The Apple Health app could offer AI-based coaching to users in a similar way to a real doctor, with food tracking also likely to be a big feature in a future app update.
The Health app is used as a central store for a user’s health metrics. Compiling together data collected from hardware like the Apple Watch and from its own sensors to give users an overall view of their fitness and health.
While the current app can identify and notify on trends and other insights, a future version of the app could offer a lot more help. Thanks to the use of artificial intelligence.
According to Mark Gurman in Bloomberg’s newsletter on Sunday, Apple is working on Project Mulberry. An initiative to rework the Health app as well as adding a health coach.
The idea is that a new AI agent would monitor the data in the Health app and provide feedback to the user on how to improve their health. This will apparently work to offer advice similar to how a real doctor would to a patient.
Apple is reportedly training the AI with data from in-house physicians. It is also planning to work with outside experts on sleep, nutrition, physical therapy, mental health, and cardiology.
Those experts will provide video content for the app, to educate users on topics such as heart disease or ways to improve their lifestyle. This will all be filmed at a new Apple facility near Oakland, California.
A major medical personality is apparently being sought by Apple, who will be the host of the app’s extra services. This could be under the title of “Health+.”
As for when the new app could arrive, Gurman writes that a release could happen as early as iOS 19.4, or about a year away.
Beyond doctors
While the main feature of the revised app would be the AI assistant, there are also other changes on the horizon, according to the newsletter.
Food tracking will be an important element, expanding on the existing limited nutrition feature of the Health app. While Gurman doesn’t say what will be changed, it will apparently see Apple going against other established food tracking services, such as MyFitnessPal.
The AI agent will also apparently help users with nutritional needs.
Apple is also planning on improving how users actually work out.
It is proposed that Apple could use cameras on the back of the iPhone or iPad to capture footage of users working out. The AI agent could then study the workouts and provide tips to improve their technique.
This goes beyond the current Apple Watch-based Fitness+ workouts, which monitor the motion of the wearable, to give more practical workout advice. It may also be integrated into the Fitness+ platform itself.
A long workout
Apple has been working on the concept of enhanced health and fitness tools for a number of years already. Previously known as Project Quartz, this has included claims over the years that Apple has been working on using machine learning and AI to offer a coaching service to users.
Despite the lengthy development time, the AI health agent could offer Apple a near-term win versus waiting for hardware changes.
Apple has been working on features such as a non-invasive glucose monitor and blood pressure monitoring for the Apple Watch for many years. However, technical roadblocks have repeatedly caused problems for its development.
