The Apple Watch reportedly won't get the much-awaited blood pressure and blood glucose monitoring features until at least 2024. Ever since its introduction in 2015, the Apple Watch has remained one of the best-selling wearables in the world. It has seen multiple iterations over the years, with the latest generation released late last year. It comes with several essential health and safety features, including ECG and fall detection, that have saved the lives of many users over the years.
While the Apple Watch comes with many features that make it popular among smartwatch buyers, it also lacks some sensors found in other devices. One such example is the thermometer, which can be found on many other smartwatches and fitness trackers, including the Fitbit Sense, the Mobvoi TicWatch GTH and the Amazfit GTS 2e/GTS 2e, etc. What's more, recent reports suggest that the Galaxy Watch 5 may also include a thermometer to measure body temperature.
Apple has reportedly postponed its plans to add a blood pressure monitor to its next-gen smartwatch. According to Bloomberg, which claims that the company has been having trouble with the new feature, and it is unlikely to be ready until 2024 "at the earliest." If things continue to go south, it might even be pushed back to 2025. The report claims that Apple is currently conducting trials of blood pressure monitoring technology on employees. However, the results are still not as accurate and consistent as Apple would want.
Blood Sugar Monitoring Isn't Coming Any Time Soon, Either
According to the report, the new feature in the Apple Watch won't give specific systolic and diastolic readings, unlike medical-grade blood pressure monitoring devices typically used by doctors. Instead, it would warn users if they are understood to have hypertension (high blood pressure). The report also seemingly confirms rumors that Apple is also working on adding non-invasive blood sugar monitoring technology to the Apple Watch to help people with diabetes monitor their glucose levels. However, that feature is still "several years away" from materializing.
Despite the setback with the blood pressure monitoring system, Apple is reportedly working on many other new technologies for its next-gen Apple Watch. One of the new features is said to be a "body-temperature sensor" that will likely make its way to the Apple Watch Series 8 this year. However, it is being designed to help with fertility planning, which means it would not show actual readings. Finally, with watchOS 9, the Apple Watch's atrial fibrillation (AFib) detection feature will also be able to calculate how often a person is in a state of atrial fibrillation over a certain period.
Source: Bloomberg