Samsung is in a race with Apple to create a non-invasive blood sugar monitor.

Samsung Electronics Co. is currently investigating the creation of a noninvasive blood sugar monitor (glucose monitoring) and continuous blood pressure checking. This move demonstrates the company’s determination to achieve significant healthcare objectives, as it competes with Apple Inc. and other prominent tech companies.

The work is part of a broader effort to add health features to several devices, including its just-announced Galaxy Ring, said Hon Pak, the Samsung executive overseeing the effort. The company ultimately aims to give consumers a complete picture of their well-being through sensors on different parts of the body and around the home.

Health tracking is already a key selling point for smartphones and watches, with Samsung, Apple and Alphabet Inc.’s Google using the features to attract and retain customers. A particularly valuable breakthrough would be the creation of sensors for continuous blood pressure monitoring and glucose monitoring. Apple has been working for years on a glucose monitor that doesn’t require users to prick their skin — a potential boon for millions of diabetics.

We are on WhatsApp channels. Click to join.

“If we can measure continuous blood pressure and glucose, we’re in a whole different ball game,” Pak, Samsung’s head of mobile digital health, said during a wide-ranging interview. “I think that’s where everyone is trying to get to. We’re putting a lot of effort into it.”

He would not comment on a timeline for either feature, but said he hopes non-invasive glucose monitoring could be on the market in some form within five years. “We’re looking at everything from miniaturization to different technology platforms that can perform some type of glucose monitoring or anything in between,” Pak said.

The remarks follow Samsung’s announcement last week that it is working on a tire with health sensors. The Galaxy Ring product is scheduled to be released before the end of 2024 and will be available in a variety of colors and sizes, Pak said. The company monitors tire activity and sleep tracking, and more health features are coming later.

Smart rings from companies like Oura offer an alternative for people who don’t want to wear a watch, but still want to track their health data and sleep patterns.

“The ring represents that community of people who want to track their health in a more convenient and less intrusive way,” Pak said. “It meets the needs of a certain population that wants to track and measure, but in a different way.”

Pak said Samsung hasn’t finalized pricing for the Galaxy Ring, but — like the company’s Galaxy Watches — it likely won’t be compatible with Apple’s iPhone.

Developing a blood glucose meter would be a more challenging task, but could have significant rewards. Current products on the market typically require a blood test or a skin prick – an inconvenient process. Apple has been working on the noninvasive approach since around 2010 and has made significant progress since then, Bloomberg News reported. Nevertheless, the product will last for years.

Both companies are also working to improve blood pressure monitoring. Samsung’s smart watches have long offered the possibility to determine the user’s blood pressure, but the monitoring is not continuous throughout the day and requires calibration with a separate blood pressure monitor.

Pak said Samsung is “evaluating all options” to improve its blood pressure features. The goal is to go longer without calibration. “We’ve thought long and hard about this,” he said.

Apple, meanwhile, plans to add hypertension detection to its smartwatch later this year in a way that doesn’t require calibration but doesn’t offer accurate readings either. Instead, the watch notifies users that they may have high blood pressure. Apple’s expansion into health technology has not been entirely without problems. It recently removed the blood oxygen feature from the Apple Watch after its patent dispute with Masimo Corp.

Pak said traditional blood pressure readings are “not really that meaningful” as far as showing a normal and abnormal range. “Whether it’s Apple or others, I think we’re trying to redefine blood pressure in the way it was originally intended, which is: How much cardiovascular risk do you have?” he said.

Samsung is also exploring several different sensors for future versions of its headphones. The company is researching new ways to measure body temperature and heart rate, adding that the ear is closer to the heart than the wrist. The data from the ear could be combined with data from the wrist and the environment to give users a more comprehensive picture of their health.

Mixed reality headsets could be a new frontier for health as well, Pak said. Apple is poised to launch its first product in that market next week, when the Vision Pro goes on sale for $3,499.

Meditation and mental health could be key areas for such devices, he said.

Also read today’s top stories:

Are you worried about AI taking your job? Artificial intelligence cannot currently replace the majority of jobs in cost-effective ways, says a study that sought to address fears of artificial intelligence replacing humans in several industries. Find out what that really means here.

Towards safer artificial intelligence! After nuclear fission, no technology will shape our collective future quite like AI, so it is paramount that AI systems are safe, secure, reliable and socially responsible. Dive here.

Did AI really boost Microsoft? Was there a revolution? AI functionality, even really good AI functionality, is not a silver bullet that can turn around an ailing product. Check out the reality here.