Apple has reportedly hired the best of PhDs and medical talent to work on health features for Apple Watch.
Apple is betting big on Apple Watch 3 and a recent report claims that for its 2017 edition, the California giant will bring a lot of health-focused features to the smartwatch. Apple has been constantly innovating with the Apple Watch and despite a poor initial response, the product has managed to grow over a period of time. Expectations from this year’s watch are high and Apple is betting heavily on health technology for 2017.
As per the report, Apple has hired nearly 200 PhDs for health monitoring feature research for the Apple Watch. The team will collaborate closely with designers to ensure the results are accurate. Apple is said to be interested in Glucose Monitoring, which if true, could be the highlight of Apple Watch 3. Presently, Glucose Monitoring is essential for Diabetes patients. Diabetes is growing at an alarming pace thanks to the lean on junk foods with a sedentary lifestyle.
While presently, the methods to monitor Glucose involve collecting blood sample through injections, which is uncomfortable, Apple might be able to innovate a new technology that eliminates skin penetration. If true, the method could be path-breaking with Apple Watch acting as health monitor. Another feature Apple Watch 3 will come with is the Micro-LED display for embedded biometric authentication.
While Glucose Monitoring is the highlight on the health front, Apple is reportedly also planning to launch new “Smart Bands”. The Smart Bands will come with functionalities by themselves – dividing the focus between the watch and the band and enabling more features. There might be certain elements that could be a part of only the band. One such feature is the Camera Band which might give the user the ability to add an external camera to the Apple Watch. Another band is the “battery Band” which increases the battery life of the watch. ALSO READ: Apple iOS 10.3.2, watchOS 3.2.2, macOS 10.12.5 released
The “Smart Bands” sound similar to the Modules or Mods that Motorola has for its smartphones, letting users add a certain amount of customization to the device. Though it is unclear whether Apple will sell the bands along with the Apple Watch or sell them separately like Moto does, the bands will definitely add some amount of excitement and set the Apple Watch distinct.
The report anticipates that the watch will act as the connecting device between multiple devices and will not merely be a smart watch. As per the article, “…it’s not hard to imagine a near future where the watch is the hub of our digital and physical lives. It would monitor multiple aspects of the wearer’s health, but also replace smartphones when combined with some sort of augmented reality glasses or contact lenses, alongside AirPods in our ears.” ALSO READ: Apple starts recruiting team for production of the iPhone 8 at Foxconn
Apple is clearly betting big on their smartwatch even as news of manufacturers giving up on the smartwatch platform are rolling in. Post Samsung (which ditched Android Wear OS for Tizen) and Motorola (Moto 360 plans have been put on hold), Asus is the latest manufacturer to be reportedly planning to shelve the Asus ZenWatch series, though nothing is confirmed as of yet. Manufacturers are leaving Google‘s Android Wear OS and rather focusing on Artificial Intelligence devices like speakers. Apple is rumored to launch Apple Watch 3 in September 2017 with iPhone 8 and the Watch will support LTE.