It could also gain alcohol levels tracking.
Reports of Apple Watch with blood sugar monitoring started a few years ago. CNBC reported in 2017 that Apple has a covert team tasked to develop sensors to monitor blood sugar levels.
This team is a part of a super-secret initiative envisioned by Steve Jobs before his death.
Many companies have already tried but failed because it’s challenging to monitor glucose levels without the need to pierce the skin.
Rockley Photonics to Develop Glucose Monitoring Features on Apple Watch
But that was in 2017.
Recently, though, rumors about this sort of feature gained credibility when Forbes reported that Rockley Photonics, a health tech firm, confirmed that Apple has been its customer for the past two years.
It also stated that the firm has a continuing deal with the iPhone maker to develop its future products. Its focus is on sensors that can track blood glucose.
But that’s not all.
Rockley is also developing sensors that can monitor blood pressure and alcohol levels. In that case, one of these features could soon be available in a future Apple Watch.
Then again, this deal with Rockley will not guarantee that Apple will indeed add its sensors to its Apple Watch.
Several companies are interested in developing a wearable that comes with blood sugar sensors to avoid requiring needles just to check on blood glucose levels.
However, if Apple could, indeed, build such technology and install it in the Watch, then diabetics could benefit a lot from it.
But not just diabetics. People who don’t like pricking their skin just to keep their sugar in check can also take advantage of it.
When Will The Technology Become Available?
Andrew Rickman, Rockley’s CEO, anticipates the technology to be in consumer products by 2022. However, he didn’t state whether or not it will include Apple products.
But we can assume that the next Apple Watch Series 7 will be introduced in 2021 with blood glucose monitoring.
In other words, the next Apple Watch could be better in every way possible. It would also obtain a bigger market if it would add features, like glucose monitoring.
Blood Pressure Tracking
In addition to blood sugar monitoring, the next Apple Watch could also gain a technology that measures blood pressure. Rockley is also said to develop this sort of technology.
This feature could be useful to users who are monitoring their stress levels. It could help users in lowering the risk of heart disease, stroke, etc.
Each year, there are over 700,000 Americans who experience a stroke. And, in every 6 deaths, one of them is due to stroke.
If Apple Watch could gain blood pressure monitoring, it could help the general public.
And since Rockley is also developing technology that monitors alcohol levels, Apple Watch could gain such features as well. This, too, is useful for anyone who wants to keep his/her consumption in moderation.
Then again, Apple must still consider various factors before it will add those features. It means that we could wait for a lot longer for these features to be available.
