Apple is Working on an Apple Watch Band With Hydration Sensor

Sophie Webster, Tech Times 17 August 2021, 07:08 pm

Apple has reportedly been working on a new Apple Watch band. The band is said to track the user's hydration level automatically, and it will also include the other health monitoring features of the watch.

Apple Watch Band With Hydration Sensor

After adding the hand-washing and sleep monitor, Apple has another feature that it wants to add to its Apple Watch band.

One of Apple's electronics suppliers, Rockley Photonics announced that a non-invasive glucose monitoring system was manufactured for Apple Watch. The demo units will be used on Apple Watch's wrist bands.

Rockley Photonics also added that the system is intended to monitor the user's health, including hydration.

Apple has separately been granted a patent regarding the wristband. However, a patent for a hydration sensor does not mean that there will be a product.

But there is still hope that will push through since hydration measurement with a watch is new on the market. The sensor can give the user a great deal of information, according to Screenrant.

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Apple researchers stated that a user's hydration level is an important factor in a user's health. Dehydration can harm a user's performance, and it is linked to numerous deleterious health consequences, including heat strokes.

Meanwhile, overdrinking can result in hyponatremia, confusion, fatigue, coma, and even death.

Currently, there are many apps Apple products that are created to remind the users to drink water as often as possible.

As for measuring the hydration level, the patent says that these techniques are expensive, invasive, and even unreliable.

The patent also stated some tracking techniques include testing the user's fluid samples, such as urine or blood.

The Apple's Watch Band patent may also include measuring the user's blood sugar levels.

Apple added that a lot of these sensors are disposable and are limited to a single-use. Other techniques involve tracking the intake of fluids, sweat, urine, and weight changes, according to World News Today.

How Apple Plans to Add the Patent

The patent did not elaborate on what it means why "unreliable techniques.

Alexander W. Williams, the inventor of the patent, pointed out that the lack of reliability is caused by different measurements that must be taken manually.

Williams proposes that Apple Watch should instead do a regular and periodic measurement to calculate the hydration level accurately, and it can be done via the Watch Band.

The patent stated that a watchband could be positioned to receive and measure numerous electrical properties of perspiration produced by the user.

Apple's idea is to include electrodes for measuring the electrical properties of perspiration. The properties can show a concentration of electrolytes in the user's perspiration, better representing the user's hydration level.

Since the measurement is performed on perspiration, it can be done repeatedly. It is non-invasive, it is accurate, automatic, and requires minimal user intervention.

The measurements can be tracked over some time. This can allow users to manage hydration and overall health better.

The patent has been revealed as it was just granted, but a version was initially filed in 2018, according to PatentlyApple.

Although there is no guarantee that the feature will push through and will be included in the upcoming Apple Watch Series 7, it just goes to show that the tech company has been dancing around the idea for years now.