Rumor mill: Apple is still a few months away from launching its next-generation smartphones and smartwatches, but a series of leaks have already revealed key details about them. A new report now claims that this year’s Apple Watch (rumored to be called the Apple Watch X) is likely to include a blood pressure monitoring tool.
The news comes from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, who has a history of accurately predicting upcoming features in Apple devices. According to his latest newsletter, the much-rumored feature will be part of the next-gen Apple Watch, but the company is unlikely to roll it out to older models. It’s not immediately clear if that’s because the feature will require specialized hardware that will only be available in the new model.
The Apple Watch has long been rumored to include blood pressure monitoring, with multiple reports from last year claiming that the feature will be available in the 2024 Apple Watch. While fans will be happy to know that it’s finally becoming a reality this year, Gurman did not provide any more details about it, so we don’t know exactly how it will work.
Rumors, however, suggest that the device will not provide exact blood pressure readings but will instead help users track changes in their blood pressure levels over time. That being said, Apple could improve the feature over the next few generations to make it even more useful as part of its plans to turn its smartwatch into a comprehensive health monitoring tool.
Gurman had earlier suggested that the 2024 Apple Watch could undergo a major redesign, including changes to the band-attachment mechanism. According to the report, this year’s Apple Watch will feature a magnetic system to attach the straps, as the current slot mechanism takes up a lot of space at either end of the body. The new system is expected to make the watch thinner and free up internal space, potentially allowing for a bigger battery.
Not much more is known about the next-gen Apple Watch yet, but we’ll likely receive a few more leaks about it in the lead-up to its launch this fall.