Apple reportedly put off adding a pair of key healthcare features to a widely-anticipated update to its Apple Watch wearable expected to be launched later this year.

Bloomberg reported the Apple Watch series 7 won’t feature body temperature monitoring until 2022, with a blood sugar function to follow later.

Apple has promoted the health features of its wearable for several years: current models feature heart rate monitors and offer access to an electro cardiogram (ECG) app, among other functions.

The news agency predicted the latest Apple Watch would feature ultra-wideband connectivity, enabling the capture of directional and spatial data used in tracking devices.

In addition to new hardware, Apple is expected to introduce a new watchOS, which was previewed at its recent Worldwide Developers Conference 2021.

Apple Watch has dominated the wireless wearables category since its launch in 2015, eclipsing rivals including Fitbit and Samsung. IDC figures show Apple shipped 30.1 million units in Q1 2021, up 19.8 per cent year-on-year and far higher than the 11.8 million units shipped by Samsung.

The company has repeatedly positioned the watch as a way to support a healthy lifestyle and has pledged to protect the privacy of healthcare data collected by the device.

In late 2020, Apple partnered with Spotify to enable users to stream music on the wearable devices.