Apple is planning a major redesign of the Apple Health app for iPhone and iPad, unveiled at an iPhone event, with a broad set of features tied to new sensors in the Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4. The updated Health app is scheduled to arrive in late 2026 and will rely on both enhanced watch data and Apple Intelligence to deliver personalized guidance.
Upgraded Watch sensors and more frequent heart data
Apple overhauled the sensors in the Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4 with a Health Sensing System that includes increased electrode surface area for improved skin contact during ECG readings, redesigned photodiodes arranged in a ring to capture light more efficiently for optical sensing, and power-efficient green LEDs to support continuous heart rate capture. The new watches take heart rate readings every five seconds throughout the day and measure heart rate variability (HRV) more frequently. All collected data is sent to the Health app on iPhone. Apple says a head-to-head study using an ECG chest strap as reference found the new Apple Watch delivered the most accurate heart rate sensing compared with other wearables.
Apple Health app: Apple Intelligence and Insights
The Health app will use Apple Intelligence to turn collected metrics into personalized guidance. A new Insights tab will present Apple Intelligence-generated summaries of timely information, such as recent sleep metrics or a new VO2 max peak, and will include a For You section offering custom advice on readiness, fitness, heart health and more. Personal guidance, part of the Insights tab, will adapt recommendations to each user’s data—for example, suggesting intervals for someone focused on cardio.
Readiness, Fitness and Vitals
Readiness will be calculated by the new Apple Watch models as a 0–10 score that factors recent activity, vitals and sleep score; readouts include Recover, Pace Yourself, Ready, or Go For It. Readiness information will appear on the watch, in the Fitness app, and in the Health app’s Insights tab. Insights will also incorporate daily activity and update throughout the day. The Vitals section gains new overnight and daytime views and adds HRV as a metric, reporting both overall HRV and recovery HRV to better reflect recovery from stress.
Longevity, Health Age and lab integration
A new Longevity tab will assess overall health across categories including heart health, sleep, mental wellbeing, movement health, metabolic health, hearing and nutrition, and will classify each metric against the latest clinical guidance. Health Age, within Longevity, will use metrics such as VO2 max, resting heart rate, HRV, sleep and blood biomarkers to compare health metrics to chronological age and highlight habits likely to have the biggest impact.
Lab results can be added manually or via synced medical records. Apple has partnered with Quest to give U.S. users the option to buy a full bloodwork panel covering more than 50 biomarkers for $119 directly in the Health app; the test requires a visit to a Quest lab location, after which results are combined with Apple Watch data and analyzed on iPhone. Apple says users will receive videos from clinical experts related to their results. According to Quest, the panel delivers preventive health insights and includes biomarkers for cardiometabolic health and organ function as well as biometric readings measuring blood pressure, height, weight and waist and hip circumferences. The full list of included biomarkers is not yet available. Quest has approximately 2,000 U.S. locations, and results appear in the Health app shortly after testing. The source notes a similar option is offered by Oura through Quest priced at $99.
Movement evaluations and VO2 max testing
Apple will add at-home movement assessments, including a VO2 max test that uses the iPhone camera to track movements as users follow instructions from a trainer, with real-time audio and visual feedback. Additional physical assessments will measure flexibility, strength, balance and movement mechanics. Apple says these tests run on device with no video recorded or stored and that users receive an exercise plan after completing a test. Apple frames the tests as useful for assessing movement quality or tracking recovery from injury.
Cycle tracking and device requirements
Cycle Tracking will gain perimenopause and menopause support. The updated Health app will be available to Apple Watch users who have an Apple Intelligence-capable iPhone, but features such as readiness and the more frequent heart rate and HRV readings require an Apple Watch Series 12 or Apple Watch Ultra 4. Apple says the new Health app will arrive in late 2026, without a specific launch date, and it will be available in U.S. English at launch with additional languages to follow.
