Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman reports that Apple still plans to offer new health features, including body temperature monitoring, to the Apple Watch this year. However, the Cupertino tech giant is experiencing development issues with its planned blood pressure and blood glucose monitoring systems.
Gurman’s sources tell him that 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, but accuracy has been a challenge during testing. The feature has been planned for at least four years, but it’s probably two years away from hitting the market and may slip until 2025, his sources said.
Apple is also working on non-invasive blood glucose monitoring. However, perfecting the feature is still believed to be several years away, with no specific target year being set as yet.
Short term, Apple is working on adding new women’s health features to the Apple Watch and iPhone. New sleep, fitness, and medication management features are also being added to the iPhone’s Health app.
The company is planning to add a body temperature sensor to the Apple Watch this model year, with the feature initially being pushed as a feature to aid fertility planning. Future Apple Watch models could determine if a user has a higher than normal body temperature, but it is unlikely that it will show an exact temperature measurement.
watchOS 9 is expected to offer an improved atrial fibrillation detection feature, boasting a new feature that can measure how long a person is in a state of atrial fibrillation across a certain period.
More workout types and additional metrics for running workouts may also make the scene in the Apple Watch’s Workout app.
The Health app in iOS 16 may boast expanded sleep tracking functionality, as well as add new medicine management and women’s health features.
While Apple is said to be developing a medicine management tool to the Health app, which will allow users to scan their pills into the app, providing reminders to take them. However, the first version of the feature will not likely include all of the features Apple has planned.