Consumer tech giant Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) made its name around mobile devices. And sometimes, those mobile devices can do some pretty unusual things. Now, Apple’s getting closer to developing a continuous glucose monitoring system that can fit in its Apple Watch. Apple investors are somewhat nonplussed, however, as Apple is only up fractionally in Wednesday afternoon trading on the news.
Reports note that Apple has hit “major milestones” toward its construction of a glucose monitoring system. The project, known originally as E5, dates all the way back to the Steve Jobs era. It proposes a means to provide for “…noninvasive and continuous blood glucose monitoring,” meaning that those who suffer from diabetes need no longer draw blood samples for testing. It works via a process known as “optical absorption spectroscopy.” This process depends on lasers emitting wavelengths of light that can be absorbed by glucose. The amount of light reflected back—not absorbed—then can allow the device to tell how much glucose is in the bloodstream.
Right now, though, the prototype device that does the measuring is about the same size as an iPhone. Those still drawing blood to measure glucose levels will likely be fine with the larger size device. At any rate, Apple currently believes it can enter the market, suggesting that the miniaturization into an Apple Watch isn’t strictly necessary.
Regardless of Apple’s healthcare ambitions, analysts are very much on board. Currently, analyst consensus calls it a Strong Buy, with 24 out of 29 recommendations a Buy. Meanwhile, Apple stock’s average price target of $171.94 gives it 15.23% upside potential.
