Apple explains how Apple Watch and iPhone help improve human health

Apple has released a detailed guide that explains how the Apple Watch, iPhone and their software technologies help improve human health.

• Apple has released a massive 60-page guide called Helping People Live a Healthier Lifestyle that highlights all of its health-related efforts since 2014.
• The Health app is now said to be able to store over 150 types of health data. More than 800 institutions offer medical records on iPhone.
• iOS 16 and watchOS 9 bring new features across seventeen areas of health and fitness, from heart and sleep health to mobility and women’s health, and more.

Apple Health Report Covers Eight Years of Progress

In a press release published in the Apple Newsroom, Apple COO Jeff Williams said the company’s health care efforts span a triple of hardware, software and apps. The aim is to create technological solutions that will make people more aware of their well-being and help them lead healthier lives. “Our vision for the future is to continue to create evidence-based technologies that provide people with even more information and act as a smart guardian of their health so that they are no longer passengers on their own health journey,” he said. “Instead, we want people to drive with confidence by providing meaningful and useful information.”

He said technology could play a role in improving health outcomes. The 60-page report [ PDF download ] details some of the personal health and fitness features on Apple Watch and iPhone. Other sections of the report detail how Apple protects user privacy when it comes to storing health-related data and how third-party developers are using the HealthKit platform to build applications used by medical institutions. The company says tens of thousands of apps use the HealthKit API, including Nike Run Club, Calm and WeightWatchers.

New health features coming soon

iOS 16 and watchOS 9 bring new health and fitness features, such as tracking the number of meditations in the Health app. You can also share health data with loved ones. The Apple Watch has new sleep stage tracking with watchOS 9, and the Health app now provides a history of your atrial fibrillation readings.

Health could be Apple’s greatest contribution to humanity

The Apple Watch debuted in 2014 as a fashion device, but consumers weren’t impressed. Realizing their mistake, the company refocused the wearable on fitness. This turned out to be decisive. Sales soared, Apple started investing heavily in healthcare projects, and the rest is history. Apple boss Tim Cook once said that he thought Apple’s biggest contribution to humanity would be health-related projects, not Macs or iPhones. Read: How to add your symptoms to Apple Health