Apple Watch 7 killer upgrade teased in new survey

Apple Watch vii killer upgrade teased in new survey

(Paradigm credit: Tom'south Guide)

Persistent rumors about a future Apple Spotter'due south benefit to diabetics and weight watchers just got a scrap more extra acceptance from Apple itself.

A Brazilian reader of 9to5Mac was sent a survey enquiring about Apple Lookout man health-tracking habits and asking which of the current watchOS features are the most useful. The survey then went on to ask respondents whether they use third-party apps to rail workouts rails and eating habits and, crucially, whether they use apps to monitor medications and blood sugar levels.

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Information technology's more evidence that the company's long-running ambition to launch an Apple Watch with built-in not-invasive blood glucose monitoring is close to being fulfilled. While an Apple survey isn't cast-iron proof every bit such, they take often signalled the way the company will imminently turn, as anybody who received the survey about old iPhone chargers will know.

The Holy Grail of health tracking

Blood glucose tracking has been a target for Apple tree for years, and CEO Tim Cook was fifty-fifty seen wearing what appeared to exist a prototype device way back in 2017.

The long route to it condign a characteristic is a reflection of both how difficult the challenge is, and the importance of getting it right. While blood sugar levels are a useful metric for people looking to lose weight, for diabetics the knowledge is of paramount importance, and a flakey, inaccurate sensor just wouldn't do.

Only if the implementation is done right, it could be a game changer — non to the lowest degree considering the current medical-grade hardware is so expensive. As we explained last year, some third-party hardware is compatible with Apple Watch, but it'southward extremely expensive. A continuous monitoring system such equally Dexcom costs $245 for transmitters and $1,035 for a three-month supply of sensors, and even a cheaper transmission system like One Drop costs betwixt $31 and $90 a month, depending on how many daily tests you administer.

Last calendar week, rumors of Apple's plans became even stronger when it was revealed that the company was the biggest customer of Rockley Photonics, a U.K. business that specializes in authentic sensors for various blood signals including glucose and alcohol levels. In its SEC documents, Rockley claims that its lasers offer "up to 1,000,000 times college resolution, 1,000 times higher accuracy and 100 times broader range in wavelengths" than existing wearable LEDs.

That all sounds very promising, but the big question is whether this implementation volition make the Apple tree Watch vii, or whether it won't go far until the 2022 version of the vesture. Rockley CEO Andrew Rickman said he expected the engineering to be in wearables next year, which certainly makes it sound like an Apple Watch viii thing.

But that's not to say that Apple tree won't have something in place for the Apple Watch 7. It wouldn't be the get-go time the company had introduced a basic feature so improved it over subsequent generations, after all.

More:Help me, Tom'due south Guide – I need an Apple Lookout to monitor my diabetes

Freelance contributor Alan has been writing about tech for over a decade, covering phones, drones and everything in betwixt. Previously Deputy Editor of tech site Alphr, his words are institute all over the web and in the occasional mag too. When not weighing upwards the pros and cons of the latest smartwatch, you'll probably detect him tackling his ever-growing games backlog. Or, more than likely, playing Spelunky for the millionth fourth dimension.