Persistent rumors that a future Apple Watch would be beneficial for diabetics and weight managers have received a bit more credence from Apple itself.

Brazilian readers of 9to5Mac were sent a survey asking about their Apple Watch health tracking habits and which of the current watchOS features they find most useful. The survey asked respondents if they use third-party apps to track their workout tracks and eating habits, and importantly, if they use apps to monitor their medications and blood sugar levels.

This is the best evidence yet that the company's longstanding ambition to launch an Apple Watch with built-in non-invasive blood glucose monitoring is nearing fruition. While Apple's research is not hard evidence, it often indicates that the company will soon change direction, as anyone who has undergone research on old iPhone chargers knows.

Blood sugar tracking has been a target for Apple for years, and CEO Tim Cook was seen wearing what appears to be a prototype device in 2017.

The long road to becoming a feature reflects how difficult this task is and the importance of getting it right. While blood glucose is a useful indicator for people trying to lose weight, knowledge is paramount for diabetics, and a flimsy, inaccurate sensor is useless. [But if implemented well, it could be a game changer. As we explained last year, there is some third-party hardware that is compatible with the Apple Watch, but it is very expensive; a continuous monitoring system like Dexcom's costs $245 for a transmitter and $1,035 for a three-month supply of sensors, and inexpensive manual systems cost $31 to $90 per month, depending on the number of tests performed each day.

Rumors of Apple's plans grew stronger last week when it was revealed that the company is the largest customer of Rockley Photonics, a British company that specializes in accurate sensors for various blood signals, including glucose and alcohol levels. in SEC filings, Rockley claims that its lasers offer "up to one million times higher resolution, 1,000 times higher accuracy, and 100 times wider wavelength range" than existing wearable LEDs.

All of that sounds very promising, but the big question is whether this implementation will appear in the Apple Watch 7 or not until the 2022 version of the wearable. Rockley CEO Andrew Rickman said he expects the technology to be in wearables next year.

But that doesn't mean Apple won't have something in the works for the Apple Watch 7. It would not be the first time, after all, that the company has introduced a basic feature and then improved upon it in subsequent generations.