Shulou(Shulou.com)11/24 Report--

Thanks to CTOnews.com netizens Wu Yanzu in South China for the delivery of clues! CTOnews.com, August 15, Apple has obtained a patent for a "high-precision" temperature sensor for Apple Watch. In a few weeks, Apple is expected to launch a new Apple Watch Series 8 with temperature sensing.

"A large inventory of iPhone 14 / Pro series, Apple Watch Series 8 / Pro, AirPods Pro 2, etc."

MyHealthyApple discovered Apple's newly granted patent, which has been filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office under the title "Temperature gradient sensing in electronic devices" (temperature gradient sensing in electronic devices). Although the wording of the patent indicates that it can be applied to any device, the only device described in the patent illustration is clearly the Apple Watch, which may hint at Apple's specific application of the technology.

Apple's patent protection shows an electronic device housing that includes a temperature sensing system that includes a temperature sensor and a temperature difference probe. The system works by calculating the difference between the two ends of the probe. One end touches the surface to be tested, and the other end is connected with a temperature sensor. The voltage difference at different ends of the probe can then be associated with the temperature difference measurement.

The temperature probe is configured to generate a voltage corresponding to the temperature gradient between the first end of the probe and the second end of the probe. The temperature sensor can be arranged in the shell of the electronic device. The first end of the probe can be coupled to the temperature sensor, and the second end of the probe can be coupled to any suitable surface of the electronic device, whether internal or external. In this structure, the temperature sensor can be configured to measure the temperature of any surface or volume exposed by the sensing surface at any given sampling time or sampling rate. "

The patent continues to explain in detail how temperature sensing hardware works. More importantly, while the patent covers how to use a dedicated temperature sensor inside the device to monitor the temperature of components such as processors, it indicates that the sensor can be used to measure the "absolute temperature" of outer surfaces, such as skin.

Most notably, Apple explicitly mentioned that the location of the external probe might be "on the back, such as the crystal on the back of the smartwatch" and said the system included "high-precision and high-precision absolute temperature sensors". The patent outlines several potential shapes and arrangements of temperature sensors, one of which is a compelling design is a cross temperature probe.

According to analyst Guo Mingyi, Apple originally planned to provide temperature measurement on the "Apple Watch Series 7" device, but during the Engineering Verification Test (EVT) phase, Apple shelved the plan because the temperature algorithm developed failed to meet the requirements.

Apple's problems with temperature measurement are said to have something to do with the fact that skin temperature changes rapidly according to the environment, and because smartwatches cannot use hardware to monitor core body temperature, so this function relies heavily on algorithms that produce accurate results. The patent covers only the hardware settings of the temperature sensing system, not the algorithms needed to produce accurate results.

While Apple's patent applications cannot be seen as concrete evidence of the company's exact plans, as many of its patents have never been used, they do show the direction of its research and development and sometimes accurately reveal upcoming products, such as the AirTag tracker.

There have been a lot of revelations that Apple Watch Series 8 provides temperature sensors. The report shows that although the device is unlikely to provide accurate temperature measurements, the sensor will be used to provide at least two new health monitoring functions.

The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg Mark Gurman say temperature sensors will help with birth planning and let women know about their ovulation cycles. Apple has been focused on women's health in recent years, so expanding its capabilities in this area seems to be in line with the company's goals.

In addition, temperature sensors can be used to improve pattern detection when tracking sleep. Apple has been using blood oxygen sensing during sleep since Apple Watch Series 6 and has significantly enhanced Apple Watch sleep tracking in watchOS 9, which means that this area may be further improved this year with the help of hardware.

Apple also plans to allow temperature sensors to detect when users have a fever, but this feature seems unlikely to be available when Apple Watch Series 8 is launched, according to revelations. Gurman believes that in the more distant future, the Apple Watch model will be able to detect whether a user's body temperature is above normal, but it is still unlikely to show accurate measurements.

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