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Apple is reportedly working on a custom health chip that would assist in the processing of biometric data from its devices.
Currently, the company is developing custom chips for iPhones and is rumored to be designing custom processors for its Mac lineup by 2020. According to CNBC, Apple’s new jobs listing giving a hint that the company is developing custom health chips that will be processing data like heart rate and improving battery efficiency on devices like Apple Watch or make use of next-gen sensors
One listing reads, “We are looking for sensor ASIC architects to help develop ASICs for new sensors and sensing systems for future Apple products. We have openings for analog as well as digital ASIC architects.”
Other job listing states that Apple is on the lookout for engineers to “assist develop well being, wellness, and health sensors.” The job listings have since been deleted.
It is not confirmed yet whether Apple is working to integrate better health tracking and monitoring features into its existing set of chips in iPhone and Apple Watch or it is interested in designing a new custom chip that will work with a hardware component. Currently, the Apple Watch uses a custom optical sensor for measuring heart rate. A new chip could work with that existing sensor to better process the data. Moreover, it could help the accompanying device be more efficient while it collects and analyzes that data.
At that moment, the A11 Bionic chip, present in iPhone X and iPhone 8, comprises of a particular “Neural Engine” designed to speed up synthetic intelligence-related duties like FaceID and Animoji. A new health-focused chip might be engineered in the same way which will perform customary computing duties along with health-related ones. The following Apple Watch is anticipated to launch this fall alongside the most recent iPhone models.
