Blood sugar measurement with Apple Watch no longer needs iPhone, says Dexcom

If you use the Dexcom G7 continuous glucose monitoring system, you’ve long been able to view your blood sugar measurement on your Apple Watch – but you can now do so without your iPhone.

Previously, the G7 wirelessly transmitted the health data to your iPhone, which then relayed it to your Apple Watch …

Now, however, the G7 can talk directly to the Apple Watch app, meaning you no longer need to have your iPhone close at hand to relay the results.

Blood sugar measurement with Apple Watch

The feature was first rolled out in the UK and Ireland, but the company has announced that it’s available in the US from today.

“At Dexcom, our users are at the heart of everything we do. Direct to Apple Watch has been one of our most requested features and we’re thrilled to roll it out to Dexcom G7 users in the U.S. and around the world,” said Jake Leach, executive vice president and chief operating officer at Dexcom. “We’ve long believed that people with diabetes should be able to view their CGM data where and how they choose. Direct to Apple Watch is a testament to that, allowing people with diabetes flexibility and choice in how they manage their health.”

Using its own dedicated Bluetooth connection, Dexcom G7 sends glucose information and personalized alerts right to a user’s Apple Watch, allowing them to go for a run, enjoy a dinner out, and feel confident leaving their iPhone behind. Dexcom G7 is the only CGM system that can display glucose on multiple devices simultaneously and independently, including on a smartphone, smart watch, receiver or connected automated insulin delivery system.

You’ll still need to use an iPhone to do the initial setup, and that must be running iOS 17 or later, but once that is done you only need an Apple Watch Series 6 or later running watchOS 10 and up.

The global rollout will take place later this month.

The holy grail remains elusive

The D7 takes blood samples through a patch-style device typically worn on the upper arm.

The holy grail of diabetes management is the vision of non-invasive blood sugar measurement, where no blood sample is needed. This would allow an Apple Watch or other wearable to carry out the measurement directly.

Dexcom COO Jake Leach told CNET that this is hugely challenging.

Leach said while he’s “not going to say it’s impossible,” providing blood sugar information requires accuracy and reliability and is an “extremely challenging area” of health tech. You can’t compare glucose monitoring to the relative simplicity of reading blood oxygen through a pulse oximeter.

9to5Mac collage of images from Dexcom and Sharon Pittaway on Unsplash