From Apple With Care: New Health Features Review

The summer presentation of Apple WWDC 2022 turned out to be quite eventful. The Cupertino Corporation opened the week of hot announcements of the Worldwide Developers Conference 2022. This year the company’s representatives managed to impress users not only with updated versions of iOS, macOS, iPadOS, tvOS, and watchOS but also with an exclusive extension of MacBook Air and MacBook Pro.

In 2020, all the interesting information about filling the operating system for iOS 14 smartphones was merged into the network before the start of testing. So this year the developers have put a lot of effort into keeping the richest secrets, so previous insights from well-known analysts were quite vague, though there were some iOS 16 expected features. The presentation lasted a little over two hours, but despite the duration, we still advise all fans of the “appled” gadgets to watch it. Moreover, it is always interesting to draw your own conclusions about new products. According to our interests, we will focus on health and wellness.

Last year, Apple made a major focus on the evolution of gadgets. Before the previous presentation, professionals in the field of digital healthcare after a year of full domination of COVID sincerely believed that someone, but Apple would not give up on the wow effect and would offer revolutionary features in smartphones and watches. However, it did not happen as expected. But in 2022 it was well rehabilitated.

What about iOS 16 new features?

It should be noted that iOS 16 will not receive all iPhones that were updated to iOS 15 at one time. As expected, this year Apple decided to finally stop supporting five smartphones. Therefore, the update does not shine on iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone SE first generation, and even iPhone 7 with 7 Plus. But the rest of the models will receive their update.

Health

Apple updates the Health app every year, but now, in our opinion, they made a powerful leap. From now on, iPhone users can make and manage lists of medications they take, create schedules and reminders, and track the release of vitamins or supplements in shops. Adherence is a serious problem in health care: according to the Permanent Journal (National Library of Medicine, USA), about half of the people who are prescribed medicines for chronic diseases do not take them in accordance with the instructions. This noncompliance is costing the United States healthcare system hundreds of billions of dollars a year. And while experts say the app doesn’t have everything it takes to be ideal, it can be rewarding for a heavyweight tech company like Apple to enter the ring.

There is another interesting feature for US residents: you can just put the iPhone camera on the label of the drug, so as not to just read everything about them, but also to find out if it “conflicts” with what they take or with a glass (or two) of wine in the evening. In addition, users can share their health information with loved ones and easily create PDFs of medical records from connected medical facilities directly from the Health program.

For iPhone users, The Health app will be more accessible than some of the standalone apps, which are already on the market. Users do not have to figure out how to download and configure a separate program. In addition, since everything takes place in the existing Apple ecosystem, users do not send their health data to a third party.

In iOS 16, Fitness is available to all iPhone users to help them achieve fitness goals, even if they don’t own an Apple Watch. iPhone users can set a daily goal in the app and watch their activity burn calories and close the Move ring. iPhone motion sensors can track and record steps, distance, and training from other applications.

In terms of wellness, iPhone has gained much more independence from Apple Watch. The first thing that comes to mind is how much it is needed now and whether it is possible to limit oneself to buying only one device. But you know Apple: they would never do something to help you save your money and not purchase a Watch. That’s why they’ve made a list of Apple Watch 9 new health features. Now let’s get straight to it since it’s very promising.

So what about new Apple Watch 9 health features?

The Apple Watch smartwatch boasts a host of useful features and innovative options. Among the major changes awaiting the owners of branded watches after the release of the updated ninth generation of the system is a lot of wellness: updating the Fitness application, which contains even more information about your workouts and reminders about the time of taking medications and vitamins. You can track sleep phases and blood oxygen saturation. Besides, the watch doesn’t just track, it records signs of atrial fibrillation (AFib), which can cause a stroke. You can download a PDF file with the entire history and give it to the doctor.

We hope that there are real connoisseurs of sports among us because a whole collection of new measurements and indicators has been introduced for them. Craig Bolton, Apple’s senior manager of fitness technology, shared some interesting things about improving training for sportsmen.

Apple’s Senior Fusion concept includes data from the accelerometer, gyroscope, and other clock sensors, so watchOS 9 can distinguish things like torso movement and vertical oscillations while running. This allows it to calculate such important indicators for runners as stride length and time of contact with the ground.

The Workout app now also helps runners keep track of the intensity of their workouts at any given time. With tactile feedback and voice messages, the app lets you know when it’s best for you to slow down or increase your pace to bring your heart rate to the target zone and achieve the desired result. The Workout app also saves your frequent routes so you can easily compete with yourself, with the latest added or best time.

For professional swimmers, SWOLF can be tracked. The watch can create charts and analyze distance, swimming pace, heart rate, swimming type and save your progress.

Many users participate in marathons and triathlons. Especially for them, Apple has developed a unique program where the Apple Watch quickly switches from running to swimming and cycling. More accurate tracking of all progress and indicators will be available after the completion of a workout or competition in the chart. Of course, none of the athletes considered the Apple Watch as a gadget to track their data; they usually use Garmin or Polar. Does that mean Apple is trying to get some share of that market? We'll find out soon.

Conclusion - apple health features review

Apps come and go, but a tech giant like Apple offers more stability. This can definitely be useful in order to motivate people to monitor their well-being and the health of loved ones. Sticking to a routine is like playing the long game, especially when we talk about healing or a healthy way of living, and for many, this is a vital topic that needs someone strong on your side.

The Apple Watch, which, in its turn, started with a simple heart rate sensor, now pays attention to oxygen saturation. And all thanks to just one sensor. If more sensors are added to future models, the potential for Apple to monitor and help with a range of diseases will be huge, and it will become some of the most life-changing features. So there is room for improvement of new Apple Watch health features and the iPhone apps for the next presentation. You can read more about apps here.