Rumor | Apple Watch series 8 units with a body-temperature sensor upgrade are just an algorithm away

New top-end wearables are thought to add body-temperature sensors to their arsenal of hardware in 2022. It is perceived as an in-demand feature thanks to the potential extra insight into health metrics they may offer, especially in the post-pandemic era. However, according to Ming-Chi Kuo, its inclusion in the Apple Watch series 8 is still not a done deal.

Kuo now notes that even the Cupertino data giant has yet to perfect the algorithms necessary to support body-temperature read-outs of the accuracy that might be expected of Apple - not to mention what Apple might expect of itself.

The TF International analyst believes that these algorithms need to correct for the fact that the measurements in question are taken from the skin, which involves the potential for confounding variables.

In addition, their completion may also depend on what OEMs such as Apple (and their customers) envisage for first-gen body-temperature tracking: data from wearables is already backed to help predict the development of respiratory illnesses, after all.

Therefore, this new feature might pass the Apple Watch by for yet another year, should its maker fail to produce algorithms that meet its own standard. This issue might also cause similar delays in next-gen Galaxy Watches.

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