Apple Watch Can Now Measure Blood Pressure!

Both Samsung and Apple are thought to be working on a way for their smartwatches to offer blood glucose testing for people with diabetes.

More than 200 million insulin-dependent diabetics around the world need to take a very expensive test to determine their insulin dose.

People with diabetes stick themselves with a short needle called a “lancet” to measure their blood levels. A drop of blood is then placed on a strip on the glucometer and the result can be seen.

Glucose measurement on the Apple Watch or Galaxy Watch is unlikely to come anytime soon, but work is underway to enable insulin-dependent diabetics to continuously monitor their blood glucose with sensors in the watch.

What Features Are Coming to the New Apple Watch?

Another major feature that could appear in the upcoming Series 10 (or X) version of the Apple Watch could appear in updates to the watch. Mark Gurman writes in his latest article, “…all signs point to the new Apple Watch gaining a blood pressure controller this fall.” Gurman notes that the feature will not be added to past models via a software update. That means the feature may require new sensors added to the device this year.

Last December, Gurman noted that the plan was for first-generation devices to alert users when their blood pressure was high and suggest they make an appointment with their doctor. In the second generation, the Apple Watch will be able to offer a real and accurate blood pressure measurement for the user.

Currently, there are watches that claim to monitor the user’s blood pressure. But for these watches to be accurate, they need to be ideally positioned and have inflatable cuffs inside the watch band.

Watches that use an inflatable cuff, such as the Huawei Watch D, are able to provide medical-grade blood pressure measurements based on Chinese standards.

Apple Watch Series 10 (or X) is expected to be unveiled in September.