Using information from its physicians, Apple is developing an AI health coach and intends to bring in other experts. Video footage will be produced at a facility close to Oakland for the updated Health app, which is anticipated to launch with iOS 19.4 next year.
According to a Bloomberg story, Apple appears to be placing a significant bet on artificial intelligence once more with plans to fully redesign its Health app and include a feature akin to a “AI doctor.” The action is in line with CEO Tim Cook’s view that the Cupertino-based tech giant’s greatest gift to humanity would be healthcare.
During a 2019 conversation, the CEO of Apple said, “If you look back and ask yourself, ‘What was Apple’s greatest contribution to mankind?’ it will be about health.”
According to Apple whisperer Mark Gurman, the company’s health team is aiming to employ AI to improve the lives of its customers, even though the company’s ambitious plan to include a non-invasive glucose monitor into the Apple Watch is still many years away.
Apple’s plans for AI doctor:
The Bloomberg article claims that Apple’s team is working on Project Mulberry, which would entirely redesign the Apple Health app and add a health coach via an AI agent to mimic some of the analysis performed by a real doctor.
According to reports, Apple’s next health app will gather information from all of the user’s gadgets, including their iPhone, Apple Watch, earphones, and even third-party goods. The app’s AI agent will then utilize this information to provide tailored suggestions aimed at enhancing the user’s well-being.
How far has Apple’s effort for AI Coach moved?
According to reports, Apple is now collecting data from its own doctors to train its AI agent, with intentions to hire other physicians in the future. According to reports, the Tim Cook-led business is also seeking a “great doctor personality” to serve as a host of sorts for its redesigned Health app and is constructing a facility close to Oakland, California, where physicians may film their video material for the app.
Gurman doesn’t describe this doctor’s personality in great depth, but it might be an attempt to give the app a human touch, much like Google and OpenAI have done with their chatbots by hiring real artists to create voices.
According to reports, Sumbul Desai, the physician who oversees Apple’s health team, has made the new health app a top priority. Jeff Williams, the company’s chief operational officer, is also actively involved in the project.
The project is “in full steam,” according to Gurman, and the updated app might be available as early as iOS 19.4. The stable version of iOS 19, which is expected to launch with the iPhone 17 sometime in September, will be unveiled by Apple during its WWDC 2025 event on June 9–13.
If the redesign of the Health app proceeds as planned, we may see Apple’s AI Doctor in action around the same time next year. Apple is scheduled to deliver its iOS 18.4 update on April 1st (not an April Fool’s joke).
Apple’s love-hate relationship with AI:
Apple has recently placed large expenditures on artificial intelligence, but the corporation has not yet seen any notable returns as competitors like Google and Samsung keep releasing new features while its own attempts run into difficulties.
At WWDC 2024 last year, Apple first showcased its AI initiatives with iOS 18. Given Apple’s track record of perfecting features rather than releasing them rapidly, there was still a lot of hope surrounding the company’s AI debut, even though Google and Samsung had already released several of their iconic features, such Circle to Search.
At best, Apple’s implementation of AI features, which it refers to as Apple Intelligence, has been sporadic. When the iPhone 16 was released last year, the majority of the features that were announced at WWDC 2024 were not yet accessible. Since then, these functionalities have been made available in phases.
Apple even stopped displaying AI-generated summaries for news and entertainment applications after the BBC and numerous other news outlets criticized the news summary feature, which was first included in the iOS 18.3 beta release.
