Diabetes remains one of the fastest growing health challenges worldwide. Millions of people live with the disease without knowing it. Spotting the warning signs early can make a real difference, and Huawei says its new smartwatch feature aims to help by silently alerting you to potential diabetes risks using the kind of health data your watch already collects.
How Huawei uses PPG to assess diabetes risk
At the heart of Huawei’s diabetes risk feature is photoplethysmography (PPG). It is a non-invasive optical method that tracks tiny changes in blood flow just under the skin.
If this sounds familiar, it’s because many smartwatches, including the Huawei Watch 5, already rely on PPG to monitor heart rate and blood oxygen levels. Huawei now takes those same signals and analyzes them for patterns that may be related to diabetes risk.
You must wear the watch regularly between 3 and 14 days. During this time, the watch continuously collects cardiovascular data from the wrist. The diabetes risk app then sorts the results into low, medium or high risk categories.
If you belong to the medium or high risk group, the app will prompt you to consult a doctor for a proper medical examination.
To validate the system, Huawei worked with Dubai Health to study how well the watch-based results compare to hospital tests such as fasting blood glucose, HbA1c and OGTT.
However, Huawei also expressly emphasizes that this function is not a medical device. It is intended to raise awareness and promote early action, not the diagnosis of diabetes.
Other smartwatch manufacturers are looking for similar health insights
Huawei is not alone in this race. Apple is exploring AI-powered tools to predict structural heart disease using data from future Apple Watch models, while Samsung is working on features that can detect early signs of dementia.
Currently, Huawei’s diabetes risk feature is available on the Huawei Watch GT 6 Pro via an OTA software update. There are plans to expand support to other smartwatch models.
Although they do not replace clinical diagnosis, wearables are becoming increasingly important for consumers to identify health risks early.
