And someday it will hopefully be able to tell you to get a shot to protect yourself.
The Apple Watch already warns wearers of potentially dangerous heart conditions, sends the wearer recommendations to see a doctor and together with the Health app on the iPhone provides doctors and first responders with amazingly complete medical histories. In some cases unless the wearer responds to the watch/phone prompting the devices will call 911 and the wearer's designated emr=ergency contacts. So why not make a recommendation to seek medical attention for Coronavirus exposure?
Is it impossible for some reason for Apple to inject the API into older versions of iOS as a security update, similar to what they do with macOS, in order to reach a wider audience?
Good question! It would appear to depend on several factors...
- does the API rely on hardware functionlity that is not available in earlier versions of Bluetooth?
- how much re-design and re-work would be required in earlier iOS versions?
- how long would it take and how much would it cost to run every previous version of iOS software and compatible iOS devices through a complete release cycle including alpha and beta testing to assure there wold be no unintended consequences from the changes?
- given iOS upgrades/updates are generally very widely and rapidly adopted are there enough iOS devices out there still running outdated iOS hardware or software to make the effort worthwhile?
- given the upgrade rate and breadth of iOS update/upgrade acceptance, would adding something as esoteric as a "tracking API" encourage enough non-upgraders to upgrade (and install the necessary app) to make the development cost and effort worth-while?