Samsung Racing to Beat Apple to Non-Invasive Blood Glucose Monitoring Technology

Samsung is striving to beat Apple to launch non-invasive blood glucose monitoring technology, as well as continuous blood pressure tracking features, Bloomberg reports.

galaxy watch6 models
The efforts are part of the company's wider push to offer more health capabilities, embodied by the recent announcement of the Galaxy Ring, which touts activity and sleep tracking, with more health features set to arrive later. In a new interview, Samsung's mobile digital health chief Hon Pak said:

If we can do continuous blood pressure and glucose, we're in a whole different ballgame. I think that's where everyone is trying to get to. We're putting significant investment toward that.

[...]

We are looking at everything from miniaturization to the various different technology platforms that can do some type of glucose monitoring or anything in between.

Pak declined to comment on a time frame for launching either of the features in specific Samsung devices, but believes that non-invasive glucose monitoring technology could come to market in some form within five years. Current blood glucose monitoring systems usually requires pricking the skin, but Apple has reportedly been working on a unique non-invasive approach for over a decade. The company is believed to have made major progress with the technology, increasing pressure on rivals to provide competing features.

While Samsung smartwatches already offer the ability to determine a user's blood pressure, the capability is not constant and requires specific calibration with a separate blood pressure monitor. Apple is purportedly planning to add hypertension detection to the Apple Watch later this year with no calibration requirement, but it will not provide exact readings, instead simply informing users that they may have elevated blood pressure.

Like Apple, Samsung is also reportedly exploring adding health sensors to future versions of its earbuds, such as body temperature and heart rate monitoring, since the ear is a closer pathway to the heart than the wrist. Health information from the ear could be combined with data already collected from the wrist for even greater accuracy.

Popular Stories

iOS 26

iOS 26.1 Coming Soon: New Features for Your iPhone and Release Date

Monday October 27, 2025 7:55 am PDT by
The upcoming iOS 26.1 update includes a handful of new features and changes for iPhones, including a toggle for changing the appearance of the Liquid Glass design, "slide to stop" for alarms in the Clock app, and more. Below, we outline key details about iOS 26.1. Release Date Given that Apple has yet to seed an iOS 26.1 Release Candidate, which is typically the final beta version, the...
maxresdefault

Apple TV 4K Could Still Launch Before 2025 Ends: All the Rumored Features

Monday October 27, 2025 4:51 pm PDT by
Apple is designing an updated version of the Apple TV 4K, and rumors suggest that it could come out sometime in the next couple of months. We're not expecting a major overhaul with design changes, but even a simple chip upgrade will bring major improvements to Apple's set-top box. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. We've rounded up all the latest Apple TV rumors. ...
iOS 26

6 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 26.1

Wednesday October 29, 2025 4:22 am PDT by
Apple is about to drop iOS 26.1, the first major point release since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least six notable changes and improvements to look forward to. We've rounded them up below. Apple has already provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate version of iOS 26.1, which means Apple will likely roll out the update to all compatible...
M6 MacBook Pro Feature 1

M6 MacBook Pro: Release Date, Pricing, and What to Expect

Monday October 27, 2025 9:15 am PDT by
Apple this month refreshed the 14-inch MacBook Pro base model with its new M5 chip, and higher-end 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips are expected to follow in early 2026. However, these machines will represent the final update to the current design, with Apple reportedly developing a completely new version of the MacBook Pro packed with next-generation hardware...
iOS 26

Apple Seeds iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, and macOS Tahoe 26.1 Release Candidates

Tuesday October 28, 2025 1:07 pm PDT by
Apple today provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate versions of upcoming iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, macOS Tahoe 26.1, tvOS 26.1, watchOS 26.1, and visionOS 26.1 updates for testing purposes. The RCs betas come a week after Apple released the fourth betas. The new betas can be downloaded from the Settings app on a compatible device by going to General > Software...
iOS 26 Battery Glass Feature

iOS 26.1 Beta Liquid Glass Battery Drain Test: Tinted vs Clear Mode

Friday October 24, 2025 2:30 pm PDT by
In the fourth iOS 26.1 beta, Apple added a "Tinted" option that reduces the translucency of Liquid Glass for those who prefer a more opaque look. I saw some comments wondering whether the setting might preserve battery life, so I thought I'd do some testing. Test Settings I did four separate tests using the iPhone 17 Pro Max, and I kept the parameters as similar as possible. Here are the...
ios 26 digital id passport wallet

Apple Says U.S. Passport Feature on iPhone is Coming Soon

Monday October 27, 2025 7:41 am PDT by
You will "soon" be able to add a digital version of your U.S. passport to your iPhone, according to Jennifer Bailey, vice president of Apple Pay and Apple Wallet. Bailey reiterated that the feature is coming soon during her keynote at the Money20/20 USA conference in Las Vegas on Sunday. On its iOS 26 page, Apple says the delayed feature will be "coming later this year." Apple's...
All Screen iPhone 2027 Feature 1

iPhone XX? 6 Features Rumored for Apple's 20th Anniversary iPhone

Monday October 27, 2025 4:01 pm PDT by
For the 10th anniversary iPhone that came out in 2017, Apple introduced the iPhone X with Face ID, notch, and minimized bezels, providing more display space than ever before. The 20th iPhone anniversary is approaching and Apple wants to take the iPhone X design even further. We're two years away from the 2027 iPhone, but it's tough for Apple to keep major changes under wraps. We've rounded...
macos tahoe

Here Are Apple's Release Notes for macOS Tahoe 26.1

Tuesday October 28, 2025 1:21 pm PDT by
Apple today provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate version of macOS Tahoe 26.1, which means the update will likely see a public launch next week. The release candidate includes notes on what's in the update, so we have a full picture of the new features that Apple has included. macOS Tahoe 26.1 adds AutoMix support over AirPlay, improved FaceTime audio...

Top Rated Comments

sniffies Avatar
23 months ago
Take your time, Apple.

We prefer quality rather than Samsung's WE DID IT FIRST.
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
KPOM Avatar
23 months ago
Competition is a good thing that keeps both companies working to make their products better.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MuppetGate Avatar
23 months ago

Take your time, Apple.

We prefer quality rather than Samsung's WE DID IT FIRST.
If I remember, Samsung had a smart watch before Apple released the Apple Watch, so yes, being first to market doesn’t mean anything.

Yet another Bloomberg article attempting to shift share prices.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
moabal Avatar
23 months ago
Non-invasive glucose monitoring is the holy grail. If Apple can figure it out, everyone will get an Apple Watch.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Catasstrophy Avatar
23 months ago

Sigh.

Such features have their uses when needed, but I think it is not a good idea for most people to persistently monitor and to “doctor” themselves. We are setting up ourselves to become like Felix Unger from The Odd Couple. One Felix Unger was enough and funny, but millions or billions of them could be a healthcare mess.

I think companies should promote devices that encourages users to meditate, be still, or be mindful. These activities could alleviate or fix many of the chronic ailments that burden us today.
Companies literally do this, right now. Samsung and Apple both had it as headlining features in the last year or so. Unfortunately meditation and mindfulness doesn't make my body less insulin resistant.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
neuropsychguy Avatar
23 months ago

I wonder how you can measure blood glucose without any form of pricking the skin. What are the mechanics behind it?
There are other methods but this is who Apple has been partnering with: https://www.fastcompany.com/90730050/apple-partner-rockley-photonics-blood-sugar

"Current wearable glucose monitors detect glucose levels through the body fluid that runs between cells. It requires injecting a piece of filament into your arm through a needle, a process that’s not painful so much as it is jarring (especially for anyone with a fear of needles). Everyone agrees that being able to slap a smartwatch on your wrist to track glucose would be a far better experience, but it has been difficult to miniaturize the necessary technology.

"Rockley has figured out a way to make the necessary sensors small enough to fit on a wrist and developed machine learning to better understand a person’s glucose reading. It built a chip-based spectrophotometer, which means it can use a variety of light sources to measure biometrics through skin. The company then uses artificial intelligence to understand what those sugar levels mean within the context of an individual to answer whether their sugar is too high, too low, or average."
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)