The longstanding rumors of an Apple Watch with blood sugar monitoring just gained some credibility. The Telegraph and Forbes report that UK health tech firm Rockley Photonics recently confirmed in an SEC filing that Apple has been its largest customer for the past two years, and that it has a continuing deal to develop future products. Rockley's focus has been on sensors that track blood glucose, pressure and even alcohol levels, suggesting that at least one of these features will be available in a future Apple Watch.
Apple's support
for diabetics has so far been limited to carrying third-party monitors in its
stores.
There's no guarantee the Rockley deal
will lead to shipping products. Apple hasn't been shy about focusing the Apple
Watch on health, however, and there's plenty of industry interest in developing
wearable blood sugar sensors that don't require needles. If Apple can build the
technology into a mainstream product like the Watch, it could offer an
advantage to anyone tired of jabbing themselves to keep their diabetes in
check.
Rockley's other
technologies could help, too. Blood pressure tracking could alert you to issues
like stress, and alcohol monitoring might keep your drinking in moderation.
Whether or not that's feasible is another matter. Apple still has to consider
factors like battery life and price, and it's entirely possible that you could
be waiting a while for all these features (assuming they ever ship) even if the
tech is otherwise ready.
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