Samsung Galaxy Watch7 is said to already offer a non-invasive blood sugar monitor thanks to AI

If what the South Korean website Pulse reported today is true (via SamMobile), Samsung could be the first winner in the race to integrate the holy grail of blood sugar measurement into the smartwatch feature set. After all, Galaxy watches have already been able to measure blood pressure for several generations, although this requires calibration with a conventional cuff device to provide correct values. Nevertheless, this gives the Galaxy Watch an advantage over the Apple Watch series, which has not yet been able to measure blood pressure at all.

Warning about current blood sugar smartwatches

Rumor has it that the Apple Watch X expected in the fall will also offer hypertension detection for the first time, i.e. it will be able to warn of high blood pressure, but the main issue of measuring sugar levels in the blood is that it is still impossible without painful needle pricks in the finger in smartwatches in reliable quality. Just a few months ago we uncovered that cheap smartwatches from China that advertise such features are currently more of a health risk, at least that was the case with the iHeal 6, which has since been withdrawn from sale. Another candidate, the Orange Pi Watch D promises much more reliable results.

Samsung wants to make more use of AI for health features

But back to Samsung: in January Hon Pak, Samsung's Vice President of Digital Healthcare, was quoted as saying that Samsung was investing a lot of money and research into the development of non-invasive blood sugar monitoring methods using wearables. According to an official Samsung report in the Korean newsroom, Samsung is now also using artificial intelligence to develop more convenient everyday solutions not only for diabetics but also for patients with high blood pressure or cardiac arrhythmia, for example.

Galaxy Watch7 is probably not a medical device

We do not want to evaluate here how realistic a blood sugar monitor is in the upcoming Galaxy Watch7 generation, which may also be available for the first time in a Galaxy Watch7 Ultra version from the beginning of July 2024. However, the report from South Korean sources already warns that the upcoming smartwatch may not yet be validated as a medical device, which means that the results of the potential blood glucose measurement would probably not be reliable enough for diabetics.