We have been expecting blood glucose monitoring to come to the Apple Watch for a few generations now. The reason for this interest lies in the enormous importance of such a capability that, requiring nothing more than light, could provide such important and vital data for many people. Now, we believe we know a little more about the possible arrival date of this feature.
The truth is that developing a blood glucose measurement system that uses only light to operate is quite a challenge. If the light also has to be positioned on the wrist and fit within the size and design of an Apple Watch, the milestone is even greater. If on top of all this, we add that Apple will surely give this feature the accuracy to be considered a reliable medical data, like the ECG, and therefore will pass all the necessary regulations from the competent bodies, we understand why this feature could arrive in 2022 and not before.
In the past, we have seen movements in the development of this functionality, but these have been a bit vague. Now, thanks to some documents sent to the SEC (the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission) by a British startup, we have much more tangible information.
Rockley Photonics is a UK-based company specializing in sports and health measurements that wants to go public on the New York Stock Exchange. Among the documents required to receive approval for this procedure, it can be read that Apple is one of the company’s few large customers.
A measurement of great importance that we believe has been in development for some time.
Rockley states that only two large customers were responsible for 100% of the company’s revenue in 2020 and, while we do not know if Apple is the largest customer or the second-largest customer, it is clear the Cupertino’s interest in the company’s technology. According to the documents, Rockley has a “supply and development” agreement with “the company” on which it anticipates it will rely for the majority of its revenue. This revenue, for the most part, comes from engineering fees for future product development work.
Rockley CEO Andrew Rickman has stated that the technology the company is developing will reach consumer products by 2022. He declined to specify whether Apple is involved in the technology.
While it is true that Rockley’s partnership with Apple does not necessarily mean the arrival of blood glucose monitoring on the Apple Watch, the trajectory of the British company and Apple’s rumored interest in this technology allows us to conclude. The Apple Watch Series 8 is still a few days away, but we will surely know more as it gets closer to its launch.
