Apple has been making aggressive moves to push further into health, fitness, and wellness services. Its Fitness+ workout subscription service has expanded to more devices and no longer requires an Apple Watch. Rumor has it that iOS 17 will include a new journaling app, often considered a key mental health exercise (though Apple may not present it as such). Now, news comes from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman that Apple is planning a new AI-Powered health coaching service, new technology for tracking emotions and moods, and finally, an iPad version of the Health app.
The coaching service, code-named Quartz, is said to use data from Apple Watch and the Health app to “make suggestions and create coaching programs tailored to specific users,” according to the report. The report says the service will carry its own monthly fee and have its own app, though it’s possible that this could be interpreted to mean that it’s part of the broader Fitness+ subscription. The service is not expected to launch until 2024 and could be postponed or delayed, so it reportedly won’t be unveiled at WWDC next month.
What will be shown at WWDC, as part of iPadOS 17, is an iPad version of the Health app. iPads are already popular in healthcare settings, so this is expected to increase the app’s popularity in the healthcare industry.
The Health app will let users log vision information for the first time (like nearsightedness), possibly letting users track changes to their visual correction prescription over time. Mood tracking will also make a debut. Initially, users will answer questions about their day and input their mood manually. But the long-term goal is said to be to make this automatic by using algorithms that will listen to your speech and the words you type on your devices, along with other data, to get a picture of your mood. Knowing Apple, this will likely all happen on the device in a way that doesn’t compromise your privacy.