Toni Hobrecht
The Apple Watch Series 9 has only been on the market for a few weeks. Nevertheless, a Bloomberg report has just come out that already offers deep insights into future Apple smartwatches, some interesting revelations about their past, and speculation about new health monitoring features. Accordingly, the Apple Watch Series 10 will have blood pressure measurement and sleep apnea monitoring. The watches are intended to create an even more comprehensive health profile of the user.
Apple also hopes to offer non-invasive blood glucose monitoring on its future smartwatches for pre-diabetic conditions. The focus is not on medical-quality measurements. It’s more about identifying trends in users’ blood sugar level data and issuing appropriate warnings if necessary. Apple, on the other hand, is reportedly not interested in providing post-illness health care to diabetics, according to a company insider.
Apple’s approach is based on short-wave infrared absorption spectroscopy. The infrared light shines through the user’s skin between the blood vessels and cells. Then the reflected light is measured to calculate the glucose concentration in the bloodstream.
The new Bloomberg report also details some flashbacks to the early days of Apple Watch development, which began at the end of Steve Jobs’ tenure as chief. Jobs reportedly hired several senior executives to work on a non-invasive blood glucose meter. Apple then founded a startup called Avolonte Health, which worked to make the blood glucose monitor for the Apple Watch Series 1 a reality. However, the idea came a little too early for the available technology.
Avolonte resided in a small two-story building in Palo Alto, California, just 15 minutes from Apple headquarters. The startup employed a mix of engineers, health consultants, medical device experts and sleep scientists as employees. Apple had also planned to make the Apple Watch and Apple Health compatible with Android devices. Ultimately, the plan was scrapped because the Apple Watch also boosted iPhone sales.
