According to a new report, Apple has big plans for the Apple Watch's health features Unfortunately, if you are waiting for the Apple Watch 7, it appears that the most impressive features will not appear until next year's smartwatch at the earliest

The Apple Watch 7 is expected to be available this fall, but an exact release date is up in the air amid reports of production delays But a far bigger blow to prospective Apple Watch 7 buyers is a report by the Wall Street Journal on Apple's health ambitions and how the company's smartwatch fits into those plans

The bottom line is this: while Apple is hoping to add some very impressive features, none of them seem headed to the Apple Watch 7

Blood pressure monitoring: rumors earlier this week suggested that blood pressure monitoring could be included in the Apple Watch 7, but Bloomberg's Mark Garman says the chances of that happening are "zero"

A Wall Street Journal report also suggested that this would be a future Apple Watch feature, centered around a sensor that measures "the speed of the waves a heartbeat sends to a person's arteries"

Built-in thermometer: The Wall Street Journal has pegged the arrival of this feature in 2022, potentially using the Apple Watch's new sensors to monitor body temperature Since body temperature helps women know when they are ovulating, the watch's temperature measurement feature would be used as a fertility planning feature

Better Sleep Tracking: The blood-oxygen monitoring feature added to the Apple Watch 6 can record data that might reveal sleep problems, but Apple wants to be more specific in future watches To that end, the company wants future Apple Watches to be able to detect sleep apnea while providing more advanced sleep tracking

Blood sugar detection: This has long been rumored as an Apple Watch feature, and the Wall Street Journal has acknowledged that Apple is keen to be able to detect diabetes on its smartwatch Apple is reportedly researching non-invasive ways to measure blood glucose levels, but so far has not been successful

If these improvements will be missed in this year's Apple Watch 7, does that mean this latest update should also be scrapped? Your first instinct might be to hold off on buying a new watch whenever it comes out, but that may be a hasty decision

Whatever the device, the time to upgrade is when you need it Apple has not been building devices to achieve record sales every year and saying, "We have nothing more to add"

Delaying every purchase because something better is on the horizon will put off many purchases

As the Wall Street Journal article also points out, there is no guarantee that any of these features will be included in a future Apple Watch Many factors would need to come together for these features to become a reality, not the least of which would be FDA approval for many of these features

Again, if you are looking for a Watch now, it is not a good idea to wait to see if Apple can achieve its very high goals

Besides, the Apple Watch 7 is rumored to have some great enhancements of its own that will make the upgrade worthwhile The latest smartwatch is expected to feature a larger screen than before while offering a new flat-edge design Apple may also introduce an improved processor and new health and fitness tracking features that have yet to be revealed

Yes, from the Wall Street Journal's coverage, tomorrow's Apple Watch is going to be quite impressive But let's not forget about this year's Apple Watch Especially before Apple gets a chance to show off its new features