision Pro a virtual reality headset, however; it’s a spatial computer that seamlessly blends digital content with the physical world while allowing users to stay present and connected to others.

Image courtesy of Apple.

My Two Cents

Coming in at a hefty $3,499 price tag, I bet that, like other Apple products, there will be a nonpro line available in the not-so-distant future that will be more affordable. From an eye care practitioner standpoint, Apple has already addressed the need for prescription lenses that would be required to use the product and have stated that an additional cost will be associated with prescription lenses, although it has not detailed the exact cost just yet. These Zeiss Optical Inserts will then magnetically attach to the headset’s lenses. To obtain them, patients will need an active copy of their prescription from their optometrist.

Knowing just how unique everyone’s faces and heads are, Apple seems to have a variety of “light seals” sizes and shapes to help give a precise fit, as well as various adjustable straps and headbands. Kind of like the ultimate binocular indirect ophthalmoscope! (Similar price tags as well.)

CAN YOU RELATE

Last week, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis vetoed Senate Bill 230, which would have prohibited a Florida doctor of optometry from using the term “optometric physician.” It would have gone so far as to make it a felony to do so.

American Optometric Association President Ronald L. Brenner, OD, stated that, “Governor DeSantis’ decisive action today is a powerful message of support for and recognition of optometry’s essential and expanding role in health care.”

The bill, titled “An Act Relating to Health Care Practitioner Titles and Designations,” was aggressively fought by optometrists from around the county, their friends, and their patients, with thousands of emails and phone calls being made to the Governor’s office, letting him know of optometry’s important role and the obviously discriminatory base of the bill.

Although we can mark this as a victory for optometry, it’s still a frustrating fight to have to wage. As you read this, there are undoubtedly groups in multiple states that are gearing up to introduce similar bills. It’s important that we as a profession continue to stand guard against such hateful bills and continue to keep our friends in the legislature.

You’ve surely all read about the bill and this news of its failure. We asked the governor to please veto this bill, and he did just that. I think it’s important for us to send a (phone or email) communication saying thank you. Not only is it good manners, but that extra communication will keep us at the forefront of his mind!