Future Apple Watches could get a genius way to track your health, thanks to smart straps

Trending 11 hours ago
Apple Watch ECG
(Image credit: DenPhotos / Shutterstock)

  • The Apple Watch tracks a wide scope of wellness metrics
  • Future Apple Watch models could person wellness sensors successful nan strap
  • Apple mightiness besides bring this tech to nan Vision Pro’s headband

The Apple Watch is 1 of nan best smartwatches you tin buy, and portion of nan logic is its spot astatine measuring and improving your health. But Apple isn’t resting connected its laurels, and it looks for illustration nan institution is readying to embed aesculapian sensors into nan straps of early Apple Watch models – echoing a useful humor unit characteristic we've seen precocious successful nan Huawei Watch D2.

That info has travel to ray successful a recently published patent (number 12133743, spotted by Patently Apple). The patent, titled “Fabric-based items pinch stretchable bands,” describes really sensors tin beryllium embedded into a stretchable cloth band, and that these sensors could measurement thing from humor unit and electrocardiogram readings to respiration rates and more. Apple already sells stretchy cloth bands for usage arsenic Apple Watch straps, suggesting that this thought could beryllium coupled pinch nan Apple Watch successful nan coming years.

And it’s not conscionable healthcare that Apple has successful mind. The patent besides explains that nan circuitry wrong nan cloth could beryllium utilized to person wireless power, perchance letting you juice up your instrumentality wholly remotely.

Or it could beryllium utilized to “communicate wirelessly pinch outer physics equipment,” possibly allowing nan instrumentality to nonstop and person info erstwhile paired pinch an iPhone aliases a Mac.

Watch this space

Lance Ulanoff wearing Apple Vision Pro

(Image credit: Future)

Apple doesn’t conscionable deliberation that this tech mightiness beryllium embedded into a smartwatch. It besides says that it could beryllium deployed successful almost immoderate different clothing item, including hats, gloves, sportswear and belts.

Most interestingly of all, nan patent besides notes that nan exertion mightiness activity good successful “a caput set pinch elastic fabric.” That sounds very akin to nan set utilized successful nan Vision Pro headset. Is it imaginable that Apple will weave health-measuring circuitry straight into nan Vision Pro’s caput band? It can’t beryllium wholly ruled out.

We cognize that Apple is considering building healthcare features into its different devices, pinch rumors swirling that upcoming versions of nan AirPods will beryllium capable to measurement various wellness metrics of nan user. And nan Apple Watch seems to summation much aesculapian abilities pinch each caller version, truthful it doesn’t look different that Apple is considering expanding these properties to different devices.

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Apple is not nan only institution that’s moving connected adding wellness search to its smartwatch’s strap – arsenic we mentioned previously, nan Huawei Watch D2 tin way your humor unit straight from its band, for example.

While this latest revelation from Apple is only a patent – meaning Apple mightiness simply beryllium exploring ideas that ne'er really get implemented – it whitethorn not beryllium agelong earlier Apple follows successful Huawei’s footsteps and brings immoderate noticeable wellness benefits to its users.

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Alex Blake has been fooling astir pinch computers since nan early 1990s, and since that clip he's learned a point aliases 2 astir tech. No much than 2 things, though. That's each his encephalon tin hold. As good arsenic TechRadar, Alex writes for iMore, Digital Trends and Creative Bloq, among others. He was antecedently commissioning editor astatine MacFormat magazine. That intends he mostly covers nan world of Apple and its latest products, but besides Windows, machine peripherals, mobile apps, and overmuch much beyond. When not writing, you tin find him hiking nan English countryside and gaming connected his PC.

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