According to recent statements made by well-connected Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman, Apple’s intention to include a body temperature sensor in the Apple Watch Series 8 is becoming increasingly doubtful.
Apple is thought to have contemplated including a body temperature sensor in last year’s Apple Watch Series 7, but that didn’t happen, with Bloomberg speculating in June that it would most likely be included in the 2022 update instead. Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has previously expressed optimism that body temperature monitoring will be a feature of the Apple Watch Series 8.
In his monthly “Power On” newsletter, Gurman warns against reported Apple Watch body temperature, blood pressure, and blood sugar sensors, saying, “Don’t anticipate any of these soon.”
Body temperature was on this year’s roadmap, but chatter about it has slowed down recently. Blood pressure is at least two to three years away, while I wouldn’t be surprised if glucose monitoring doesn’t land until later in the second half of the decade.
A body temperature measurement capability for Apple Watch, when it becomes available, would be useful for fertility tracking and sleep tracking, and in the future, it may detect whether a user has a fever.
Apple is also believed to be working on a method for non-invasively measuring blood glucose levels using optical sensors, which might provide diabetics with a far easier approach to control their condition because it wouldn’t require puncturing the skin.
Apple was revealed earlier this year as the largest customer of the British electronics start-up Rockley Photonics, which creates non-invasive optical sensors for monitoring several blood-related health metrics such as blood pressure, blood glucose, and blood alcohol levels.
Rockley’s admission that Apple is its largest client came as the business prepared to go public in New York. Given Rockley Photonics’ rapid growth and the scope of Apple’s cooperation with the company, it appears like the company’s health sensor technology will eventually make its way to the Apple Watch, just not this year.