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Short answer: Apple is reportedly researching noninvasive glucose monitoring, but it has not confirmed an Apple Watch Series 13 for 2027 or a blood-glucose sensor for that watch. Treat the Series 13 claim as an unverified prediction, not a product announcement. If you need glucose readings for diabetes care, do not wait for a rumored watch or use an unapproved smartwatch reading to guide treatment.
What the Series 13 blood-sugar rumor claims
The claim circulating online links a possible Apple Watch Series 13, expected by some to arrive in 2027, with blood-sugar monitoring. The specific Series 13 prediction has been attributed in secondary discussions to analyst Jeff Pu, but the original analyst note has not been independently verified here. More importantly, Apple has not announced the model, a 2027 launch date, or this feature.
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
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| 1 |
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Apple Watch Series 12 GPS 46mm Smartwatch | $449.00 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
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Apple Watch Series 12 GPS 42mm Smartwatch | $399.00 | Buy on Amazon |
| 3 |
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Apple Watch Series 12 GPS 42mm Smartwatch | $389.99 | Buy on Amazon |
| 4 |
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Apple Watch Series 12 GPS 42mm Smartwatch | $389.99 | Buy on Amazon |
| 5 |
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Apple Watch Series 12 GPS 46mm Smartwatch | $439.99 | Buy on Amazon |
These are different levels of evidence: Apple could be researching a technology without having a finished product; a journalist or analyst can report or predict a possible launch; only an official product announcement establishes what Apple plans to sell. On the available evidence, the research is credible reporting, while the Series 13 feature and timing remain unconfirmed.
| Claim | Status | What that means |
|---|---|---|
| Apple is researching noninvasive glucose sensing | Supported by established reporting | A research effort does not establish a consumer product or launch date. |
| Apple Watch Series 13 will launch in 2027 | Unconfirmed forecast | Apple has not confirmed the model or date. |
| Series 13 will measure glucose by itself | Unconfirmed | No Apple specification or regulatory evidence establishes this feature. |
| An existing Apple Watch independently measures blood glucose | Misleading | A watch may display compatible data from another device; that is not onboard measurement. |
What Apple has reportedly been working on
Bloomberg reported in February 2023 that Apple had made progress on a long-running effort to measure glucose without piercing the skin. A May 2026 report summarizing Mark Gurman’s reporting described a potentially encouraging update and a new project leader. These reports suggest continued research, not that a sensor is clinically ready, approved, or scheduled for a particular Apple Watch.
#1 Best Overall
- STAY CLOSER TO YOUR HEART HEALTH—The most accurate heart rate sensing in a wearable,* Series 12 now measures HRV as often as every five minutes for insights on stress and recovery, and takes background heart rate readings every five seconds.
- A FULL-FEATURED HEALTH TRACKER—Better understand your body with invaluable health insights. View your overnight health metrics with the Vitals app and get a daily sleep score,* track your menstrual cycle,5 and take readings of your blood oxygen.*
- CHECK YOUR READINESS FOR THE DAY—Know when to rest or put yourself to the test. The readiness experience can help you determine your capacity to take on the day by analyzing your recent activity, vitals, and sleep.
- A POWERFUL FITNESS TRACKER—With advanced metrics and motivating features like Pacer, Heart Rate Zones, and Workout Buddy powered by Apple Intelligence from your nearby iPhone8—Series 12 helps you stay active, from running to hiking to strength training.
- KEEP HELP CLOSE AT HAND—A smartwatch that puts your safety first. Series 12 can detect a hard fall or severe car crash, automatically help connect you with emergency services, and notify your emergency contacts.*
Apple has not publicly released a complete sensor design, accuracy results, intended-use statement, regulatory clearance, launch timetable, or country availability for a glucose-measuring watch. A research milestone can still be followed by validation, engineering, manufacturing, or regulatory hurdles—or by delay, a narrower feature, or cancellation.
Apple’s announced 2025 watch lineup included Series 11, Ultra 3, and SE 3; Apple did not announce glucose measurement in its Series 11 announcement. The official June 2026 announcement likewise did not confirm a blood-glucose feature. Absence from those announcements does not disprove ongoing research; it does mean readers should not mistake research reports for a released or promised function.
Rank #2
- STAY CLOSER TO YOUR HEART HEALTH—The most accurate heart rate sensing in a wearable,* Series 12 now measures HRV as often as every five minutes for insights on stress and recovery, and takes background heart rate readings every five seconds.
- A FULL-FEATURED HEALTH TRACKER—Better understand your body with invaluable health insights. View your overnight health metrics with the Vitals app and get a daily sleep score,* track your menstrual cycle,5 and take readings of your blood oxygen.*
- CHECK YOUR READINESS FOR THE DAY—Know when to rest or put yourself to the test. The readiness experience can help you determine your capacity to take on the day by analyzing your recent activity, vitals, and sleep.
- A POWERFUL FITNESS TRACKER—With advanced metrics and motivating features like Pacer, Heart Rate Zones, and Workout Buddy powered by Apple Intelligence from your nearby iPhone8—Series 12 helps you stay active, from running to hiking to strength training.
- KEEP HELP CLOSE AT HAND—A smartwatch that puts your safety first. Series 12 can detect a hard fall or severe car crash, automatically help connect you with emergency services, and notify your emergency contacts.*
Why a glucose sensor is not just another watch metric
Heart rate or movement can be useful wellness measures, but a glucose value can influence decisions about insulin and other medication. A device intended to support those decisions needs evidence that its readings are sufficiently accurate for its stated purpose. Performance would need to be assessed against an appropriate reference and across real-world conditions, including movement and variation among users. Sensor size, power use, calibration needs, and manufacturing are also practical constraints.
Industry approaches to noninvasive sensing may include optical or infrared methods, spectroscopy, algorithms using other signals, or a separate sensor architecture. Apple has not publicly confirmed which, if any, it is pursuing in a future watch. It is also possible that an initial feature—if one ever ships—would provide limited trends or alerts rather than continuous, treatment-grade measurements. Those are scenarios, not known Apple plans.
Rank #3
- STAY CLOSER TO YOUR HEART HEALTH—The most accurate heart rate sensing in a wearable,* Series 12 now measures HRV as often as every five minutes for insights on stress and recovery, and takes background heart rate readings every five seconds.
- A FULL-FEATURED HEALTH TRACKER—Better understand your body with invaluable health insights. View your overnight health metrics with the Vitals app and get a daily sleep score,* track your menstrual cycle,5 and take readings of your blood oxygen.*
- CHECK YOUR READINESS FOR THE DAY—Know when to rest or put yourself to the test. The readiness experience can help you determine your capacity to take on the day by analyzing your recent activity, vitals, and sleep.
- A POWERFUL FITNESS TRACKER—With advanced metrics and motivating features like Pacer, Heart Rate Zones, and Workout Buddy powered by Apple Intelligence from your nearby iPhone8—Series 12 helps you stay active, from running to hiking to strength training.
- KEEP HELP CLOSE AT HAND—A smartwatch that puts your safety first. Series 12 can detect a hard fall or severe car crash, automatically help connect you with emergency services, and notify your emergency contacts.*
Measuring glucose is different from showing CGM data
An Apple Watch can serve as a display for data from a compatible continuous glucose monitor (CGM), depending on the CGM maker’s app, device compatibility, and regional availability. In that setup, a separate sensor measures glucose and sends information through its supported system; the watch is showing the data, not measuring glucose with its own sensor.
| What you see | Where the measurement comes from | What it does not prove |
|---|---|---|
| Standalone watch reading | The watch’s own sensor claims to measure or estimate glucose | Without appropriate authorization and evidence, it is not a reliable basis for treatment decisions. |
| CGM reading displayed on a watch | A separate wearable CGM sensor measures glucose; a compatible system relays it | The watch itself has no glucose sensor merely because it displays the value. |
| Manually logged reading | A user enters a result measured using a meter or another device | The watch did not take the measurement. |
| Wellness estimate | A device infers a value or trend from other signals | A marketed estimate is not necessarily clinically validated or authorized. |
That distinction matters when evaluating a headline, an app, or a seller’s claim. A watch face showing a glucose number does not by itself tell you which device measured it or whether that reading is suitable for medical decisions.
Rank #4
- STAY CLOSER TO YOUR HEART HEALTH—The most accurate heart rate sensing in a wearable,* Series 12 now measures HRV as often as every five minutes for insights on stress and recovery, and takes background heart rate readings every five seconds.
- A FULL-FEATURED HEALTH TRACKER—Better understand your body with invaluable health insights. View your overnight health metrics with the Vitals app and get a daily sleep score,* track your menstrual cycle,5 and take readings of your blood oxygen.*
- CHECK YOUR READINESS FOR THE DAY—Know when to rest or put yourself to the test. The readiness experience can help you determine your capacity to take on the day by analyzing your recent activity, vitals, and sleep.
- A POWERFUL FITNESS TRACKER—With advanced metrics and motivating features like Pacer, Heart Rate Zones, and Workout Buddy powered by Apple Intelligence from your nearby iPhone8—Series 12 helps you stay active, from running to hiking to strength training.
- KEEP HELP CLOSE AT HAND—A smartwatch that puts your safety first. Series 12 can detect a hard fall or severe car crash, automatically help connect you with emergency services, and notify your emergency contacts.*
The FDA warning—and what people with diabetes should do
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says no smartwatch or smart ring has been authorized, cleared, or approved to measure or estimate blood-glucose values on its own without piercing the skin. The agency warns that an inaccurate value could lead someone to take an incorrect insulin or medication dose, with potentially severe consequences. Read the FDA safety communication before relying on a device that makes this claim.
The warning is about a watch or ring claiming to measure glucose independently. It is not a blanket ban on viewing data from an authorized CGM on a compatible smartwatch. The FDA’s sensor-based digital-health list includes CGM systems such as Dexcom G7 and G7 15 Day, illustrating the difference between a regulated sensor system and an unapproved standalone watch claim. Authorization applies to a device’s particular intended use; it does not make every reading perfect or every product appropriate for every person.
Best Value
- STAY CLOSER TO YOUR HEART HEALTH—The most accurate heart rate sensing in a wearable,* Series 12 now measures HRV as often as every five minutes for insights on stress and recovery, and takes background heart rate readings every five seconds.
- A FULL-FEATURED HEALTH TRACKER—Better understand your body with invaluable health insights. View your overnight health metrics with the Vitals app and get a daily sleep score,* track your menstrual cycle,5 and take readings of your blood oxygen.*
- CHECK YOUR READINESS FOR THE DAY—Know when to rest or put yourself to the test. The readiness experience can help you determine your capacity to take on the day by analyzing your recent activity, vitals, and sleep.
- A POWERFUL FITNESS TRACKER—With advanced metrics and motivating features like Pacer, Heart Rate Zones, and Workout Buddy powered by Apple Intelligence from your nearby iPhone8—Series 12 helps you stay active, from running to hiking to strength training.
- KEEP HELP CLOSE AT HAND—A smartwatch that puts your safety first. Series 12 can detect a hard fall or severe car crash, automatically help connect you with emergency services, and notify your emergency contacts.*
If you need glucose readings, use a meter or CGM recommended by your healthcare professional and follow its instructions. Do not change insulin or medication based on an unauthorized smartwatch or ring, and do not postpone care while waiting for a rumored Apple product. Compatibility, prescription requirements, coverage, and availability for CGMs vary by product and location.
What might happen in 2027?
There is no sound basis to predict which outcome will occur. Apple could release no glucose feature; offer a limited trend or wellness function; improve support for data from external CGMs; introduce a sensor that requires further validation or regulatory review; or delay or abandon the work. Even if a future Apple Watch displays glucose-related information, that wording alone would not tell you whether it independently measures glucose, how often it measures, or whether it can guide treatment.
Apple Watch glucose rumors have attached long-term research to specific future generations before. Such predictions can be wrong even when the underlying research is real. The useful lesson is not that Series 13 definitely will—or will not—have a sensor, but that a model number and year in a rumor are not evidence of a product commitment.
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How to judge a future announcement
Before treating any future glucose feature as real or medically useful, look for an Apple product announcement and technical documentation that explain what is measured and how; clinical-validation results and accuracy information; a clearly defined intended use and any limits or confirmation instructions; relevant regulatory authorization in your country; and a clear distinction between readings from the watch and readings relayed from an external CGM. Availability and authorization can differ by country, so a U.S. announcement would not establish worldwide access.
For now, the careful verdict is straightforward: Apple’s noninvasive glucose research has been reported, but “Apple Watch Series 13 will measure blood sugar in 2027” is not confirmed. Do not buy a watch or make diabetes-treatment decisions on the strength of that rumor.
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