Apple Hiring for Health Technologies Team Ahead of Apple Watch 2

Apple-Watch-Heart-Rate-SensorApple has posted at least four job listings since November seeking biomedical engineers and technicians to join the research and development arm of its Health Technologies team, reports BuzzFeed News.

Apple's current health and fitness initiatives include the Apple Watch, launched last April with a heart rate sensor and activity tracking, and ResearchKit, an open source medical research framework for clinical trials on iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.

The rumored Apple Watch 2 is expected to launch in March with several improvements, possibly including a FaceTime Camera and expanded Wi-Fi capabilities, but Apple's health and fitness ambitions beyond its next-generation smartwatch remain open to speculation.

Apple CEO Tim Cook stirred speculation in November when he said that while Apple does not want to subject the Apple Watch to U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval, the company is not against the idea of putting adjacent products like apps or "something else" through the FDA.

Since then, Apple has made a number of hirings that suggest it may be working on a new health and fitness project.

Apple-AnneBuzzFeed News also found that over the last three or so months, Apple has snapped up employees from the medical world, according to LinkedIn. For example, Anne Shelchuk, who has a doctorate in biomedical engineering, left ultrasound software company ZONARE Medical Systems for Apple’s health technology team in November. […]

Craig Slyfield, a mechanical engineer who’s co-authored several papers related to measuring and visualizing human bones in 3D, also joined Apple as a product development engineer in November. A hire in October was system design engineer Nathan Clark, who has a doctorate in biomedical engineering and a patent for a device that separates cells.

Last March, ABC provided a closer look at Apple's top-secret health and fitness lab where it collected more than 18,000 hours of health and fitness data from over 10,000 workout sessions by Apple employees. Apple COO Jeff Williams is known to lead the Apple Watch team internally, while Director of Fitness for Health Technologies Jay Blahnik, a former Nike FuelBand consultant, also plays a key role.

Related Roundup: Apple Watch Series 8
Buyer's Guide: Apple Watch (Neutral)
Related Forum: Apple Watch

Top Rated Comments

RealKrS Avatar
94 months ago
I can't wait to see Ive in the promo video explaining how they were able to make it thinner than the first one and somehow they couldn't do it before.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mad Mac Maniac Avatar
94 months ago
Why does the headline even reference "ahead of Apple Watch 2"? It's not like these hires will have any sort of effect (direct or otherwise) on the AW2. It's already finalized.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
NovemberWhiskey Avatar
94 months ago
Real-time blood glucose monitoring is going to be a revolutionary advancement. Especially considering the growing diabetes epidemic.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
OldSchoolMacGuy Avatar
94 months ago
"Ahead of Apple Watch 2"

Who says the Apple Watch 2 isn't pretty much finalized and in testing now, for announcement and release soon?
[doublepost=1452621492][/doublepost]
Why does the headline even reference "ahead of Apple Watch 2"? It's not like these hires will have any sort of effect (direct or otherwise) on the AW2. It's already finalized.
Exactly. Someone writing these doesn't understand product cycles. The next iPhone is close to being finalized around the time the new one is announced each year. It takes months of testing, followed by months of production, to release them on release-day. It's not something they finalize the day before they present it to the public.

Look at OS X. They show a half-baked developer preview at WWDC and then allow them more than 3 months of testing with it before releasing. And that's software. Something they can modify and push out new builds easily. The same can't be done with hardware. It takes months of real-world testing with prototypes, hardware tweaks, and then finalization. This is all done months before the announcement comes.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Zirel Avatar
94 months ago
I can't wait to see Ive in the promo video explaining how they were able to make it thinner than the first one and somehow they couldn't do it before.
That's just you, and people that don't understand the meaning of "technology" in the tech business, but feel like an expert all the time.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
LordQ Avatar
94 months ago
Waterproof and completely iPhone-independent, please.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iOS 16

iOS 16.4 Now Available for Your iPhone With These 8 New Features

Friday March 31, 2023 8:55 am PDT by
Following six weeks of beta testing, iOS 16.4 was released to the public this week. The software update includes a handful of new features and changes for the iPhone 8 and newer. To install an iOS update, open the Settings app on the iPhone, tap General → Software Update, and follow the on-screen instructions. Below, we have recapped eight new features and changes added with iOS 16.4,...
CarPlay Phone Call

General Motors to Phase Out Apple CarPlay Starting This Year in EV Transition

Friday March 31, 2023 8:43 am PDT by
General Motors (GM) will phase out Apple CarPlay and Android Auto in its vehicles starting this year, shifting to a built-in infotainment system co-developed with Google (via Reuters). GM owns Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC in the United States. It will stop offering Apple CarPlay and Android Auto starting with the 2024 Chevrolet Blazer, which goes on sale this summer. The company plans ...
iOS 17 on Phone Feature

Three New iOS Features Coming to Your iPhone Following Apple Music Classical

Thursday March 30, 2023 7:13 am PDT by
With the Apple Music Classical app and an Apple Pay Later early access program now available, the list of previously-announced iOS features that have yet to launch is beginning to shrink. However, there are still a few features we are waiting for. Below, we have recapped three more iOS features that are expected to launch in 2023, including an Apple Card savings account for Daily Cash,...
wwdc 2023

Three Products We Might See at WWDC 2023

Friday March 31, 2023 3:37 pm PDT by
Apple this week announced the official dates for the 34th annual Worldwide Developers Conference, with the annual WWDC keynote event set to take place on Monday, June 5. The keynote is where Apple unveils new versions of iOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS, and sometimes, we get hardware announcements. Rumors this year suggest there are at least three new devices that are set to be unveiled in the ...
iPhone 15 Pro Multi Purpose button Mute Switch Feature Green 2

iPhone 15 Pro Solid-State Button Sensitivity Can Be Customized to Cater for Cases and Gloves

Thursday March 30, 2023 11:36 pm PDT by
iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max users will be able to customize the sensitivity of the solid-state buttons on their device, thanks to a new sensitivity toggle in Settings. That's according to details provided by a hitherto reliable source that shared additional details on the MacRumors forums. Earlier this week, the same anonymous tipster revealed that the iPhone 15 Pro models will use...
apple mixed reality headset concept by david lewis and marcus kane

Kuo: Apple Mixed-Reality Headset May Not Appear at WWDC as Mass Production Pushed Back Yet Again

Thursday March 30, 2023 4:50 am PDT by
Apple has again pushed back mass production of its mixed-reality headset and the device may not appear at this year's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo today said. Apple headset concept by David Lewis and Marcus Kane In a tweet, Kuo explained that Apple "isn't very optimistic" about whether the headset will be able to create an "iPhone moment." As a result,...
iPhone 15 Pro Periscope Mock Feature

Periscope Camera Lens Exclusive to iPhone 15 Pro Max Will Be Supplied by Largan

Thursday March 30, 2023 1:18 am PDT by
The periscope camera lens that will be exclusive to the iPhone 15 Pro Max will be solely supplied by Largan, according to the 相機鏡頭中獲利-apple-camera-lens-suppliers-face-two-risks-high-53db8da990b2">latest no by Apple industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Rumors about the iPhone getting a periscope lens have been circulating since early 2020, when Kuo first mentioned the possibility. The analyst...