A body-temperature sensor could be coming to the Apple Watch Series 8, as reiterated in a new report today. The sensor will be available in at least two models of the upcoming lineup. The second-generation Apple Watch SE is expected to miss out on it.
Next-gen Apple Watch SE will not feature a body-temperature sensor
In the latest edition of his “Power On” newsletter, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman revealed that a body-temperature sensor is coming to both the standard and the rumored rugged edition of the upcoming Apple Watch Series 8. The next-generation Apple Watch SE will not receive the feature.
You can expect some new health-tracking features in this year’s Apple Watch. In April, I reported that Apple has been aiming to add body-temperature detection to its Series 8 model, assuming the capability passes muster during internal testing. I now believe the feature is a go for both the standard Apple Watch Series 8 and a new rugged edition that’s aimed at extreme sports athletes. It’s unlikely to be available in the new version of the lower-end SE, which is also coming this year.
The journalist says that the feature will be able to give users a general reading rather than an exact temperature. The body-temperature sensor will be able to alert users if they have a fever.
The body-temperature feature won’t give you a specific reading—like with a forehead or wrist thermometer—but it should be able to tell if it believes you have a fever. It could then recommend talking to your doctor or use a dedicated thermometer.
As for the processor, the upcoming lineup will feature the S8 processer. Last year’s Apple Watch models come equipped with the S7 chip but the processor features the same specifications as the S6 chip, making the chip two years old. With that being said, the processor will likely offer gains in efficiency. The display of the Watch is also expected to receive an upgrade.
Other than the body-temperature reader, other hardware changes will probably be minor. As I mentioned earlier, the new models are likely to offer the same processing power as the Series 6. There’s also been internal chatter of updated displays in the new high-end models. I’m hoping they’re brighter.
TF Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo earlier in May said that a body-temperature sensor could be added to Apple Watch Series 8.
At the time, Kuo revealed that the tech giant originally planned to add a body temperature measurement feature to the Apple Watch Series 7 however it was ultimately scrapped because the algorithm failed to qualify before the device entered the engineering validation testing (EVT) stage last year.
