Apple has reportedly tested a new health management app that allows prediabetic users to track blood sugar levels by managing food and lifestyle changes, according to a new Bloomberg report from Mark Gurman.
The app went live for select Apple employees earlier this year as part of a broader testing phase. However, Apple has no plans to release the blood sugar tracking app to the public. Instead, some of the app’s features could be integrated into future health products, including the long-rumored noninvasive blood sugar monitoring sensor.
The app is mainly aimed at prediabetic users. Apple employees who were invited to test the app had to validate their prediabetic status with a blood test before enrolling. To use the app, employees monitored their blood sugar levels through third-party devices on the market, before manually logging their readings into the app after food consumption.
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Testing the app was reportedly a very secretive initiative at Apple, even by the company’s standards. Invited employees had to sign numerous medical and nondisclosure agreements, before getting extensively vetted by managers to access the app.
The app’s primary function is to showcase how certain foods affect blood sugar, empowering users to make lifestyle choices by cutting down or eliminating certain items that increase blood sugar levels. Data collected from the app will give Apple insight into how to develop consumer-facing services to deal with prediabetes. However, the company reportedly paused work on the app to focus on other health initiatives.
For example, Apple could use the trial’s findings to incorporate a food logging system into the iPhone’s Health app. The company could also offer deeper iOS integration with third-party glucose trackers.
The report adds that Apple often runs employee-only apps for health features before offering them to the public. For example, Apple tested sleep apnea alerts from the Apple Watch and hearing health features for AirPods with employees for many years before they were publicly announced this year.
The report attests that the blood sugar app is unrelated to the company’s highly secretive blood glucose project that will measure a user’s blood sugar levels without pricking the skin. Any consumer iteration of this project remains years away, with the initial version likely to alert users if they’re prediabetic rather than providing specific readings.
