Apple today is releasing a detailed new report highlighting the ways its ecosystem of products and services are impacting human health, from helping users keep track of their own personal health to supporting medical research and care.
"We believe passionately that technology can play a role in improving health outcomes and encouraging people to live a healthier day, and we are excited about the many ways users are benefiting from our health and fitness features, and by the ways third-party developers, institutions, and organizations are using Apple technology to advance health and science," said Jeff Williams, Apple's chief operating officer. "Our vision for the future is to continue to create science-based technology that equips people with even more information and acts as an intelligent guardian for their health, so they're no longer passengers on their own health journey. Instead, we want people to be firmly in the driver's seat with meaningful, actionable insights."
The 59-page document is split into two main sections, with the first one focused on empowering users with convenient access to their own health data while delivering health and fitness features to help maintain or improve their health. Apple outlines its commitment to privacy with secure storage of health data, the Apple Watch's role in health monitoring and as a health and fitness companion, and the HealthKit framework that opens up the ecosystem to third-party apps.
With the release of iOS 16 and watchOS 9 later this year, there will be even more health-related features available to users, including medication tracking, AFib History, and sleep stage tracking.
The second section of the report examines how Apple's health initiative integrates with the medical community, including features like ResearchKit and the Apple Research app. Other aspects include how Apple supports physician-patient relationships with technology and data and how it helps health organizations and insurance companies promote healthy lifestyles with Apple Watch.
The report concludes with an Extensions and Spotlights section that highlights a number of examples of developers and organizations that are leveraging Apple's health-related features and services to drive innovation.
Apple is doing a fantastic job with integrating technology and health
I hope that Apple continues to add and make improvements to both the Apple Watch and HealthKit
There have been rumors that the upcoming AirPods Pro, which may be released this fall, will have additional health capabilities so I’m really looking forward to the new AirPods Pro being released
I currently am using an Apple Watch series 7 but if Apple adds additional health capabilities to this year’s Apple Watch, I will definitely be upgrading to the series 8
It's silly to say that, because I used almost all the other features. Calls (with cell plan so I didn't always bring my phone), several message apps, games, mail, music, podcast, weather, calendar, food ordering, to control several home devices, shazam, navigation, alarm, reminders, audiobooks...all this just the top of my head.
To say that I should use a mechanical watch just because I don't use health features and want the watch to do without the extra hardware? Come on. If you want to sling that tiresome sarcastic reaction toward somebody, I'm not the target.
I understand where you're coming from but I don't think Apple will ever release a watch without HR sensor, it's too big of a headline feature. Ever since the very first one almost flopped from leaning way too hard into fashion, they've made it essentially a health device that also does some other stuff (from a marketing perspective.)
Apple is still planning to add body temperature monitoring and new health features to the Apple Watch this year, despite experiencing development problems with blood pressure and blood glucose monitoring, in addition to multiple new features in the iPhone's Health app, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
Apple has reportedly been working on an updated sensor for the Apple Watch that is...
With iOS 16 and watchOS 9, Apple is making it easier for users to track their medications. Medicine, vitamins, and supplements can all be added to the Health app in iOS 16 for tracking purposes, and custom reminders to take medication can be set up. You can add your prescription medications to the Health app on the iPhone through the new "Medications" category. You can search for your...
Monday November 14, 2022 2:32 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Meta has scrapped the development of its health and messaging-focused smartwatch, in an abrupt end to the company's plans to directly compete with the Apple Watch.
Employees were reportedly told on Friday that work on its smartwatch project would be halted as part of a cost-cutting effort that will involve structural changes to the company. Meta's smartwatch development team will now...
Monday September 12, 2022 9:57 am PDT by Juli Clover
Apple today released watchOS 9, the latest version of the watchOS operating system designed to run on newer Apple Watch models. watchOS 8 is compatible with the Apple Watch Series 4 and later.
watchOS 9 can be downloaded for free through the Apple Watch app on the iPhone by opening it up and going to General > Software Update. To install the new software, the Apple Watch needs to have at...
Wednesday November 23, 2022 4:40 pm PST by Juli Clover
With the Thanksgiving holiday set to take place in the United States tomorrow, we thought we'd ask MacRumors readers about their preferred Apple products, both from 2022 and earlier.
What Apple product are you most thankful to have? Is it the Apple Watch with its health tracking features, or the iPhone that keeps you in touch with friends and family? Is it the AirPods Pro and their noise...
Tuesday November 8, 2022 11:10 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple today released the second betas of iOS 16.2 and iPadOS 16.2 to developers for testing purposes, with the update tweaking some features and addressing some bugs that were discovered in the first beta.
We've outlined all of the changes found in the second betas of iOS 16.2 and iPadOS 16.2 in this article.
Lock Screen Camera Bug Fix
Apple has fixed an annoying bug that did not allow...
Following the WWDC 2022 keynote last week, Apple's VP of health Dr. Sumbul Desai, operations chief Jeff Williams, and VP of fitness technologies Jay Blahnik spoke with TechCrunch's Darrell Etherington about new health features added in watchOS 9.
One of the Apple Watch's new health features is AFib History, which allows individuals diagnosed with atrial fibrillation to view an estimate of...
Monday November 14, 2022 4:56 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple is facing a proposed federal class action alleging that it records users' mobile activity without their consent and despite privacy assurances, in violation of the California Invasion of Privacy Act, reports Bloomberg.
In a lawsuit filed by New York citizen and iPhone 13 owner Elliot Libman, Apple is accused of "utterly false" assurances that users are in control of what information...
Although Black Friday is now technically over, many Apple products are still seeing major discounts through the weekend as we head into Cyber Monday. In this article, you'll find every Apple device with a notable Black Friday sale that's still available. We'll be updating as prices change and new deals arrive, so be sure to keep an eye out if you don't see the sale you're looking for yet.
Note:...
Cellular carriers have always offered big savings on the newest iPhone models during the holidays, and Cyber Monday is no different. We're tracking notable offers on the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro devices from AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile. For even more savings, keep an eye on older models like the iPhone 13.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a...
Friday November 25, 2022 3:33 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Nothing Phone 1 users today began receiving the Nothing OS 1.1.7 update, which adds support for displaying the battery percentage of connected AirPods, amongst other improvements and bug fixes.
If you own a Nothing Phone 1, you can check for the OTA update by going to Settings -> System -> System updates. Bear in mind that as support for displaying AirPods battery level is still an...
Cyber Monday deals have been in full swing since Black Friday deals ended, and we're seeing solid discounts on Apple devices. We're highlighting the best sales for all of Apple's product lines, and in this article you'll find the best Cyber Monday sales on iPad, iPad Pro, iPad Air, and iPad mini.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make ...
Friday November 25, 2022 2:58 am PST by Sami Fathi
An Apple engineer has addressed the lack of lossless audio support in the second-generation AirPods Pro in a new interview. Current Bluetooth technology in the AirPods lineup means that Apple's audio products do not support Apple Music Lossless audio. Apple has previously hinted that it may develop its own codec and connectivity standard that builds on AirPlay and supports higher quality...
Now that Black Friday is over, the internet's attention has shifted to Cyber Monday deals today. Of course, for Apple products this means that many of the deals you saw last week are basically the same today. Despite this repetition, it's a great chance for anyone who missed out on Black Friday deals to still get the year's best prices on many Apple devices.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate...
Monday November 28, 2022 6:11 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple today announced that the Oceanic+ app is available for the Apple Watch Ultra starting today. Designed by Huish Outdoors in collaboration with Apple, the app serves as a dive computer for recreational scuba diving at depths up to 40 meters/130 feet.
Apple already offers a basic Depth app on the Apple Watch Ultra for viewing your current depth, maximum depth reached, water temperature,...
While we already have some clear indications about what to expect from the fourth-generation iPhone SE, there are three major questions looming over the device at the current time.
Chinese site MyDrivers and and leaker Jon Prosser believe that the iPhone SE is set to move to an iPhone XR-like design in its next incarnation, which would involve eliminating the Home button and adding a "notch" ...
Top Rated Comments
I hope that Apple continues to add and make improvements to both the Apple Watch and HealthKit
There have been rumors that the upcoming AirPods Pro, which may be released this fall, will have additional health capabilities so I’m really looking forward to the new AirPods Pro being released
I currently am using an Apple Watch series 7 but if Apple adds additional health capabilities to this year’s Apple Watch, I will definitely be upgrading to the series 8
I’d like to think the AW played a significant role in that.