The dream of a glucose sensor for Apple Watch has reached a new stage

Apple may have moved to a new stage in its goal of adding glucose monitoring to Apple Watch without taking blood. According to the information shared by Mark Gurman on Bloomberg, the company transferred the management of the non-invasive glucose monitoring project, which it has been working on for years, from Tim Millet to Zongjian Chen. Chen runs the Advanced Technologies Group within Apple and is involved in hardware projects such as modems. This change, in the eyes of some Apple employees, shows that the project is now moving towards a technology that can reach consumers.

Apple’s idea for glucose monitoring dates back to the time of Steve Jobs. With this project, the company aims to detect increases in blood glucose levels through sensors, without requiring finger pricking or blood collection. In Bloomberg’s previous news, it was stated that Apple was working on a laser-based method, aiming to measure glucose density by sending light to the interstitial fluid under the skin. The algorithm will interpret this data and make an inference about the user’s blood sugar level.

At this point, Apple Watch users should not expect such a feature in the near term. Gurman also emphasizes that he does not expect this technology to arrive this year or next year, and that the productization process may still take a few years. Frankly, it’s not surprising that Apple is making slow progress in this area, since glucose measurement is a high-precision area that directly affects health decisions. Incorrect measurement not only produces false reporting, but can also lead the user to incorrect health behavior.

Apple Watch currently stands out with health features such as heart rhythm notification, ECG, blood oxygen measurement, sleep apnea notification, hypertension notification and sleep score. In the Series 11 announcement, Apple announced that it added hypertension notifications and sleep score to the existing health package. However, glucose monitoring is on a different level than these features. Because while current functions mostly monitor trends and signs of risk, glucose measurement has more direct monitoring value in areas such as diabetes and prediabetes.

Apple is approaching a bigger goal on the health side

The move to Zongjian Chen therefore does not appear to be just a managerial change. The fact that Chen is seen as a person who “deliver the job” within Apple is interpreted as the project shifting from the research phase to a more applied development side. Still, Apple hasn’t announced an official product schedule for this technology. Therefore, the most accurate reading would be that the company is close to the target, but the Apple Watch model that will be offered to the end user is not yet clear.

Competition in the glucose monitoring market is also changing. Dexcom’s Stelo system won FDA approval in 2024 as the first continuous glucose monitor available over-the-counter in the U.S., while Abbott also received clearance for Lingo and Libre Rio that same year. However, these products still use body-worn sensors. Apple’s solution aims to make measurements via Apple Watch, without requiring a needle or blood sample. Long story short, if Apple achieves this goal, the Apple Watch’s position on the health side may be moved to a much different place than it is today.