Conceptualizing a non-invasive glucose monitoring sensor took birth when Steve Jobs was still the head honcho at the now trillion-dollar technology behemoth, with the idea being that Apple Watch users could monitor their sugar levels. If they were pre-diabetic, they could take steps to ensure that their condition normalizes.
Unfortunately, despite previously reported to have hit major milestones with this feature, a new report states that Apple is still years away from making this addition a reality. The lack of new health-focused sensors can also mean that the company’s smartwatches could witness a shipments decline, as customers will have less of an incentive to upgrade if they are no discerning internal changes to look forward to.
Earlier, it was reported that non-invasive blood glucose monitoring could take around seven years to arrive for the Apple Watch
To initiate a blood sugar test requires the use of penetrating the skin for further analysis, but with the Apple Watch sporting a non-invasive function, users would be able to monitor this specific vital in real-time and make adjustments to their lifestyle accordingly. For years now, Apple has been trying to incorporate the use of optical absorption spectroscopy and lasers to determine the glucose’s concentration without needing to puncture the skin.
Unfortunately, those efforts have yet to bear fruit, as Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman writes in his ‘Power On’ newsletter that the feature is years away. MacRumors got a hold of the details, and writes that Gurman previously mentioned that Apple was testing a health-focused app that aimed towards diabetes prevention. In 2023, the non-invasive blood glucose monitoring reached a ‘proof of concept’ stage, resulting in a functional prototype.
However, the biggest hurdle at the time was that it was too large to be outfitted in an Apple Watch. Despite the Cupertino firm having employed hundreds of engineers at its Exploratory Design Group (XDG) division, they are nowhere close to scaling this obstacle. Previously, Gurman stated that the blood glucose monitoring sensor would take around seven years to arrive, but looking at the recent update, it could take longer.
While Apple attempts to overcome various limitations, Samsung has been reported to be working on the same feature. As you would expect, we have yet to hear any development progress on that front, hinting that the Korean giant is facing the same problem as its rival.
