Apple Watch Blood Glucose Monitoring Likely Still 'Three to Seven Years' Away

Blood glucose monitoring technology designed for the Apple Watch is unlikely to launch for several years, Bloomberg journalist Mark Gurman believes.

Apple Watch Blood Glucose Monitoring Feature 2
In February, Gurman reported that Apple has made major progress with its noninvasive blood glucose monitoring technology, allowing diabetics and others to test their blood glucose levels without needing to prick the skin for blood testing.

Apple's system apparently uses a silicon photonics chip to shine light from a laser under the skin to determine the concentration of glucose in the body. In Bloomberg's "Power On" newsletter, Gurman said that Apple "still needs to perfect the algorithms and on-board sensors" to bring the technology to market. Crucially, the company also needs to "shrink it down to the size of a module that can fit in the small and thin package that is an Apple Watch." Gurman believes this process "will take another three to seven years at least."

Apple began working on alternative glucose monitoring methods following its aquisition of RareLight in 2010. The company then used a startup called Avolante Health LLC to develop the technology at a secret facility before moving it to the Exploratory Design Group (XDG).

Apple has been conducting human trials for the past 10 years and seeks to be able to warn Apple Watch users if they are prediabetic to encourage lifestyle changes before diabetes develops. It is believed to be holding early discussions about getting regulatory approval for the technology.

Related Forum: Apple Watch

Popular Stories

maxresdefault

Apple Shows Off a Key Reason to Upgrade to the iPhone 17

Saturday February 7, 2026 9:26 am PST by
Apple today shared an ad that shows how the upgraded Center Stage front camera on the latest iPhones improves the process of taking a group selfie. "Watch how the new front facing camera on iPhone 17 Pro takes group selfies that automatically expand and rotate as more people come into frame," says Apple. While the ad is focused on the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max, the regular iPhone...
Finder Siri Feature

Why Apple's iOS 26.4 Siri Upgrade Will Be Bigger Than Originally Promised

Friday February 6, 2026 3:06 pm PST by
In the iOS 26.4 update that's coming this spring, Apple will introduce a new version of Siri that's going to overhaul how we interact with the personal assistant and what it's able to do. The iOS 26.4 version of Siri won't work like ChatGPT or Claude, but it will rely on large language models (LLMs) and has been updated from the ground up. Upgraded Architecture The next-generation...
wwdc sans text feature

Apple Rumored to Announce New Product on February 19

Thursday February 5, 2026 12:22 pm PST by
Apple plans to announce the iPhone 17e on Thursday, February 19, according to Macwelt, the German equivalent of Macworld. The report, citing industry sources, is available in English on Macworld. Apple announced the iPhone 16e on Wednesday, February 19 last year, so the iPhone 17e would be unveiled exactly one year later if this rumor is accurate. It is quite uncommon for Apple to unveil...
apple wallet drivers license feature iPhone 15 pro

Apple Says These 7 U.S. States Plan to Offer iPhone Driver's Licenses

Monday February 9, 2026 6:24 am PST by
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Apple Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, and then use it to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps. The feature is currently available in 13 U.S. states and Puerto Rico, and it is expected to launch in at least seven more in the future. To set up the...
14 inch MacBook Pro Keyboard

New MacBook Pros Could Now Arrive in March

Sunday February 8, 2026 6:02 am PST by
New MacBook Pro models with the M5 Pro and M5 Max chips could arrive as soon as Monday, March 2, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In today's "Power On" newsletter, Gurman said that the release of new MacBook Pro models is tied to the release of macOS Tahoe 26.3. The launch is said to be slated for as early as the week of March 2. He added that the M4 Pro and M4 Max models on sale today...

Top Rated Comments

TheYayAreaLiving ?️ Avatar
38 months ago
This is probably the most anticipated feature. Hopefully, Apple can actually pull it off.
Score: 24 Votes (Like | Disagree)
izyreal Avatar
38 months ago
This is one of those features where I’ll believe it when I see it. I suspect it’ll never be done.
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BobSc Avatar
38 months ago

I suspect it’ll never be done.
Years ago, to determine blood oxygenation for a patient required a direct needle stick into the radial artery, a potentially dangerous procedure. Today a pulse oximeter, a very small electrical device, is simply applied to the end of a finger and almost instantly reads the O2 saturation and pulse. No one would have predicted this at the time of the needle sticks. Yet, here we are with a simpler and safer way to do this. Science is amazing for those who believe in science. Those that don't believe in science will be very pessimistic about future advances in medicine.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
filmantopia Avatar
38 months ago

This is one of those features where I’ll believe it when I see it. I suspect it’ll never be done.
They've apparently already had the breakthrough that proves it's possible. It's just shrinking it down at this point. Sometimes big advances do happen. When they do, some of us aren't ready for it because we've always only lived in the world before X was possible.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
senttoschool Avatar
38 months ago
If it's easier, they should add this feature to the wrist band and sell a special edition of either the Watch or wristband depending on if it can be removed.

The benefit would outweigh the ability to switch bands.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
RalfTheDog Avatar
38 months ago
This is not intended to judge how much insulin you need. This is intended more for lifestyle changes. When you eat this food, what does it do to your glucose? When you run five miles, what does that do to your glucose? It does not need to be accurate enough to tell you how much of a shot you need to save lives. It could prevent many people from ever needing to start insulin.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)