Blood pressure feature for Apple Watch delayed till 2024

Blood pressure feature for Apple Watch delayed till 2024
The Apple Watch Series 7.
PHOTO: Hardware Zone

Blood pressure feature will not be coming to the Apple Watch anytime soon.

According to Mark Gurman of Bloomberg, sources familiar with the matter say Apple is experiencing accuracy issues with the new sensor for reading blood pressure. The blood pressure feature will only arrive in 2024 "at the earliest".

While the new sensor will not provide specific systolic and diastolic readings, it is said to have the ability to alert users of hypertension.

This is in line with the Wall Street Journal's report in September 2021 about Apple working on a feature that shows a trending chart of blood pressure for the users.

Apple has been rumoured to be working on blood pressure reading for the Apple Watch since 2017. A patent application by the company describes how a pulse pressure sensor can be used to detect the arrival of a blood pressure pulse on the wrist.

The Telegraph reported last year that Apple has an ongoing "supply and development" agreement with startup Rockley Photonics.

The startup has developed non-invasive optical sensors that use higher wavelengths to read a wide range of biophysical and biochemical biomarkers such as blood pressure.

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Gurman added that the blood glucose monitoring feature is still "several years away".

In the meantime, consumers can expect Apple to introduce new health features for sleep, fitness, medication management, and women's health later this year. A low power mode and new watch faces are also slated to launch with watchOS 9.

Apple is rumoured to be introducing three new Apple Watch models this year, which is tipped to be the biggest revamp of the product lineup.

This article was first published in Hardware Zone.

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