Will Apple Watch Series 8 have a temperature sensor, unlike Series 7?
The next Apple Watch is expected to launch in September, with a record three new models planned, it’s believed. Now, a patent which has emerged with remarkable timeliness shows a body temperature sensor which has been predicted to be the key upgrade in this year’s models.
Although some commentators had previously said that the sensor was looking uncertain for the 2022 release, it’s now looking more likely. Just this week, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, in his latest Power On newsletter, claimed that a body temperature sensor is coming: “The regular Apple Watch Series 8 will add a body-temperature sensor, but—like the new Apple Watch SE—will look similar to the previous generation.”
Which perhaps means that the Series 8 will have the new sensor but that it won’t be on the new SE—that would stack up with my thoughts on the subject. No mention is made of the bigger new Watch, which may be called the Apple Watch Pro, but I’d guess it would be on board this pricier model.
The new patent, seen by MyHealthyApple, is titled “Temperature gradient sensing in electronic devices”. While it does not state that it’s for a wearable such as the Apple Watch, tellingly, the only images in the patent which have a discernible gadget in them are of a watch.
A screenshot from a new patent which may indicate a temperature sensor coming to Apple Watch.
Specifically, it describes, “a temperature sensing system including a temperature sensor and a differential temperature probe. The differential temperature probe includes a flexible substrate defining two ends.”
This is important because accurate temperature measurement on the wrist can be challenging, so the presence of the differential temperature pro is there to make it work.
“The temperature probe is an in-plane thermopile including a series-coupled set of thermocouples extending from the first end to the second end. A temperature measured at the temperature sensor can be a first measured temperature and a voltage difference across leads of the differential temperature probe can be correlated to a differential temperature relative to the first measured temperature. A sum of the differential temperature and the first measured temperature is a second measured temperature, quantifying a temperature of the second end of the differential temperature probe.”
Space on a device such as a watch is at a premium, so the system is designed to take up as little space as possible. As the patent says, “Broadly, a wearable electronic device incorporating a temperature sensing system as described herein can detect absolute temperature of multiple discrete locations or volumes without requiring multiple temperature discrete temperature sensors.”
It’s also designed to allow versatility in terms of where it could be placed on the device. “Because of the ability of a thin-film differential temperature probe… to be routed and/or placed substantially anywhere within a wearable electronic device housing, the temperature sensor generating the reference temperature can also gain substantial placement flexibility.”
The purposes of temperature sensing in a wearable device are numerous. In some devices from Amazon, for example, the function has been used to measure stress.
It could help with sleep analysis or assist with fertility planning, for instance.
There have been rumors that Apple would use it to help users know that they may be getting a fever, though that feature may not be available on Series 8, or at least not at the time of launch.
