Apple Watch Series 8 and the rumored “rugged” Apple Watch will offer a new fever detection sensor when they launch this fall. The new Apple Watch SE will not have this feature.
The news comes from Bloomberg journalist Mark German, who reported in April that Apple plans to add body temperature detection to the next-generation Apple Watch. Gurman shared a bit more information about the new feature in his weekend Power On newsletter, but unfortunately it looks like the capabilities may not live up to people’s expectations.
Gurman explains that body temperature detection will not give a specific reading as you would expect with a thermometer. Instead, it will alert you if it thinks you have a fever.
“The body temperature feature won’t give you a specific reading — like a forehead or wrist thermometer — but it should be able to tell if it thinks you have a fever,” he writes.
“Other than the body temperature reader, other hardware changes will likely be minor,” Gurman stated, indicating that the chip’s processing power will not be better than that of the Apple Watch Series 7 and even the Watch Series 6. However, he notes, that it could have a brighter display.
Gurman details some of the reasons why this year’s Apple Watch won’t offer any major new features. Noting that Apple’s chip development team has focused on Mac chips at the expense of other areas, he also suggests that using the same Watch processor will help Apple keep costs low at a time when the company is hit by growing inflation, continued chip shortages and production slowdowns. Gurman also discusses the lack of new features coming to the second-generation AirPods Pro in the same newsletter as discussed here: Don’t expect much from the 2022 AirPods Pro – Gurman.
Read more about the upcoming Apple Watch Series 8 in our complete guide to the Apple Watch 2022. We also have this guide to the Apple Watch SE 2.
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