Next Apple Watch to detect blood pressure, sleep apnea; health coach service reportedly in works

Apple has been speculated to add the ability to measure blood pressure on the Apple Watch for years. Smartwatches from rivals, including Samsung, already offer blood pressure measurement in some markets, but not in the US, where FDA clearance takes years. Currently, Omron offers an FDA-cleared blood pressure watch on the market. However, even if Apple brings a blood pressure Apple Watch to the market, it likely won’t be a replacement for regular monitoring by a medical professional.

Next year’s Apple Watch will also reportedly monitor breathing and sleeping habits to predict if a person has sleep apnea, a condition where breathing stops and starts during the night. However, the new sensor to detect sleep apnea will be limited. The watch will reportedly recommend visiting a doctor if it detects sleep apnea.

Both new features will reportedly be tied to a new paid health service, which could be announced as early as next year. The paid health coaching service could boost Apple’s Services offerings and eventually help increase revenue. Apple’s services business is its second largest, just behind the iPhone, generating $19.6 billion in revenue during the third quarter, up 12 per cent year over year. The report also says Apple continues to focus on health features, and in the future, it may integrate Fitness Plus, its video workouts service, into the Vision Pro headset.

In another article, Gurman writes that Apple’s deeper penetration in healthcare has slowed down a bit, in part due to concerns from senior executives, including Apple CEO Tim Cook and COO Jeff Williams. The executives reportedly don’t want to go wrong in the high-stakes field of healthcare, as it “could tarnish the perception of the company.”