Apple is testing a new blood-sugar product, but it's not the Apple Watch update we've been waiting for

(Image credit: Future)

A new report claims that Apple has secretly tested an app that could help customers with prediabetes manage their food, and make lifestyle changes that could one day help shape the company's health software.

We've been hearing reports for years that Apple has been trying to crack blood glucose monitoring on its best Apple Watch models, to no avail up until now.

The latest reports indicate that Apple's non-invasive blood glucose tech (rather than "invasive" technology like continuous glucose monitors, so called because they use needles to pierce the skin) might still be years away. However, in the meantime, Apple appears to be testing an app that could help in the fight against diabetes.

Writing in his weekly Power On Newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports that Apple this year tested an app "to help people with prediabetes manage their food intake and make lifestyle changes."

According to the report, Apple doesn't currently have plans to release the app, but may integrate the technology into its future health products, "including a noninvasive glucose tracker that it’s been developing for more than a decade."

Apple's secret diabetes app

Apple Watch Ultra 2 displaying steps and distance — Could Apple's Health app help you manage your blood glucose in future? (Image credit: Future)

The app could reportedly show consumers how certain foods impact their blood sugar levels, based on measurements taken by existing blood sugar monitoring devices.

Gurman says the study was aimed at exploring uses for blood sugar data and what tools Apple could create for consumers as a result. Latterly, he reports testing on the app has been paused, but says the tests could pave the way for better food tracking on Apple's own health software or better third-party glucose tracking integration.

In the meantime, the report states that Apple's non-invasive blood glucose tech is "still years away". Its current prototype is an "iPhone-sized" device, but even at that scale, Apple is battling overheating and miniaturization challenges. Apple's system features lasers that shoot light into the skin with a view to providing specific blood sugar readings, even if early iterations may only be able to tell people if they're prediabetic.

While some knock-off smartwatches claim to include glucose monitoring, none of the best smartwatches out there actually offer the feature because of the aforementioned technical challenges. The FDA went so far as to warn against using smartwatches or even smart rings to measure blood glucose earlier this year.

Stephen Warwick is TechRadar's Fitness & Wearables writer with nearly a decade of experience covering technology, including five years as the News Editor of iMore. He's a keen fitness enthusiast and is never far from the local gym, Apple Watch at the ready, to record his latest workout. Stephen has experience writing about every facet of technology including products, services, hardware, and software. He's covered breaking news and developing stories regarding supply chains, patents and litigation, competition, politics and lobbying, the environment, and more. He's conducted interviews with industry experts in a range of fields including finance, litigation, security, and more. Outside of work, he's a massive tech and history buff with a passion for Rome Total War, reading, and music.