Apple Working on AI-Powered Health Coaching Service

Tech giant Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) is reportedly developing an application that will employ artificial intelligence (AI) and serve as a health coach. Codenamed “Quartz”, the application is designed to motivate users to take care of their health, keep track of their sleep, exercise, and make their eating habits better. The app is supposed to use AI and data from an Apple Watch to make suggestions and offer coaching programs based on the activity of a specific user.

According to those familiar with the matter, Quartz will have a monthly subscription fee, as it will be a separate application. The launch date is not yet confirmed, it might be 2024 or later.

The AI-powered health coaching app that Apple is currently working on is pretty similar to its LumiHealth initiative designed in collaboration with the government of Singapore back in 2020. As we reported at that time, the LumiHealth program included personalized reminders for health and fitness-related activities, offered access to activity coaching, as well as allowed users to receive incentives for keeping to the scheduled tasks. The difference between LumiHealth and the upcoming Quartz is that the former could pay out monetary awards to users who stayed healthy. In other words, the Singaporean government promised up to $380 to participants who complete the tasks through the two years span of the LumiHealth program.

Before the launch of AI-powered Quartz, Apple will complete its work on an iPad version of its iPhone Health app. The launch of the app on a bigger screen is expected to take place this year, most probably during its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June.

Apple’s Focus on Health-Related Services

Apple entered the healthcare market later than its competitors but has already acquired a significant share of the sector. The company’s first foray into healthcare took place in 2014, with the release of the Health app. Powered by Healthkit, a set of tools that allowed developers to build bespoke apps around health and well-being, from sleep monitoring and stress reduction to exercise and blood testing, the app was initially designed to track various health data and metrics.

In 2015, with the launch of the first Apple Watch in 2015, Apple introduced a wide range of innovative health and fitness features that improved the functionality of the Health app. The goal was to provide users with easy-to-understand, meaningful insights to empower them to live a healthier life. Now, users can store over 150 different types of health data from Apple Watch, iPhone, and connected third-party apps and devices in one central view in the Health app.

To further encompass the healthcare sector and win over its rivals, Apple has hired a lot of professionals in the industry. Among them were Sumbul Desai – a clinical associate professor of medicine at Stanford, Ricky Bloomfield – a high-profile physician from Duke University, Mike Evans – a Toronto physician and the owner of a popular medical channel on YouTube, Stephen Friend – the president and co-founder of Sage Bionetworks, and more.

Apple’s upcoming mixed-reality headset is also expected to expand the company’s current health efforts.