One of the rumors swirling around the Apple Watch 8 is that it will feature body temperature monitoring capabilities, and one of the most respected sources in the industry has weighed in to say the feature could still make its way to Apple’s 2022 smartwatch. .
Industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo say what Apple is still working to refine the algorithms for body temperature monitoring to ensure accurate readings of incoming data. If those algorithms meet the required standard, the Apple Watch 8 will get the feature.
“The challenge in implementing accurate body temperature measurement is that skin temperature varies rapidly based on outside environments,” says Kuo. “A smart watch can’t support core temperature measurement in terms of hardware, so it needs a great algorithm to work together.”
(1/3) Apple canceled body temperature measurement for Apple Watch 7 because the algorithm failed to qualify before entering the EVT stage last year. I believe that Apple Watch 8 in 2H22 could take body temperature if the algorithm can meet Apple’s high requirements before mass production.May 1, 2022
the wait continues
Kuo goes on to say that Samsung is facing similar algorithm issues with the development of the Galaxy Watch 5, and apparently that wearable could also lose body temperature monitoring if the software analysis isn’t up to date by then.
Seasoned Apple watchers will recall that body temperature monitoring was originally suggested to appear in the Apple Watch 7. According to Ming-Chi Kuo, the necessary algorithms simply did not meet the required standard in time.
Since then, various sources have predicted that the 2022 version of the smartwatch will have body temperature detection. This last piece of information reveals what the delay is and indicates that the inclusion or exclusion of the feature is still in balance at this time.
Analysis: overcoming the limitations of hardware
There is no way around it: smartwatches are small. Manufacturers, including Apple and Samsung, are limited in the screen size, battery capacity, and sensors they can install due to the small form factor, and that continues to hold back development.
Ming-Chi Kuo had previously predicted that body temperature monitoring would come to the Apple Watch 8, but his latest comments show how difficult it will be to pull off. More advanced medical monitoring functions require more advanced sensors, as well as the ability to interpret the data that comes from those sensors.
It’s not just body temperature, either. The Apple Watch 8 may or may not have the ability to measure blood pressure and blood glucose; it all depends on the progress Apple engineers have made in terms of packing the necessary complex instruments into a small square box.
There is a real possibility that these long-awaited features may not make it to 2022 due to technical limitations. While they should come eventually, we’re seeing how difficult it is for smartwatches to take advantage of what they already offer users.