Amid reports that the Apple Watch Series 7 is facing production delays and won’t feature any new health sensor technology, a new report today reiterates that the Apple Watch is still “at the center of Apple’s health ambitions.” Apple is exploring a variety of new health features for the Apple Watch for the coming years, the Wall Street Journal says today.
The fertility feature could be available on a new Apple Watch in 2022, alongside improvements to the device’s irregular heartbeat and sleep tracking systems. According to The Wall Street Journal, most of Apple’s more ambitious health projects won’t debut on the “Apple Watch Series 7.”
In the future, Apple is also working on mechanisms that could allow its smartwatch to detect sleep apnea, provide medical guidance for low blood oxygen levels, and maybe spot diabetes. Although one use of the aforementioned thermometer would be a fertility tracking feature, Apple may want to add fever tracking as well. Although Apple is working on a system to track and report a user’s blood pressure, some staffers have questioned how useful the feature would be.
One of Apple’s reported aims is for its watch to take a person’s temperature by next year, which could also be used for fertility planning by giving women clues about where they are in their ovulation cycle, a source said.
The information comes from internal Apple documents and employees at the company. However, the sources cautioned that any of the features might change before they roll out — or may never launch at all.
Apple has made health and fitness one of the key elements of the Apple Watch. With the Apple Watch Series 6 last year, Apple introduced a sensor that can measure blood oxygen level and unveiled Fitness Plus, a subscription service offering workout routines and more. The continued push to add more sensors and health tools could help keep the Apple Watch ahead of competitors also looking to secure a place on people’s wrists by offering improved health tech.
Separately from the planned new features, Apple is also reportedly pushing the Food and Drug Administration to approve updates to its existing Apple Watch health features.
No major new health sensors are currently expected on the “Apple Watch Series 7,” which is likely to debut at a keynote event later in September. The update is said to be focused on speedier performance and a new design.
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