Apple's Health VP Talks Glucose Monitoring on Apple Watch Amid Rumors of Noninvasive Tracking Breakthrough

Apple's vice president of health Sumbul Desai today spoke with Indian publication Businessline, where she talked about Apple's health initiatives and gave a tiny bit of insight into Apple's thoughts on glucose monitoring for the Apple Watch.

apple watch blood glucose feature
When asked if Apple would bring blood sugar tracking sensors to the Apple Watch, Desai said that these capabilities are "really important areas, but they require a lot of science behind them."

Her comments come just a few days after Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that Apple has hit a milestone in its noninvasive blood glucose monitoring technology. Apple has been working on this functionality for at least a decade, and now has a "proof-of-concept" model that is viable.

Noninvasive blood glucose monitoring uses a laser to shine a light under the skin to determine the concentration of glucose in the body. Now that Apple has a functioning prototype, it needs to work to slim down the hardware to make it fit in a device the size of the Apple Watch. Gurman believes that Apple is still years away from being able to bring noninvasive blood glucose monitoring to the Apple Watch, but progress is being made.

Desai also said that she believes we are at the "beginning" of health tech, which will require changing the behavior of physicians and people. She said that Apple is focused on "the customer as the individual" and how the company can "empower an individual to be holistic about their health" by providing actionable insights.

Apple's health team is "laser-focused" on continuing to build in the health space, investing in research, collaboration with the medical community, and other avenues that will help it "understand your health sooner and earlier." Apple wants people to "feel like they’re empowered and educated to drive their own health care."

Other topics of conversation included Apple's view on health privacy, the cost of Apple devices, how decisions are made on what to work on, and more, with the full interview available at Businessline.

Popular Stories

iOS 26

Everything New in iOS 26.1 Beta 1

Monday September 22, 2025 12:44 pm PDT by
Apple released the first beta of iOS 26.1 today, just a week after launching iOS 26. iOS 26.1 mainly adds new languages to Apple Intelligence, but there are a few other features that are worth knowing about. New Apple Intelligence Languages Apple Intelligence is now available in Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, Portuguese (Portugal), Swedish, Turkish, Chinese (Traditional), and Vietnamese. AirPo...
apple tv 4k new orange

Next Apple TV Expected to Launch This Year With These New Features

Monday September 22, 2025 10:00 am PDT by
The next Apple TV is expected to be released later this year, and a handful of new features and changes have been rumored for the device. Below, we recap what to expect from the next Apple TV, according to rumors. Likely Features N1 Chip With Wi-Fi 7 Last year, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the next Apple TV would be equipped with Apple's own combined Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip, which is...
Apple Intelligence General Feature 2

iOS 26.1 Adds New Apple Intelligence Languages and Expands AirPods Live Translation

Monday September 22, 2025 11:15 am PDT by
With iOS 26.1, Apple Intelligence is gaining support for additional languages, including Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, Portuguese (Portugal), Swedish, Turkish, Chinese (Traditional), and Vietnamese. Apple announced plans to expand the languages that can be used with Apple Intelligence last year, and now the added language support is here. Apple Intelligence is now available in the following...
iPhone 17 Pro and Air N1 Feature

Some iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone Air Users Experiencing Intermittent Wi-Fi Issue

Monday September 22, 2025 8:44 am PDT by
Apple's latest iPhone models launched on Friday, and some early adopters of the devices are experiencing intermittent Wi-Fi issues. Affected customers say Wi-Fi connectivity periodically cuts out on the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, and iPhone Air, with hundreds of comments about the issue posted across the MacRumors Forums, Reddit, and the Apple Support Community over the...
Apple Foldable Thumb

Foldable iPhone Like 'Two Titanium iPhone Airs' Joined at the Hinge

Monday September 22, 2025 2:16 am PDT by
Next year's rumored foldable iPhone will showcase an ultra-thin design resembling "two titanium iPhone Airs side-by-side," according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Writing in the Q&A section of his latest Power On newsletter, Gurman says Apple's first foldable device will be "super thin and a design achievement," combining Apple's thinnest iPhone form factor with cutting-edge folding...
iPhone 17 Pro USB C Port

iPhone 17 Pro Max's USB-C Charging Speeds Tested With Apple Chargers

Monday September 22, 2025 7:29 am PDT by
The website ChargerLAB has tested the iPhone 17 Pro Max's USB-C charging speeds with a variety of Apple's chargers, from 18W to 140W. The device reached a peak charging speed of around 36W with the following Apple chargers:40W Dynamic Power Adapter with 60W Max 61W USB-C Power Adapter 67W USB-C Power Adapter 70W USB-C Power Adapter 96W USB-C Power Adapter 140W USB-C Power AdapterFor...
iPhone 17 Pro and Air Feature

Two iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone Air Colors Appear to Scratch More Easily

Friday September 19, 2025 10:02 am PDT by
As reported by Bloomberg today, some of the new iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone Air models on display at Apple Stores today are already scratched and scuffed. French blog Consomac also reported on this topic. The scratches appear to be most prominent on models with darker finishes, including the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max in Deep Blue, and the iPhone Air in Space Black. Images Credit: Consoma ...
iOS 26

Apple Seeds First Betas of iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, and macOS Tahoe 26.1

Monday September 22, 2025 10:05 am PDT by
Apple today provided developers with the first betas of upcoming iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, macOS Tahoe 26.1, tvOS 26.1, watchOS 26.1, and visionOS 26.1 updates for testing purposes. The new betas are the first updates to the iOS, iPadOS, macOS 26, watchOS, tvOS, and visionOS releases that came out last week. The new betas can be downloaded from the Settings app on a compatible device by going...

Top Rated Comments

TheYayAreaLiving ?️ Avatar
34 months ago
Bring it on. Should be on top priority. A truly life-changing feature for so many people that owns an ⌚ Apple Watch.
Score: 25 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TheYayAreaLiving ?️ Avatar
34 months ago

If I had to rely on it as a diabetic I certainly wouldn't want to use the first or first few generations.

But as someone who would like to know a close number for additional health monitoring I'm all for it.

Sounds like they are taking it more seriously than the temperature monitoring.
The temperature monitoring feature needs its own stock app like blood oxygen or ECG or Heart rate. I hate the fact I have to rely on the Health app on my iPhone to obtain data. It's hidden and It's a headache! I bet so many people don't know their Apple Watch Series 8 and Ultra is capable of taking human temperatures.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
LoveToMacRumors Avatar
34 months ago
Honestly, probably a feature in 5-10 years.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
surfzen21 Avatar
34 months ago
If I had to rely on it as a diabetic I certainly wouldn't want to use the first or first few generations.

But as someone who would like to know a close number for additional health monitoring I'm all for it.

Sounds like they are taking it more seriously than the temperature monitoring.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Kierkegaarden Avatar
34 months ago

If I had to rely on it as a diabetic I certainly wouldn't want to use the first or first few generations.
The opposite — I would think a diabetic would want to use it immediately, and compare the results to their current testing methods each day. But wouldn’t you think Apple would be engaged in this testing for years prior to getting any approval for it?
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
one more Avatar
34 months ago
When asked if Apple would bring blood sugar tracking sensors to the Apple Watch, Desai said that these capabilities are "really important areas, but they require a lot of science behind them."

This is as vague as it gets, LOL. It is like saying that swimming requires a lot of water. Fair enough, but nothing really new.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)