Skip to main content

See this newborn baby’s heartbeat sent out into the world using an Apple Watch

The proud parents of this newborn baby used an Apple Watch to announce its arrival into the world, by sending its heartbeat out to far-flung family members not at the birth. While it may seem like a story lifted straight from an Apple TV commercial, this isn’t a tale dreamed up by Apple’s marketing team.

A video showing what happened appeared on YouTube over the weekend. Posted by AlphaGlitch, it describes the event as “A really awesome experience that we couldn’t have done without the Apple Watch.”

Recommended Videos

What exactly happened? One of the most unusual features of the Apple Watch is Digital Touch, which can send a digital representation of a heartbeat to another Apple Watch wearer. It’s activated when two fingers are lightly pressed against the screen.

In the video, the Apple Watch — a Sport model — is placed against a baby’s arm, a contact with an Apple Watch is selected, and the heart rate is sent. The recipient would have felt the heartbeat through Apple’s excellent haptic feedback, and seen an animated heart beating on the screen. According to a report by ABC7, the heartbeat was sent out without telling people it was actually the new baby’s. It was only later on the good news was revealed as a surprise.

Digital Touch is one of our favorite features of the Apple Watch. It’s a unique and surprisingly personal messaging tool that provided you’re contacting someone who will welcome your heartbeat, takes connecting with someone digitally to a new level. It only works between Apple Watch wearers, and the feature can also be used to “tap” another wearer’s wrist, or to send emojis and little hand-drawn pictures.

Recently, Samsung promoted its Gear VR virtual reality headset by setting up a virtual delivery room for a father suddenly separated from his family, just as a new member of it was about to be born.

Andy Boxall
Andy is a Senior Writer at Digital Trends, where he concentrates on mobile technology, a subject he has written about for…
Apple Watch SE 3: Everything you need to know
Apple Watch SE 2 with protective case and generic Alpine Loop-style strap.

The Apple Watch is one of the most sought-after wearables on the market, but it can cost a pretty penny. Just as the now-defunct iPhone SE lineup offered an affordable alternative to iPhones, the Apple Watch SE is a more budget-friendly alternative to the main Apple Watch. The Apple Watch SE 3 is on its way, and it's poised to shake up the wearable market in some exciting ways.

Of course, all of this information is gathered through rumors and leaks. Apple isn't one to spill details ahead of time, so what we're presenting here could change before launch. That said, if the Apple Watch SE 3 is anything like the Apple Watch SE 2, we're excited to get our hands on it.

Read more
Apple just dropped a new watch band and wallpapers for Pride 2025
Apple Pride 2025 collection.

Apple just announced its "2025 Pride Collection," which includes a new Sport Band for Apple Watch, a dynamic watch face, and a dynamic wallpaper that will be available for iOS and iPadOS. The watch band is available to order from today and the watch face/wallpapers will drop in upcoming software updates.

Apple has been releasing special edition watch bands for Pride Month for almost a decade now, each with a different take on the rainbow/multicolored design. This year's is pretty straightforward, making use of bold stripes of color just like actual pride flags.

Read more
Revisit the Apple Watch’s launch ads from exactly 10 years ago
The first Apple Watch

Following years of speculation, Apple finally announced its intention to enter the smartwatch sector in September 2014, releasing the first Apple Watch the following year on April 24. 

Exactly a decade on, now is as good a time as any to revisit the ads that gave everyone their very first look at Apple's debut smartwatch.

Read more