This content material initially appeared on diaTribe. Republished with permission.
With the most recent Dexcom G7 app replace, the continual glucose monitor communicates instantly by way of bluetooth to the Apple Watch Collection 6 or later.
Key Takeaways:
- The Dexcom G7 steady glucose monitor (CGM) now connects on to Apple Watch within the U.S.
- Dexcom’s software program apps had been already suitable with gadgets such because the Apple Watch, however they required connection to a close-by smartphone.
- The Dexcom Direct to Apple Watch function is just accessible to Dexcom G7 customers within the U.S., United Kingdom, and Eire, however will develop to extra markets later this month.
For Dexcom CGM customers who’re early tech adopters, life has simply gotten a bit simpler: Dexcom G7 wearers can now see their blood glucose ranges with out an iPhone shut by.
Dexcom introduced as we speak that the G7 steady glucose monitoring (CGM) system now connects on to Apple Watch in choose nations. The direct-to-watch function may very well be a game-changer for these to who need to have the ability to monitor their blood glucose in numerous conditions the place they could not need to be tethered to a cellphone – whereas enjoying sports activities, having a shower, or going for an unplugged stroll in nature, for instance. It might even be a radical enchancment for younger youngsters with diabetes who’re depending on CGMs however could not have cell telephones.
The way it works
This new rollout makes the G7 the primary and solely CGM system to connect with a number of gadgets directly with a direct-to-Apple Watch functionality.
“Direct to Apple Watch has been one in every of our most requested options and we’re thrilled to roll it out to Dexcom G7 customers within the U.S. and world wide,” Jake Leach, government vp and chief working officer at Dexcom, mentioned in a assertion.
The Dexcom G7 now connects utilizing its personal devoted Bluetooth connection to ship blood sugar data and alerts to a number of gadgets, similar to a smartphone, a CGM receiver, an AID system, and an Apple Watch, instantly and concurrently.
Discover extra particulars in regards to the function on Dexcom’s FAQ web page.
How G7’s Direct-to-Apple Watch differs from Dexcom’s present smartwatch options
Traditionally Dexcom has been suitable with smartwatches such because the Apple Watch, Garmin, or Google Pixel Watch. Nonetheless, this compatibility relied on connection to a smartphone (which mirrors the glucose studying on the watch) quite than an unbiased Bluetooth connection, which means CGM wearers had been required to maintain their telephones inside Bluetooth vary – roughly 33 toes – for the monitor to remain related. As a result of the G7 now connects instantly and independently to Apple Watch, CGM wearers will be capable to view present blood sugar readings or difficulty glucose-related alerts even when their iPhone isn’t shut by.
Many Dexcom clients have been eagerly awaiting the day that diabetes administration goes arms free with an Apple Watch. Up to now, the one means for a consumer to benefit from the straight-to-wrist function of getting blood glucose notifications despatched on to a watch has been via third-party-supported apps similar to xDrip and particular watches that might assist that software program.
Dexcom G7 Direct-to-Apple Watch: Tech necessities and limitations
The Dexcom direct-to-watch improve does include some necessities, together with the next:
New adopters ought to view this function as a supplementary solution to see information and get alerts, not a substitute for his or her smartphones, since a cellphone remains to be required to arrange the preliminary pairing. And Dexcom’s Share function, which permits customers to permit information to be seen by buddies or household, will not be accessible on smartwatches, so sharing information nonetheless requires a cellphone to be inside vary.
Direct-to-Apple Watch: Rollout particulars and growth plans
Dexcom’s direct-to-watch function made information in March when it was previewed in the course of the Worldwide Convention on Superior Applied sciences and Remedies for Diabetes in Florence, Italy.
The function first launched in Eire and the UK, however is now accessible to customers within the U.S. as effectively. The corporate has acknowledged that it additionally expects the function to launch in further nations later this month.
Leach, Dexcom’s COO, added that the corporate is hoping to develop its record of suitable gadgets, and hoping it will quickly embrace Android and Samsung watches.
It’s unclear whether or not or not Dexcom plans so as to add this function for its earlier technology G6 CGM, however within the meantime, this G7-exclusive function could assist to encourage G6 customers who’ve been sluggish to improve to the G7 system.
Dexcom’s subsequent launch will doubtless be the rollout of the Stelo, an over-the-counter CGM with out alerts and alarms designed for folks with diabetes who will not be on insulin remedy. The machine is anticipated to be accessible this summer season.
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