Apple Executives Discuss Apple Watch's Life-Saving Health Features in New Interview

Following the introduction of the Apple Watch Series 10 and watchOS 11's new sleep apnea detection feature last month, Apple executives Jeff Williams, Dr. Sumbul Desai, and Jay Blahnik sat down for an interview with The Independent's David Phelan. The discussion is focused on the Apple Watch's health features.

watchos 11 vitals
Williams, who leads the Apple Watch engineering teams, said that Apple was inspired to add more health features to the Apple Watch after CEO Tim Cook received emails from customers who said the Apple Watch potentially saved their lives.

"So, we realized, wow, we have this opportunity – and even more, a responsibility," said Williams. "So, we began to look for opportunities. That's when we started pulling on threads and adding additional sensors and features like irregular rhythm, atrial fibrillation alerts, and all the way through to something like sleep apnea."

Williams added that his own sleep apnea diagnosis and subsequent usage of a CPAP machine to treat the condition provided him with "a new lease of life."

"It was less about pushing any personal agendas – we don't really do that at Apple – but it certainly helps to have experience in terms of being able to reinforce and encourage the team that there's such an opportunity to help people," said Williams. "Everybody in the team is just really inspired by this mission of trying to help people with their health."

Dr. Desai suggested that watchOS 11's new Vitals app that analyzes important health metrics during sleep could eventually work during the daytime too:

"If we could push, over time, to get that type of information during the day, well, we always pull on the thread to see what else we can do," she said.

Blahnik, who leads the teams behind Apple Fitness+ and other fitness technologies at Apple, emphasized the Apple Watch's utility for health and fitness.

"It's easy to forget, but 10 years ago, you didn't really know how far you were running unless you happened to have measured the distance in your car, say," he said. "GPS on the wrist was not a common thing. How measuring your activity adds up to something over your life and your longevity is a big deal."

The full interview can be read at The Independent.

Related Roundup: Apple Watch 10
Buyer's Guide: Apple Watch (Neutral)

Popular Stories

2007 iPhone

Apple Discontinuing This 18-Year-Old iPhone Feature

Saturday February 8, 2025 3:51 pm PST by
The end of an 18-year era is on the horizon for the iPhone. Apple reportedly plans to announce a new iPhone SE as soon as next week, and the device is expected to feature a full-screen design with Face ID, instead of a Touch ID home button. That means Apple will no longer sell any new iPhone models with a home button, for the first time since the original iPhone launched. The home button...
oppo find n5 fingers

World's Thinnest Foldable Phone Launches Next Week

Monday February 10, 2025 3:05 am PST by
Oppo has confirmed a February 20 global launch for its Find N5, which the company claims is the world's thinnest device in the foldable phone category. The phone is expected to be re-branded as the OnePlus Open 2 in the US. The Chinese vendor has been teasing the device in the last few weeks, touting its waterproofing and nearly invisible display crease, and highlighting its thinness by compa...
m2 macbook air blue

M4 MacBook Air Release Continues to Appear Imminent

Monday February 10, 2025 10:56 am PST by
There continue to be signs of a new MacBook Air with an M4 chip, indicating that we could see the machine launch in the not too distant future. A private account on X today shared the identifiers that the MacBook Air will use, and those identifiers correspond to the M4 chip. According to the source, both the 13-inch MacBook Air and the 15-inch MacBook Air will be equipped with Apple's...
iCloud General Feature Redux

iPhone Users Who Pay for iCloud Storage Receive an All-New Perk

Thursday February 6, 2025 11:21 am PST by
If you pay for iCloud storage on your iPhone, Apple has a new perk for you, at no additional cost. iCloud+ is the official name for Apple's paid iCloud storage plans, which range from 50GB for $0.99 per month to 12TB for $59.99 per month in the United States. iCloud+ plans already come with multiple perks for free, such as Hide My Email and HomeKit Secure Video, and now there is another one...
sequoia

Apple Releases macOS Sequoia 15.3.1

Monday February 10, 2025 10:11 am PST by
Apple today released macOS Sequoia 15.3.1, a minor update to the macOS Sequoia operating system that came out last September. macOS 15.3.1 comes a few weeks after the launch of macOS Sequoia 15.3. Mac users can download the ‌‌‌macOS Sequoia‌‌‌ update through the Software Update section of System Settings. Apple has also released macOS 13.7.4 and macOS 14.7.4 for those who are...
imac video apple feature

Apple to Announce New Products Next Week

Saturday February 8, 2025 10:55 am PST by
Apple has yet to release any new devices in 2025, but at least two new products are expected to be announced next week, according to rumors. Below, we outline the new Apple products that are likely to be unveiled next week. iPhone SE 4 Apple plans to announce the long-rumored iPhone SE 4 as soon as next week, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. The new iPhone SE is rumored to...
apple silicon mac lineup 2024 feature purple

Apple Increases Mac Trade-In Values for a Limited Time

Sunday February 9, 2025 3:53 pm PST by
Apple today increased its estimated trade-in values for select Mac models in the United States, with the full changes outlined below. Apple says the extra trade-in credit for select Macs is available with the purchase of an eligible new Apple device through April 2. The trade-in values increased by between $10 and $50. Model New Value Old Value MacBook Pro Up to $925 ...
iOS 18

iOS 18.4 Will Include These New Features for Your iPhone

Wednesday February 5, 2025 7:15 am PST by
iOS 18.3 was released last month, so the first iOS 18.4 beta should be coming soon. iOS 18.4 is expected to be a more substantial update for the iPhone, with several new features and changes related to Apple Intelligence and beyond. Apple's website suggests that iOS 18.4 will be released in April, following beta testing. Below, we outline what to expect from the update so far. Apple...

Top Rated Comments

c84216 Avatar
19 weeks ago
Got to say, the vitals function has already came in handy. Wear my S9 to sleep every night and had an alert I saw on Wednesday morning -- as I was preparing to go to work -- saying my body temperature and respiration rate had been significantly out of normal range overnight. I felt a little funny with a bit of a stuffy nose and scratchy throat. Before I left, I decided to take a COVID test before going into the office just to rule that out.

... and that sucker came back positive faster than you could say hello. Later on Wednesday, I got knocked to my butt and I've been laid up the rest of the week. But it stopped me from exposing everyone in my office to COVID when my symptoms weren't bad enough for me to second guess what was going on or to stay home (aka when you are at your most infectious). It also let me start Paxlovid right at the onset of the illness, rather than well into it like the last time I had COVID. I fully attribute being able to start Paxlovid so early to why I am so much better today, two days later.

Its a small thing compared to what the watch can do but still no less important to me.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jz0309 Avatar
19 weeks ago
Good to get more usage out of existing sensors, but:
. Bring blood oxygen back
. Give us blood pressure (trends)
. give us blood glucose (trends)

Apple will not make the AW a medical device, that’s fine.

and lastly, start educating health professionals to actually look at th’e data users collect
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
parameter Avatar
19 weeks ago

Not much point in building it into the watch.
Actually there is a huge point and it would be a game changer for diabetics. I use one of the major CGM sensors (glucose sensor). They are great but have many downsides as well.

Most of all, they are not just skin contact. There is a little needle that goes into your body as well on each sensor. Also each sensor only lasts depending on the brand, for about 7-10 days max. Then you have to remove that sensor and "inject" a new one using the tool that comes with each sensor.
Each sensor is also expensive and insurance coverage is spotty depending on many factors.

So if Apple IS able to ever get even general glucose measurements from just the watch alone and no needle, it would still be useful. If they even could offer semi-close ballpark type numbers then a user could get a notification and then do a normal finger stick even to verify.

It would be a super big game changer! Live changing.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JosephAW Avatar
19 weeks ago
Surprised there is not a “drowning” feature, basically if your arm is still for a minute and it detected the watch is under 2.5ft of water and heart rate has stopped or is extremely rapid and no response to alerts that something serious is going on. :rolleyes:
It might not stop all drownings like in bathtubs when someone is intoxicated but possibly help people who have drowned in their pool and an alert goes out to your contacts immediately that are nearby, even your neighbor and all Apple devices sound an alert on a screen or speakers.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TechnoTiger3000 Avatar
19 weeks ago
The Apple Watch is my favorite product they’ve made. I’m like a little data raccoon, always on the hunt for more metrics and new ways to interpret them. Excited to see how AI pattern detection might make the health insights even more valuable—the vitals tracking is a great addition imo.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TechnoTiger3000 Avatar
19 weeks ago

For old or sickly people, these features will definitely save lives. For normal healthy adults though, monitoring vitals is kind of pointless. Unless I'm experiencing some type of symptoms or heath issues, I don't really need to constantly monitor my vitals. That's what you do when someone is admitted to the hospital. If something is trending downward with my health, there will be plenty of signs besides my watch telling me so.

Bottom line: these features are great for others, but not really helpful for me or other healthy adults.
You’re missing the HUGE group of people who use it for hiking, exercise, sports, and staying active overall.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)