According to people who are knowing the situation, Apple’s plan to include a much-anticipated blood-pressure monitor in its smartwatch has hit some snags, and the technology does not expect to be ready until 2024 at the earliest. The company has teams working on an updated sensor and software for the Apple Watch that would determine if a user has high blood pressure. Accuracy has been a challenge during testing, according to the people, who requested anonymity because the matter is private.
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In the coming years, blood-pressure monitoring capabilities may become a key selling point for smartwatches, but the technology has been challenging to master. Although Apple’s competitors, such as Samsung Electronics, have released watches with the capability, they require monthly calibration with a traditional monitor.
The iPhone maker is testing blood-pressure technology on its employees. Its proposed approach will not provide users with specific systolic and diastolic readings — the numbers used to assess blood pressure — but will instead warn those wearing the watch that they may have hypertension, or high blood pressure, and should consult a doctor or use a standard blood pressure checker.
The company is also working on adding non-invasive blood sugar monitoring to the watch, which could be beneficial to diabetics. That feature is still several years away and has yet to be assigned a release date. In the meantime, the company has discussed improving support for third-party glucose meters in both the watch and the iPhone’s Health app.
While Apple’s blood-pressure and glucose features are still in the works. The company is working on other improvements that will be available sooner. This includes new features for women’s health, sleep, fitness, and medication management.
Apple Watch: How Does it Work
Since the introduction in 2015, the Apple Watch has become an essential component of Apple’s hardware lineup. It is a division of the company’s wearables, home, and accessories division. Last year, sales in the segment increased by 25% to $38.4 billion (roughly Rs. 2,92,000 crore) — more revenue than the Mac or iPad.
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The company intends to include a body-temperature sensor in the watch as soon as this year. The feature, would initially be intending to aid in fertility planning. Future versions of the watch could expand the feature to determine if a user has a higher-than-normal body temperature, but it is unlikely to show an actual measurement, as it does with blood pressure.
Apple is also looking to expand the atrial fibrillation detection feature on its watch. In order to calculate “burden,” or how frequently a person is in an atrial fibrillation state over a given time period. That feature could appear in watchOS 9. The next software update will be releasing in June and included with the next generation of Apple watches in the fall.
Apple is also thinking of a new low-power mode for watchOS 9. This will allow its smartwatch to run some apps and features while consuming less battery life.
Currently, Apple Watch models in low-power mode — known as Power Reserve on the device — can only access the time. The company is also intending to update many of the built-in watch faces that are currently available with the device.
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