Apple Watch Series 10 will monitor blood pressure, detect sleep apnea

AppleInsiderAppleInsider
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in Apple Watch

A new report says that after a decade working on health features like blood pressure monitoring, Apple will be ready to add it to 2024's Apple Watch Series 10.

An Apple Watch showing a blood oxygen reading.
An Apple Watch showing a blood oxygen reading.



An Apple Watch blood pressure sensor has been rumored for years, but according to Bloomberg, it's also one of the features that Apple has been working on since the start of the Apple Watch.

Bloomberg's report is chiefly about claims that Apple prefers to concentrate on preventative care features, instead of "post-sick" ones. "Tim [Cook] and Jeff [Williams are so terrified of doing something wrong and are focused on protecting the company's image," one source told the publication.

This has reportedly frustrated doctors and other medical experts who have been hired by Apple. But at the same time, there are new health features that look to be finally near to being ready.

"The planned addition of a blood pressure sensor to the Apple Watch next year is a pathbreaking technology," says Bloomberg. "In its first iteration, however, 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."

"To avoid potentially giving a misdiagnosis, the feature will then direct a user to talk to their doctor or check their blood pressure with a traditional cuff," it continues, "which can provide exact systolic and diastolic measurements."

Apple is reportedly working on a further version that would give more exact readings, and potentially diagnose conditions. But this version is still a long way off.

A future Apple Watch blood glucose system is predicted to work in a similar way, with it monitoring trends rather than offering precise blood sugar readings.

It's not clear when that feature may come, but the 2024 Apple Watch Series 10 is also believed to include a sleep apnea detector.

But alongside the work with the Apple Watch, Apple is reportedly also looking to using both AirPods and Vision Pro as health tools.

As early as 2024, AirPods may be able to work as hearing aids, down to performing tests that are usually done by audiologists.

Then reportedly Apple is working to perfect a full-body tracking system for the Apple Vision Pro.

Separately, Apple has been said to be developing mental health features for the Vision Pro.

Read on AppleInsider

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 12
    danoxdanox Posts: 3,080member
    If the 2024 Apple Watch includes blood pressure monitoring I’m in……
    mdwSleepySheepwatto_cobrabyronl
  • Reply 2 of 12
    badmonkbadmonk Posts: 1,318member
    It amazes me Apple has yet to make a push into allowing AirPods to be used as hearing aids, such low lying fruit that would save consumers $1000s.
    appleinsideruserwatto_cobracg27FileMakerFellerjony0
  • Reply 3 of 12
    chasmchasm Posts: 3,403member
    badmonk said:
    It amazes me Apple has yet to make a push into allowing AirPods to be used as hearing aids, such low lying fruit that would save consumers $1000s.
    For those with modest hearing loss, the AirPods conversation focus feature is already functioning much like hearing aids. It will be interesting to see what Apple has in mind beyond what it can already do.

    As for the Apple Watch, if they can add BP monitoring — even at a very basic level — in Series 10, that would definitely get me to upgrade my Series 7 (which has been great).
    watto_cobraronnFileMakerFellerbyronljony0
  • Reply 4 of 12
    Panner_NuddingPanner_Nudding Posts: 11member
    Very unlikely if it is it certainly won’t be cleared by any health organizations. It will be a gimmick with a warning to see a doctor for an accurate measurement. 
    byronl
  • Reply 5 of 12
    freeassociate2freeassociate2 Posts: 189member
    Very unlikely if it is it certainly won’t be cleared by any health organizations. It will be a gimmick with a warning to see a doctor for an accurate measurement. 
    Most doctors (or their staff) aren’t taking accurate assessments.

    https://www.health.harvard.edu/heart-health/tips-to-measure-your-blood-pressure-correctly
    ronnFileMakerFellerbyronl
  • Reply 6 of 12
    wg45678wg45678 Posts: 47member
    A bit behind again. I have a Chinese sourced non-Apple Watch, that is pretty much spot on with blood pressure compared to an upper arm cuff measurement… after it was calibrated, using said cuff. Cost less than $50. it also measures heart rate, SPO2, and temperature — and makes a guesstimate about blood sugar. However, the glucose measurement is wildly off and not in the least reliable. So the BP technology has been around for a while and proven.  Apple’s just refused to include it.
    edited November 2023 byronl
  • Reply 7 of 12
    9secondkox29secondkox2 Posts: 2,891member
    Whoa.  Can’t wait!  Always been a healthy eater and very active/fit person but still developed hypertension. If Apple releases a watch with blood pressure monitoring - day one purchase. 

    Blood glucose would be huge for diabetics and pre-diabetics as well. 
    ronnbyronl
  • Reply 8 of 12
    9secondkox29secondkox2 Posts: 2,891member
    Panner_Nudding said:
    Very unlikely if it is it certainly won’t be cleared by any health organizations. It will be a gimmick with a warning to see a doctor for an accurate measurement. 
    Sad but true.  As a fitness buff and weightlifter, I’ve got 19.5 inch arms at 16% body fat. The nurses at my doctor office always read high blood pressure. Finally my doctor started investigating, used a more appropriate sized cuff along with manual measurement and there was a 15-20 point difference. What a relief! Now I have the right cuff on the automated machine and at home. Still a few points high systolic (but great diastolic) but nowhere near what the reading used to be. 

    give me the watch any day. What a dream. 
    ronnbyronl
  • Reply 9 of 12
    beowulfschmidtbeowulfschmidt Posts: 2,233member
    badmonk said:
    It amazes me Apple has yet to make a push into allowing AirPods to be used as hearing aids, such low lying fruit that would save consumers $1000s.
    As a "medical device", there are likely more regulatory hurdles for Apple to clear than they are willing to take on at this point.  Especially when they don't fit everyone the same, and some people not at all.

    I do agree that "Hear Pods" (don't delete me) would be a nice option next to the 3-5,000 dollar "options" that exist now.
    cg27FileMakerFeller
  • Reply 10 of 12
    sphericspheric Posts: 2,623member
    Panner_Nudding said:
    Very unlikely if it is it certainly won’t be cleared by any health organizations. It will be a gimmick with a warning to see a doctor for an accurate measurement. 
    The blood oxygen and pulse meters and EKG aren't cleared for "medical" use, but they're good enough to be truly useful, as hundreds of news articles have proven over the years. 

    If I'd had a watch that diagnosed my sleep apnoea twenty years earlier, the quality of my life would have been radically different. Millions of people are going to have a device that can do this, en passant, and it will be literally life-changing to many, many people. 
    cg27FileMakerFellerbeowulfschmidtbyronljony0
  • Reply 11 of 12
    FileMakerFellerFileMakerFeller Posts: 1,561member
    spheric said:
    Panner_Nudding said:
    Very unlikely if it is it certainly won’t be cleared by any health organizations. It will be a gimmick with a warning to see a doctor for an accurate measurement. 
    The blood oxygen and pulse meters and EKG aren't cleared for "medical" use, but they're good enough to be truly useful, as hundreds of news articles have proven over the years. 

    If I'd had a watch that diagnosed my sleep apnoea twenty years earlier, the quality of my life would have been radically different. Millions of people are going to have a device that can do this, en passant, and it will be literally life-changing to many, many people. 
    Yes. It's amazing how much a basic diagnosis can be useful, even though the measurement data is not particularly accurate. If the error is always the same amount (or the same percentage) then the trend will still be visible and that can lead to meaningful benefits in a lot of cases. Get the rough outline right, then polish.
    byronl
  • Reply 12 of 12
    avon b7avon b7 Posts: 7,863member
    FileMakerFeller said:
    spheric said:
    Panner_Nudding said:
    Very unlikely if it is it certainly won’t be cleared by any health organizations. It will be a gimmick with a warning to see a doctor for an accurate measurement. 
    The blood oxygen and pulse meters and EKG aren't cleared for "medical" use, but they're good enough to be truly useful, as hundreds of news articles have proven over the years. 

    If I'd had a watch that diagnosed my sleep apnoea twenty years earlier, the quality of my life would have been radically different. Millions of people are going to have a device that can do this, en passant, and it will be literally life-changing to many, many people. 
    Yes. It's amazing how much a basic diagnosis can be useful, even though the measurement data is not particularly accurate. If the error is always the same amount (or the same percentage) then the trend will still be visible and that can lead to meaningful benefits in a lot of cases. Get the rough outline right, then polish.
    I think that is exactly it. If a device is calibrated and not medically certified as a precision instrument, the results, while not being precise in a purely medical context, are likely to be consistent over time and allow the user to see trends or anything else that breaks a pattern.

    That is the trigger to perhaps make an appointment with a specialist for a closer look. 




    ronnbyronl
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