Apple’s latest health update

Along with this preview of its watchOS 9 and iOS 16 at their Worldwide Developers Conference, the tech giant has revealed some new health-related features which will be available on both the Apple Watch and iPhone in the Health app. 

As you’ll see, the medication tracking tool will allow you to manage your medications, vitamins, and supplements. They can also use the camera to scan a pill bottle to import information, and set up schedules and receive alerts to remind you to take your medicine on time.

On the other hand, if you’re an iOS user located in the U.S., you can receive alerts about possible drug interactions if you upload a new medication that could react poorly with one of your current medications. And that’s not all, because with health sharing, all family members can share their medication data with loved ones alongside other health metrics.

AFib history

Additionally, the company announced a new atrial fibrillation history feature with the upcoming watchOS 9. This feature, recently cleared by the FDA (for people ages 22 and older who have been diagnosed with atrial fibrillation), was designed to let users track when their heart rhythm shows signs of AFib and other possible factors that may contribute to the worsening of the disease, like sleep, alcohol use, and exercise.

Sleep stages

This time, Apple’s team bet on including more tools for sleep habits on their new watches. In fact, by using the accelerometer and heart rate sensor, users will be able to monitor when they’re in REM, core, or deep sleep and even how much time they spend in each stage.

Amazing, isn’t it? Well, with this new project, they wanted to contribute that data to the Apple Heart and Movement Study in the research app too.

Workouts

Of course, a detail couldn’t be missed. Taking into account that many people are waiting for those features that will allow them to do some exercise, Apple revealed a variety of new workouts for the watch, only this time they decided to include heart rate zones to monitor workout intensity and custom workouts so that you can build your own plans that include recovery intervals.

Plus, in typical Apple fashion, they are always thinking about improving the user experience. That’s why, this time, they launched a function geared toward triathletes that allows the watch to recognize when a user has switched to a new type of workout, like moving from swimming to biking to running.

But the benefits for athletes don’t end there, since this device will now be able to detect when swimmers are using a kickboard during their workouts and track their SWOLF score, the stroke count combined with the time it takes to swim one pool length.

Lastly, the new OS is going to include new trackable metrics for runners such as stride length, ground contact time, and vertical oscillation. Then, runners can store frequently used routes and receive alerts if they’re keeping up with their previous pace or when they go off course.

Therefore, we can say that it is very gratifying how Apple took the time to improve even those small details that the vast majority do not notice. So once again, it makes its devices the most proactive and productive in the market, proving in turn that it is worth investing in them.