The next Apple and Samsung smartwatches may have blood sugar monitoring

Smartwatches and fitness bracelets are known for their emphasis on health tracking. They are becoming more advanced and the next step could be a non-invasive blood sugar test. There is information that the next generation Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 or Galaxy Watch Active 3 and Apple Watch 7 will display blood sugar levels. For this, an optical sensor is used. If the readings are accurate, this could bring joy to nearly 415 million diabetics worldwide.

Type 1 diabetes requires regular monitoring of blood sugar levels. This usually involves piercing your finger with a needle and placing a drop of blood on the meter. It can be painful and leave marks on the skin.

Continuous glucose monitors are available as an alternative. These are small devices with flexible needles that are embedded in the skin. They stay there for about 10 days, sending data to a smartphone or smartwatch every few minutes. Such devices can alert diabetics when blood sugar levels reach dangerously low or high levels. Since the device needs to be changed several times a month, it is expensive. In addition, the needles can peel off the skin and cause bleeding.

South Korean media reports that the next Samsung Apple smartwatch will offer an optical glucose sensor. This sensor sends light under the skin and continuously measures blood sugar levels. Apple hired a team of biomechanical engineers back in 2017 to develop this functionality. Samsung has developed its own method using lasers to identify chemical constituents.

It sounds beautiful, but it all depends on the accuracy of the measurements. Even invasive glucose monitoring methods are not always accurate. It is difficult to imagine that an optical sensor would be more accurate than these methods. As for both watch models, their appearance is expected this year.