Earlier this year, it was reported that Apple and Samsung smartwatches might add blood glucose monitoring to their arsenal of health and wellness capabilities. Now, The Telegraph reports that Apple has joined hands with a British company named Rockley Photonics and is exploring advanced capabilities such as blood glucose monitoring, alcohol level measurement, and blood pressure measurement for its future smartwatches. 

Blood alcohol level and blood pressure measurement are also a possibility

As per Rockley Photonics’ SEC filing, Apple is among the company’s largest clients and is poised to be a major contributor to its revenue in the foreseeable future. Or in simple words, Apple is a deep-pocket client with a long-lasting collaboration. But how does the collaboration translate to advanced features for the upcoming generation of Apple Watch, specifically with regards to blood glucose and alcohol level measurement? Well, here is what the British company mentions in its SEC filing: 

The company also makes it clear that it is working on the consumer healthcare segment via wearable devices. We have developed a unique sensing platform that we believe can reshape the wellness and healthcare industries through multiple applications in non-invasive, multi-modal biomarker monitoring,” Rockley Photonics adds in its SEC filing. Are we going to see this capability on the Apple Watch Series 7? There are rumors which claim so.

Now, blood glucose monitoring will be a major upgrade for the Apple Watch when it comes to its health and wellness capabilities. Over the years, the Apple Watch has received its fair share of acclaim for the ECG feature (saving multiple lives that have received media coverage too), and then the blood oxygen measurement capability that arrived with the Apple Watch Series 6. Do keep in mind that the blood glucose level measurement capability on the Apple Watch will be a non-invasive method. 

10.5% of the US population is diabetic, which means Apple has a huge opportunity here

Adding blood glucose measurement capability will be a huge upgrade, especially for folks with diabetes. As per the National Diabetes Statistics Report (2020) commissioned by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a total of 34.2 million people have diabetes, which amounts to roughly 10.5% of the US population. Having a smart wearable that could measure the blood glucose level in real-time will come in handy for diabetic folks, who have to be particularly careful with their meal and diet plans. And if executed well, this could be yet another feature that will position the Apple Watch in a class of its own. 


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