Apple is reportedly still working on glucose management. This time it’s through software. bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman said the company this year tested an app with people with prediabetes to help them manage their diet and lifestyle. Apple has no plans to release the app to consumers, but says it could play a role in future health products.
The company reportedly tested the app internally, with employees taking blood tests to determine if they were at risk for type 2 diabetes. Subjects “actively monitored their blood sugar through a variety of commercially available devices” and recorded their glucose changes. The app then records the correlation between dietary changes and blood sugar levels (e.g., “don’t eat pasta”).
Gurman said Apple has paused testing to focus on other health features. bloomberg Currently, the Apple Health app doesn’t have the meal tracking features that competing services offer. The publication also says that Apple may eventually offer deeper third-party glucose tracking integration into its products.
The study is reportedly not directly related to Apple’s 15-year effort to offer non-invasive blood sugar monitoring. Rumors about the Apple Watch seem to repeat themselves every cycle. The company’s current hardware prototype is reportedly an iPhone-sized wearable device that uses lasers to beam light into the skin. Gurman claims that Apple’s first consumer-facing version, whether it’s the Apple Watch or something else, will only notify users if they may have pre-diabetes. Providing specific glucose levels should occur in subsequent iterations.
