Garmin could beat Apple to the punch with a major health-tracking feature You Should Know
Rumour has it that Apple has long been working on a means of tracking your blood glucose through its Apple Watch range, but if recent patent filings are anything to go by, there’s a chance that Garmin could beat it to the punch.
Garmin now has a handful of patent applications in the pipeline which are related to the testing of non-invasive blood glucose tracking on a wearable device, as spotted by Gadgets & Wearables. The non-invasive part is crucial as the ability to get an accurate reading without piercing the skin is something that has eluded the tech world for quite some time.
Well, one of the patents describes how Garmin is developing an algorithm to help accommodate for the issues that come with achieving a successful non-invasive measurement, including how a watch that’s too tightly worn can compress the blood vessels and skew the final results.
Thomas Deehan / Foundry
If the tech does come to market this year, then the expectation is that it will appear in the upcoming Garmin Fenix 9, which is expected to drop in the coming months.
Apple’s next big innovation
Although things are certainly heating up with Garmin’s efforts in this area of health tracking, it’s been rumoured that Apple has been working on similar blood sugar tech for years now.
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reported all the way back in 2023 that the brand was developing a device that could use optical absorption spectroscopy to correctly monitor a person’s blood glucose levels.
Given that smartwatches already cover key health metrics like heart rate, blood oxygen levels and, more recently, blood pressure, it makes sense that glucose monitoring would be next up as a means of enticing consumers to upgrade.
Thomas Deehan / Foundry
It’s worth noting that the Pixel Watch 5, which went on sale today, is getting an Insulin Resistance Trends feature as part of a new Health Guardian suite later this year, but it estimates based on other data rather than measures.
Garmin is already off to quite a start this year following the long-awaited release of the brand’s answer to the Whoop Strap, the Garmin Cirqa (above), which uses a distraction-free screenless design like the Fitbit Air.
There are now rumours bubbling that Garmin will also be looking to take on the Oura Ring 5 in the smart ring space with a Garmin Cirqa Smart Ring.
