Apple Watch Series 7 records ECG. Will the Series 8 offer new health tracking?
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Apple Watch Series 8 is expected this September. But according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman in his latest Power On newsletter, not one, but two new Apple Watch models may include a body temperature sensor.
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Gurman says the feature had been rumored for some time, but its inclusion was far from certain. Gurman says that depends on whether “the feature passes muster during internal testing.”
But now he thinks it’s likely: “I now believe the feature is ready.”
This will be on the Apple Watch Series 8, but not on the cheaper second-generation Apple Watch SE, which is also believed to be in development.
The second watch likely to be capable of this is a “new rugged edition that is aimed at extreme sports athletes.”
This means that the Apple Watch will be able to tell you if you have a fever. Well, after the last few years, any information on early warning of a possible disease would be great, wouldn’t it?
But it’s not a thermometer. “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 may then recommend talking to your doctor or using a special thermometer.
The current Apple Watch can support heart rate variability (HRV) – the small variations between one heart beat and the next – and Covid is believed to bring with it a sharp drop in HRV. So it’s now possible that the Apple Watch could spot Covid early and accurately, although that’s not something Apple has ever claimed for its wearables.
So something like a fever alert could be interesting, and see how Apple takes the watch even further into health monitoring.
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