Apple’s smartwatch could finally get two long-awaited features in 2024: blood pressure monitoring and sleep apnea detection.
According to Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman, an often-reliable source of leaks, Apple’s first version of the technology will feature a “pathbreaking” sensor capable of detecting hypertension.
“The system is designed to just tell a user if their blood pressure is trending upward and to offer a journal for the user to jot down what was happening when hypertension occurred,” writes Gurman.
In the future, the wearable will be able to diagnose other blood pressure-related conditions, but those features “remain far off,” according to Gurman. Along with blood pressure monitoring, Apple’s next Apple Watch will feature sleep apnea detection by monitoring sleep and breathing patterns. If it detects the user suffers from sleep apnea, it will direct them to visit a doctor.
For years, glucose monitoring has been rumoured to be coming to the Apple Watch. Early this year, Bloomberg reported that no-prick blood glucose monitoring was in the “proof-of-concept” stage, but that the feature was likely still a ways off.
Gurman goes on to mention that Apple is also looking into allowing its AirPods to work as hearing aids and that it has plans to use its Vision Pro augmented reality/virtual reality headset for health purposes with the help of a full-body tracking system.
Though it’s still unclear, blood pressure monitoring will likely make its way to the Apple Watch Series 9 and the Apple Watch Ultra.
