Apple Upgrades Health App With AI Personalized Coaching

Apple advances its health technology capabilities through new updates to its Health app, introducing AI-powered health coaching which provides customized health guidance.

Bloomberg explains that this initiative, known internally as Project Mulberry, will allow the updated Health app to collect data from iPhones, Apple Watches, and third-party health devices.

Users will receive personalized health improvement suggestions from the AI coach which analyzes the collected data. Users with irregular heart rate patterns will receive recommendations and heart health educational material as part of the system’s suggestions.

Bloomberg notes that a new facility located near Oakland, California will provide physicians with a location to create video content for the app. The company wants to identify a prominent medical personality who will host the new service which internal Apple staff have given the tentative name “Health+.”

Additionally, Bloomberg reports that Apple introduced extensive food tracking features to its app. Through its enhanced nutritional tracking system Apple plans to challenge the dominance of established services such as  MyFitnessPal.

Furthermore, Bloomberg said that Apple is planning to use device cameras to analyze users’ exercise techniques to give feedback on how to improve their workouts. This functionality could integrate with Apple’s existing Fitness+ platform, giving users a more interactive and corrective exercise experience.

According to Bloomberg, the Health app updates combined with the AI coach will arrive as part  of iOS 19.4 during the spring or summer of the following year.

The new development continues Apple’s work to embed health capabilities within its product range. The Apple Watch added sleep apnea detection in watchOS 11, which recently gained FDA clearance.

Additionally, Apple recently received FDA clearance for its Hearing Aid feature in AirPods Pro 2 which became the initial over-the-counter hearing aid software. The feature functions to enhance particular sounds such as speech and environmental noise in real-time.

Apple’s AI health features may however raise cybersecurity concerns, such as, data breaches, AI manipulation, third-party vulnerabilities, unauthorized sharing, and biometric data exploitation.

For instance, a 2023 Duke University report revealed that data brokers sold mental health data, including diagnoses like depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder. Some brokers also included sensitive details such as names and addresses.

As Apple continues to innovate in the health space, these new AI-powered updates may provide users with personalized and interactive health experiences. However, as with any advancement, the company must address potential privacy concerns, and ensure that user data remains protected.