Malcolm Owen
Apple's rumored body temperature sensing feature is expected for the Apple Watch Series 8, but analyst Ming-Chi Kuo believes software issues prevented it from arriving earlier in the Series 7, and is the main factor for inclusion in the next model.
The Apple Watch has been the subject of many different rumors about its fitness tracking sensors and capabilities, with body temperature sensing being one of the most prominent potential additions. In doubling down on its inclusion in the Apple Watch Series 8, TF Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo offers that it could have been an Apple Watch Series 7 feature, if Apple managed to get its algorithms working.
In posts to Twitter on Sunday, Kuo claims "Apple canceled body temperature measurement for Apple Watch 7 because the algorithm failed to qualify before entering EVT stage last year." Kuo refers to Engineering Validation Testing, a stage that trials hardware features before a design moves closer to production.
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— (Ming-Chi Kuo) (@mingchikuo) May 1, 2022
Apple canceled body temperature measurement for Apple Watch 7 because the algorithm failed to qualify before entering EVT stage last year. I believe Apple Watch 8 in 2H22 could take body temperature if the algorithm can meet Apple's high requirements before mass production.
While missing out on the Series 7, Kuo adds "I believe Apple Watch 8 in 2H22 could take body temperature if the algorithm can meet Apple's high requirements before mass production."
Though seemingly a simple task for a device to achieve, Kuo spells out how it's actually a difficult problem for Apple to solve. "The challenge in implementing precise body temperature measurement is that skin temperature quickly varies depending on outside elements," the analyst writes.
"A smartwatch can't support core temperature measurement in terms of hardware, so it needs an excellent algorithm to work together."
Kuo then points out that Apple isn't the only one to grapple with the issue, as "Samsung is facing this challenge as well." The South Korean rival's Galaxy Watch 5 for late 2022 is thought by Kuo to possibly miss the same feature "due to algorithm limitations."
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3 Comments
Surface skin surface temperatures vary wildly and are not “algorithmically related” to core temp (that’s why medical IR thermometers measure ear canal temp). Without actually sensing deep tissue or blood temperature I doubt this function be achieved to any degree of usefulness. Regressions and approximations are useful for statistical trends, but when you want to know whether you’re running a fever or at risk of hypothermia, averages won’t help.
If it only needed an algorithm (doubtful) then a software update would be all the Apple Watch 7 would need. I’m calling bull. It was decided long before at the hardware design stage.