AI could be behind Apple’s next big health and fitness development 

The project, codenamed Quartz, is not expected in 2023. It therefore would not be introduced alongside the Apple Watch 9, which is expected in September this year.  

However, there are rumours suggesting Apple is planning something big for the 2024 Watch Series 10.  

2024 also happens to be the tenth anniversary of the Apple Watch, which could see the Cupertino, California based firm line up some major announcement to mark the occasion.  

The details remain hazy at this point, so take this report with a pinch of salt, but Apple Watch users already record a wealth of health data as they go about their day. So it’s easy to see why Apple might try to leverage that data to create more tailored experiences for users.  

Artificial Intelligence programs are developing rapidly, and their potential uses are likely to increase as they become ever more capable.

We can see the appeal of AI-generated content in the health and fitness space. As we mentioned before, AI may create bespoke content far faster than a human can – maybe within a few seconds.  

AI could suggest workout routines to follow on Apple Fitness+, or track user data to identify when it might be a good idea to have a rest day. Features like this could really help Apple deliver more content to their millions of customers worldwide.  

For users, the ability to have a training plan without the cost of a personal trainer could definitely appeal. It remains to be seen whether this would be a free service, or – more likely – if Apple would charge extra for it, likely as part of its Fitness+ subscription. 

An AI won’t have the qualifications or experience of a well-trained personal trainer. And a person can potentially provide emotional support in addition to the physical side of things. In this respect, AI is unlikely to offer the same experience. 

Whether it works or not, or if Apple launches it at all, we will have to wait and see. We’ll keep a close eye on this to see how things develop. We’ll potentially know more after the WWDC (Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference) keynote on June 5. 

It looks as though this might not be the only innovation coming from Apple in terms of health and fitness. Up until now, the Health app has only been available on the iPhone and Apple Watch. But it may be given a dedicated iPad app when iPadOS 17 comes out.  

This is expected to be announced at the WWDC keynote, before the final version is released, likely in September. 

Beyond this, Apple is also rumoured to be working on a journaling app (codenamed Jurassic) which is primarily focused on users’ mental health.

Bloomberg also report that Apple is working on an emotion tracker, and other features designed to help users with nearsightedness. 

In a recent Q2 earnings call on May 4 2023, Apple CEO Tim Cook was asked about his views on generative AI and its use in Apple’s products and services (at around the 31:45 mark).

While he was understandably cagey on any specific uses, he did explain that it’s “very important to be deliberate and thoughtful in how you approach these things…but the potential is certainly very interesting”.  

He pointed out that AI is already used in features such as crash and fall detection in the Apple Watch. He added: “it’s absolutely remarkable, and we view AI as huge, and will continue to weave it in our products on a very thoughtful basis”.   

Clearly, Apple sees great potential in AI. But these comments suggest they are taking a cautious approach when it comes to integrating it into their products. It suggests that if these health-related rumours are correct, they are part of a much larger project to utilise AI.