ResearchKit iconApple has released an updated version of ResearchKit with iPad support and several other new features for developers. ResearchKit 1.1 includes improved slider support, new active tasks, bug fixes, style improvements and more, with some of the changes briefly discussed during Apple's recent What's New in Cocoa Touch session at WWDC this week. The full changelog is listed below.

Today we're happy to announce that we've tagged a new stable release of ResearchKit, version 1.1. This new version includes multiple significant contributions:

  • Audiometry active task (Shazino SAS)

  • Reaction time active task (James Cox)

  • Navigable Ordered Task (Ricardo Sánchez-Sáez)

  • iPad support (Ricardo Sánchez-Sáez, Bruce Duncan, and others)

  • Image Capture step (Bruce Duncan)

  • Improved slider support (various contributors)

  • Plus various bug fixes and style improvements

    Over the past few weeks these changes have had additional review for accessibility, and have been localized to all the languages iOS supports.

  • ResearchKit is a software framework that enables researchers and developers to create apps for iOS users to participate in medical studies. Given that ResearchKit is open source, many of the changes made in the latest version were contributed by third-party developers not employed by Apple. A commit list for the ResearchKit 1.1 update is available for developers on GitHub.

    (Thanks, Ricardo!)

    Top Rated Comments

    rsanchezsaez Avatar
    137 months ago
    @krazifour: Not really. Some traditional in-person medical studies do pay volunteers, but this is not the case with the current ResearchKit app-based studies. I don't expect that to happen with future studies either.

    Why do you imply that?
    Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
    rtonev Avatar
    137 months ago
    Bruce for someone with no app development experience whatsever - how do I get started with making Research Kit surveys for example ? And is there any developers forum specifically for Research Kit ?
    Stanford has a nice free iTunes course for iOS App Development. You can check that one out. Lynda.com also has nice videos. After you get familiar with apple stuff, you can take a look at Apple's github page for research kit:

    https://github.com/researchkit/researchkit

    They have examples there, including how to make surveys.
    Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
    Joe Rossignol Avatar
    137 months ago
    Does that mean that Health app is coming to iPad?
    More likely ResearchKit-based apps for iPad such as Asthma Health ('http://appshopper.com/medical/asthma-health-by-mount-sinai'), mPower ('http://appshopper.com/medical/parkinson-mpower-study-app'), GlucoSuccess ('http://appshopper.com/medical/glucosuccess'), Share the Journey ('http://appshopper.com/medical/share-the-journey') and MyHeart Counts ('http://appshopper.com/medical/myheart-counts'). They're all limited to iPhone right now.
    Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
    rsanchezsaez Avatar
    137 months ago
    @soundwave1337: I don't think Apple has plans to bring HealthKit nor the Health app to iPad. HealthKit is an optional component in ResearchKit: when coding an app that uses ResearchKit, on iPad you can't use the ResearchKit capabilities.

    I'm not sure if any of the five current ResearchKit apps that Joe mentioned will be natively brought to iPad. My guess is that not for now.
    Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

    Popular Stories

    Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature 1

    Apple to Make More Foldable iPhones Than Expected [Updated]

    Tuesday December 9, 2025 9:59 am PST by
    Apple has ordered 22 million OLED panels from Samsung Display for the first foldable iPhone, signaling a significantly larger production target than the display industry had previously anticipated, ET News reports. In the now-seemingly deleted report, ET News claimed that Samsung plans to mass-produce 11 million inward-folding OLED displays for Apple next year, as well as 11 million...
    Google maps feaure

    Google Maps Quietly Added This Long-Overdue Feature for Drivers

    Wednesday December 10, 2025 2:52 am PST by
    Google Maps on iOS quietly gained a new feature recently that automatically recognizes where you've parked your vehicle and saves the location for you. Announced on LinkedIn by Rio Akasaka, Google Maps' senior product manager, the new feature auto-detects your parked location even if you don't use the parking pin function, saves it for up to 48 hours, and then automatically removes it once...
    iOS 26

    15 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 26.2

    Friday December 5, 2025 9:40 am PST by
    Apple is about to release iOS 26.2, the second major point update for iPhones since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least 15 notable changes and improvements worth checking out. We've rounded them up below. Apple is expected to roll out iOS 26.2 to compatible devices sometime between December 8 and December 16. When the update drops, you can check Apple's servers for the ...
    iPhone 14 Pro Dynamic Island

    iPhone 18 Pro Leak Adds New Evidence for Under-Display Face ID

    Monday December 8, 2025 4:54 am PST by
    Apple is actively testing under-screen Face ID for next year's iPhone 18 Pro models using a special "spliced micro-transparent glass" window built into the display, claims a Chinese leaker. According to "Smart Pikachu," a Weibo account that has previously shared accurate supply-chain details on Chinese Android hardware, Apple is testing the special glass as a way to let the TrueDepth...
    iOS 26

    Apple Seeds Second iOS 26.2 Release Candidate to Developers and Public Beta Testers

    Monday December 8, 2025 10:18 am PST by
    Apple today seeded the second release candidate version of iOS 26.2 to developers and public beta testers, with the software coming one week after Apple seeded the first RC. The release candidate represents the final version iOS 26.2 that will be provided to the public if no further bugs are found. Registered developers and public beta testers can download the betas from the Settings app on...
    iOS 26

    iOS 26.2 Coming Soon With These 8 New Features on Your iPhone

    Thursday December 11, 2025 8:49 am PST by
    Apple seeded the second iOS 26.2 Release Candidate to developers earlier this week, meaning the update will be released to the general public very soon. Apple confirmed iOS 26.2 would be released in December, but it did not provide a specific date. We expect the update to be released by early next week. iOS 26.2 includes a handful of new features and changes on the iPhone, such as a new...
    iPhone 17 Pro Cosmic Orange

    10 Reasons to Wait for Next Year's iPhone 18 Pro

    Monday December 1, 2025 2:40 am PST by
    Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models at the same time, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 18 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. One thing worth...
    Johny Srouji

    Apple's Chipmaking Chief Johny Srouji Responds to Report About Him Potentially Leaving

    Monday December 8, 2025 9:23 am PST by
    Apple's chipmaking chief Johny Srouji has reportedly indicated that he plans to continue working for the company for the foreseeable future. "I love my team, and I love my job at Apple, and I don't plan on leaving anytime soon," said Srouji, in a memo obtained by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Here is Srouji's full memo, as shared by Bloomberg:I know you've been reading all kind of rumors and...
    ipad blue prime day

    iPad 12 Rumored to Get iPhone 17's A19 Chip, Breaking Apple Tradition

    Wednesday December 10, 2025 12:22 pm PST by
    The next-generation low-cost iPad will use Apple's A19 chip, according to a report from Macworld. Macworld claims to have seen an "internal Apple code document" with information about the 2026 iPad lineup. Prior documentation discovered by MacRumors suggested that the iPad 12 would be equipped with an A18 chip, not an A19 chip. The A19 chip was just released this year in the iPhone 17, and...
    google pixel 10

    Switching Between iPhone and Android Will Get Easier With New Apple and Google Collaboration

    Monday December 8, 2025 11:10 am PST by
    Apple and Google are teaming up to make it easier for users to switch between iPhone and Android smartphones, according to 9to5Google. There is a new Android Canary build available today that simplifies data transfer between two smartphones, and Apple is going to implement the functionality in an upcoming iOS 26 beta. Apple already has a Move to iOS app for transferring data from an Android...