According to the latest rumors emanating from Taiwan, Apple is working on a new piece of health-tracking hardware.
Apple is reportedly discussing a new gadget with suppliers, one that is jam packed with sensors to collect data on your pulse, blood sugar and other biometric factors.
Report claims Apple is in talks with suppliers
A report in the Chinese-language Economic Daily News reports (via Apple Insider) reveals that Apple has had talks with suppliers such as TSMC, Foxconn, TPK, Zhen Ding Technology, and others about the new device.
The report claims that the new piece of hardware would be ready to launch alongside the 2017 iPhone. It has been rumored that Apple has been working on a blood sugar sensor since before the launch of the Apple Watch, but similar attempts to make a “noninvasive” glucometer at Google have run into trouble. Industry professionals believe that the technology is not quite ready for the mass market.
If Apple is going to make a blood sugar monitor, the sensors need to be noninvasive. This means that they do not break the skin or draw blood.
Health part of long-term plan at Cupertino
It certainly looks as though Apple is working towards being a major player in health. The company runs 24-hour biometric labs and has bought in doctors and nurses to work on certain projects.
The report mentions a separate device, but it would be surprising if Apple brought out another health tracker aside from the Apple Watch. At the same time company CEO Tim Cook has mentioned another piece of hardware that would require Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval, while also raising the possibility of building more sensors into the Apple Watch.
“I love the Watch,” Cook said. “One day, this is my prediction, we will look back and we will wonder: How can I ever have gone without the Watch? Because the holy grail of the watch is being able to monitor more and more of what’s going on in the body.”
“We’ve gotten into the health arena,” he said in another interview. “We started looking at wellness, and that took us to pulling a string to think about research; then we pulled a string a little further, and it took us to some patient care stuff; and we pulled a string that’s taking us into some other stuff.”
After bringing in ResearchKit, HealthKit, and the Apple Watch in the last few years, it looks like Apple is going even further into health.
