Apple Watch Series 7 recording an ECG. Will the 8 series offer new health monitoring?
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The Apple Watch Series 8 is expected this September. But according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman in his latest Power On newsletter, not one, but two new Apple Watch models could include a body temperature sensor.
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Gurman says this feature had been rumored for a long time, but its inclusion was far from certain. Gurman says it depends on whether “capacity exceeds meeting during internal testing.”
Now, however, he thinks it’s likely, “Now I think the feature is a test.”
This will be in the Apple Watch Series 8, but not in the low-priced second-generation Apple Watch SE, which is also believed to be in development.
The second watch that will likely be capable of this is “a new rugged edition aimed at extreme sports athletes.”
It means the Apple Watch can tell you if you have a fever. Well, after the last two years, any kind of early warning information about a possible illness would be fantastic, right?
But it’s not a thermometer. “The body temperature function won’t give you a specific reading, like with a forehead or wrist thermometer, but you should be able to tell if you think you have a fever. Then you might recommend talking to your doctor or using a dedicated thermometer.”
The current Apple Watch may feature heart rate variability (HRV), small variations from one heartbeat to the next, and Covid is believed to carry deep HRV. So it’s already possible that the Apple Watch will be able to detect Covid early and accurately, though that’s not something Apple has ever claimed for its laptop.
So something like a fever warning could be interesting and see that Apple brings the Watch even further to health surveillance.
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