For quite a while it's been rumoured that a future Apple Watch will come with some fancy new health sensors - specifically, one that can take passive readings of a user's blood sugar levels. Unfortunately, it now looks like that functionality is still a ways off.

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, who has a great track record when it comes to reporting Apple's plans, has addressed rumours about a glucose sensor in his latest Power On newsletter (via Apple Insider). From the sounds of it, the Apple Watch Series 8 will not get a glucose sensor or other advanced health tracking features. Worse yet, a glucose sensor might not come to any future Apple Watch models for years to come. 

"I wouldn't be surprised if glucose monitoring doesn't land until later in the second half of the decade", Gurman said. 

To be clear, a glucose sensor would allow Apple Watch users to take immediate action when their blood sugar drops or spikes. It's a hardware feature that would be extraordinarily helpful for diabetics or other people who need to manage their blood sugar levels. While there are at-home tests available, they involve using a needle to draw blood for a glucose monitor to analyse. But the Apple Watch would not require a blood sample.

Or at least that's what the rumour mill has suggested - that Apple is working on a non-invasive sensor that can detect low and high blood sugar levels. But it's all just speculation for now. Apple, of course, doesn't confirm or announce features until it's ready to launch a working device.

As for the other health-tracking features that are expected to come to the Apple Watch, Gurman said: "Body temperature was on this year's roadmap, but chatter about it has slowed down recently". It's not all bad news from Gurman, though. In a recent newsletter, he said we can expect three models for the next Apple Watch: the Apple Watch Series 8, Apple Watch SE 2, and a rugged Apple Watch.

Check out Pocket-lint's Apple Watch Series 8 rumour roundup below: