SAN FRANCISCO
In the last months of Steve Jobs’ life, the Apple co-founder fought cancer while managing diabetes.
Because he hated pricking his finger to draw blood, Jobs authorised an Apple research team to develop a non-invasive glucose reader with technology that could potentially be incorporated into a wristwatch, according to people familiar with the events, who asked not to be identified because they were not authorised to speak on behalf of the company.
It was one of many medical applications that Apple considered for the Apple Watch, which debuted in 2015. Yet because many of the health features proved unreliable or required too many compromises in the watch’s size or battery life, Apple ended up positioning the device for activity tracking and notifications instead.
Now, the Apple Watch is finding a medical purpose after all.
In September, Apple announced the Apple Watch would no longer need to be tethered to a smartphone and would become more of a stand-alone device. Since then, a wave of device manufacturers have tapped into the watch’s new features like cellular connectivity to develop medical accessories — such as an electrocardiogram for monitoring heart activity — so people can manage chronic conditions straight from their wrist.
What is happening with the Apple Watch is one of the first signs of a leap forward in the utility of wearable devices. Many people had wondered why they would need a smartwatch at all when most already carry more powerful smartphones with them. But as the Apple Watch becomes capable of handling more medical tasks on its own, they may now have an answer.
“This is an important step in the evolution of wearables,” said Tim Bajarin, president of Creative Strategies, an advisory and research firm. “The Apple Watch can now be on you all the time doing this type of medical monitoring.”
The Apple Watch has dominated competitors in the nascent smartwatch market, but it has not taken a place alongside the iPod, iPhone and iPad as the next breakthrough Apple product. Apple does not disclose specific sales numbers for the watch, but the company has said its sales have risen 50 per cent compared with a year earlier for three straight quarters. An Apple spokeswoman declined to comment further.
A digital health revolution has been predicted for years, of course, and so far has been more hype than progress. But the hope is that artificial intelligence systems will sift through the vast amounts of data that medical accessories will collect from the Apple Watch and find patterns that can lead to changes in treatment and detection, enabling people to take more control of how they manage their conditions instead of relying solely on doctors.
