The Apple Watch Series 10 can detect sleep apnea, take ECG readings, and monitor heart rate and blood oxygen levels. Photo: HWZ
Apple's development of non-invasive blood glucose monitoring technology could take several more years to yield results, according to Mark Gurman of Bloomberg.
The extended timeline comes as a surprise, given Gurman's 2023 report that said Apple made significant progress. At the time, Apple had developed an iPhone-sized prototype, which it needed to shrink down to fit the Apple Watch.
Despite Apple's vast financial resources and talent pool, its slow progress is puzzling. A senior Samsung executive shared that the company has made good progress on a "noninvasive optically-based continuous glucose monitor" for the Galaxy Watch series.
Smart ring maker Circular also announced last month that it plans to bring blood glucose trend tracking to its Ring 2 device in late 2026. The Ring 2 uses photoplethysmography (PPG) sensors and machine learning algorithms to monitor how light interacts with blood to track glucose fluctuations. That said, since neither Samsung's or Circular's technology is available in the market yet, it remains to be seen how accurate and reliable it is and will be.
The pragmatic way of looking at it is that Apple is taking its time to refine the technology, and to ensure it's accurate enough to make a meaningful difference. However, there's no question that Apple's lack of progress is also worrying.
Is this another sign of Apple losing its technological edge? The company reportedly shut down two major projects last year: the Apple Car and the microLED Apple Watch Ultra. Will non-invasive blood glucose monitoring technology be the next setback?
For now, Apple is expected to introduce blood pressure monitoring and satellite connectivity to the Apple Watch Ultra 3.
Source: Bloomberg via MacRumors
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