If you're over 65 years and meet some of the other requirements, you may be able to purchase an Apple Watch Series 5 for just $49 and all you need to do is sign up for a new watchOS health study.
Heartline health study
Apple is teaming up with Johnson & Johnson and Best Buy for a new health study called Heartline and is looking to recruit 150,000 volunteers for the same. Launched last week, the study aims to establish whether or not the Apple Watch can accurately detect atrial fibrillation, or an irregular heart rhythm, in senior individuals.
To be more specific, Heartline's main objective is to determine whether or not the Apple Watch can successfully detect AFib early enough to reduce the likelihood of a stroke and those over the age of 65 are at much higher risk than their younger counterparts.
Chance to buy an Apple Watch for $49
While Apple conducts heart-related studies all the time, this one's worth participating in for several reasons, but one that stands out is that they'll stand a chance to buy an Apple Watch Series 5 for a knockdown price of $49, excluding tax.
People selected from the study will be sorted into one of two groups: half of the participants will be instructed to use the new Heartline app that will receive heart health education and tips designed for those aged 65 and older.
The remaining half will use both the app and an Apple Watch to detect heartbeat irregularities by wearing the device daily for the active two-year duration of the study. Those selected to use the Apple Watch will be eligible to purchase the smartwatch for a heavily subsidised price of $49 plus tax. That's a sizeable discount from the $399 price tag of the Apple Watch Series 5.
The study is also open to those who already own an Apple watch, and some participants may receive monetary compensation of up to $US150 ($228) simply for participating in the research.
What are the requirements?
The criteria for participants of the study is as follows:
- Must be 65 or older; you do not need a prior AFib diagnosis to qualify.
- Be a U.S. resident with original Medicare coverage.
- Own an iPhone 6 or newer with iOS 12.2 or higher.
