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What a New Design Could Mean for Apple Watch Series 4
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If you don't like complications interfering with the watch, then a square design is best. I like an analog look. The square design allows me to put complications outside the watch face. I had a Moto360, all complications are inside the face. And reading text is awkward as the amount of text varies up and down the watch.
Really? Like any Garmin does by lasting 7 days? And they are lighter than the apple watch? Or fitbit for what matters.
And the insurance company won’t cover the cost of buying a meter or the pucks, so any new testing technology is a moot point from my financial perspective. I’ve been diabetic for decades, and my fingers have been poked probably tens of thousands of times to test my sugar levels. I would appreciate any improvements in the testing process.
They might not be very accurate but I found them to be very reproducible, meaning for the same activity under the same circumstances, I get pretty much the same results. There are situations when the measurements become unreliable but they are limited and easily identifiable.
Mostly, it's cadence lock (displayed heart rate is actually the step frequency). As I know my step frequency and roughly what my heart rate should be in various scenarios, that is an easily identifiable situation. Occasionally it's an unwarranted rise into peak territory which never lasts more than a few minutes and might be followed by complete dropout (no heart rate displayed) that also might occur on its own.
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You might like an app like DayLight.One.
Yeah I can see how it can get cluttered. I mean I actually don't like the complications at all which (of course in my own opinion and tastes) makes the rectangular design un-optimized. I like a clean basic watch and when I need to view information not pertinent to time I can just swipe into the necessary applications.
Question for all re: glucose monitoring...
While I see the benefit for diabetics, I am still a bit hung on how this is done without needles and that creates a fragmented product line where some models of the watch would have this needle and some would not, right?
I would think there would be a premium on a watch that could do that.
While I see the benefit for diabetics, I am still a bit hung on how this is done without needles and that creates a fragmented product line where some models of the watch would have this needle and some would not, right?
I would think there would be a premium on a watch that could do that.
It doesn't work without needles. There is research on monitoring glucose with light, but so far they are not successful enough to be relied on.
As far as a needle on the watch, no, would not work. First, the wrist is not optimal for a needle, it moves too much. Second, the current systems, the "puck". goes on the upper arm, is stuck in place and lasts a month. It needs to be glued so the small needle does not come out. I, for one, do not want to have to have my watch so tight on my wrist, and stick myself with my watch every time I put it on.
I can almost guarantee that there will not be an invasive procedure applied by Apple.
As far as noninvasive methods, there are actually quite a few rising devices that are able to provide more than acceptable accuracy. It will probably be another year or two before these are passed down to the wearable segment and I think it will be too cost prohibitive for a mainstream consumer device right away but there definitely is hope.
The last time I saw anything in print about Apple Watch and glucose monitoring it was in Mac9to5, where they said it was intended to be non invasive (no needles) but also that it was years away. I don’t know if Apple is even working on that feature anymore.
//Edit-here’s the article— https://www.google.com/amp/s/9to5mac.com/2017/12/27/nyt-apple-watch-glucose-monitoring/amp/
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Do any of you know if Apple is partnering with device manufacturers for ease in tracking blood sugar, though?
https://www.apple.com/shop/product/...it?fnode=4a&fs=f=healthmonitor&fh=35f7%2B45f8
Also Dexcom has a CGM (Continuous Glucose Monitoring) system with a companion app for the iPhone and Watch.
None of those are wearable, non-invasive devices. The link is just an expensive, sleek looking standard lancet type kit. The Dexcom is a needle, stick to your arm puck that we've been talking about. That it can send results to your phone is nice, but it's not what we're talking about when we say having the watch monitor glucose. The holy grail is having non-invasive sensors be able to monitor blood sugar. As in the light based sensors in the back of the watch. Whoever brings that to market will make a fortune.
If all I have to do to take my glucose level in the morning is put on my watch. And before a meal, hit a button on the watch that automatically records the reading, then when I'm done eating, hit a button that will have it record in 2 hours, I'd be all over that. So would most diabetics that can afford the technology.
What I believe he was asking about, and seems clear in his question, is if Apple is partnering with device manufactures for
which the answer is yes they have.
The question that sparked that part of the discussion is the watch being able to monitor blood sugar, not the watch interacting with a monitor.
Correct and the question concluding the discussion was what is available to help track blood sugar. Apple will most likely never pursue it first. They will very much continue with their current path of letting vendors incorporate their systems into the watch like the Dexcom G6 which can operate directly with the Watch/Phone. Tim Cook has stated he does not want to pursue the FDA gauntlet for the Watch. NIGCM will be years away in everyday consumer devices. I'd love to see it, when I got to use an iPad for the first time to confirm an infarction I was quite amazed. I really do hope this technology progresses.
It would add so much life-saving potential, not just at the consumer level but at the pre-hospital/hospital level. EMT's in a lot of jurisdictions don't have a scope of practice to be able to take blood sugar so generally practiced is the administration of glucose to a patient if they believe blood sugar has to do with it which can be bad when you push a persons sugar higher when it was already high enough to cause symptoms but there isn't much of an alternative for them. A device that works like a pulse-oximetry but for blood glucose would be outstanding.
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It's the Holy Grail. I would not be surprised that by the time it's ready, either it will be incorporated in the watch, or Apple will have bands that can accept data from bands, and they will let the device manufacturers build the monitor in a band that displays on the watch.
Yes, I'm familiar with such apps. I wasn't saying "it'd be neat if there were apps with different clocks", I was saying "I want to see Apple do things like this on the Apple Watch."
I think it’s more likely the glucose monitor will be a stand-alone accessory which hooks up to your iPhone or Apple Watch via Bluetooth and syncs to HealthKit.
https://www.macrumors.com/2017/05/18/tim-cook-testing-apple-watch-glucose-monitor/
In the very least, Tim Cook is not going to be pricking himself with needles all day.
My guess is that this is the future of the Apple Watch. To serve as the brains for an entire ecosystem of health-tracking wearables you wear on you all day. I don’t need to be a diabetic to wear a glucose monitor. Make one that is seamless and convenient to use all day and I don’t mind using it.
This is arguably where Apple has an edge over conventional medical device manufacturers - their emphasis and expertise in design, wireless tech and miniaturisation, as well as the power of the Apple ecosystem, their retail stores, plus their own custom processors and software.
Looking back at MagSafe and the dock connector my guess is they will eventually change it, but hopefully we get another 4-5 years before they do.
I've got heart disease and I like mechanical watches. So I never purchased an Apple Watch. However, I will purchase the Apple watch model with EKG monitoring if that ever becomes a reality. My cardiologist (and I) will be very happy if we can study my EKG without the cumbersome halter, or the 3rd party EKG band.