Apple's upcoming watch may detect a fever
The soon-to-be-released Apple Watch Series 8 may have a health-tracking feature for fever detection, which can alert you to consult a doctor once you have a high temperature.
The report came after Bloomberg's Mark Gurman stated in a newsletter on July 3 that Apple plans to integrate body temperature monitoring sensors into their future Series 8 watch.
According to Mark Gurman, the Apple Watch Series 8 will be able to detect if a user has a fever using the new built-in body temperature sensor. The watch won’t give users a direct reading, instead, it will alert a user if it believes they have a fever pic.twitter.com/9ZhlJ9bbfH
— Apple Hub (@theapplehub) July 4, 2022
Gurman said that the fever detection feature may come to the Series 8 watch and extreme sports athlete “rug” smartwatch if it passes internal testing. However, the feature might not come with the soon-to-release versions of the entry-level SE watches.
The tech journalist clarified that “the body-temperature feature won’t give you a specific reading—like with a forehead or wrist thermometer—but it should be able to tell if it believes you have a fever. It could then recommend if you need to go see your doctor or use a dedicated thermometer.
In April, Gurman already reported that Apple is aiming for a temperature sensor for their upcoming Apple Watch, which he initially said could help users with fertility planning.
Aside from the fever detection feature, he said changes for the next Apple Watch hardware are "minors" only and will have the same power performance as the Series 6 and 7. He noted, however, that the new Series 8 watch high-end models may have an improved bigger display.
There’s no official release date yet for the next Apple wearables, but reports say it will launch later this year.
The current Apple Watch Series 7, released last year, includes Health and Wellness features such as high and low heart rate notifications, a crack-resistant large Retina display, and quick charging functionality, and is priced at P22,990.