Apple is working on revamping its Health app with new health coaching features powered by artificial intelligence as part of its efforts to turn its products into health tools.
The new initiative, internally referred to as Project Mulberry, is currently being tested and includes an AI-powered coach that advises users on how to improve their health. Right now, Apple devices track various health metrics such as heart rate, blood oxygen levels, and calories burned, but that data is merely collected. However, Apple is now working on a new version of its Health app, where the company plans to use an AI agent or an LLM to interpret and provide insights into a person’s health data. The new service could be called Health+, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman.
The goal is that once the AI coach is live, it will advise users based on data from their medical devices and will reportedly include food tracking. The coach is currently being trained on data from staff physicians, with Apple looking to bring in additional doctors to record health-related videos.
Under the leadership of CEO Tim Cook, Apple has become more aggressive with health features on its products. The Apple Watch is already seen as a health tracker, and the company recently launched the $250 Powerbeats Pro 2, which features a built-in heart rate sensor—signaling that the health tracking may eventually come to AirPods as well. Apple has also reportedly been working for years on a non-invasive continuous glucose monitoring system for the Apple Watch.
In an effort to make artificial intelligence more widely used, Apple, the leading technology firm in the world, has been progressively incorporating AI capabilities into its iPhone, Mac, and iPad in the hopes that these technologies will be quickly embraced. Health tracking appears to be the next major area for an AI-powered update, as Apple is apparently developing an AI coach function for its Health app. This is an industry-wide endeavor, though, as it has been rumored that Samsung and other businesses are developing comparable AI-powered health coaching capabilities for their products.
However, analysts continue to believe that Apple lags years behind other computer giants in terms of artificial intelligence. With the release of the iPhone 16 last year, the corporation introduced “Apple Intelligence,” its first foray into the AI space. But Apple has had trouble releasing several AI features on schedule, and the elements that are currently available are basic, which has angered experts.
At its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) on June 9, Apple is anticipated to reveal new AI features as part of Apple Intelligence in addition to updates for iOS and macOS.
