Apple’s Redesigned Health App Brings a Slew of New Features
Alongside the Apple Watch Ultra 4 and Series 12, which have new health sensors called the Health Sensing System, Apple unveiled a revamped Health app with Apple Intelligence at its core during its “Surprise and shine” event on Wednesday. It includes lab tests in partnership with Quest Diagnostics, movement assessments and new Insights and Longevity tabs. Plus, a readiness score on the Apple Watch to prepare you for the day ahead.
On the iPhone
On Apple Intelligence-enabled iPhones and iPads running the latest software, with certain features available only on iPhones, the redesigned Health app will be available later this year in US English, though no specific date was announced. Other languages will follow.
The revamped Health app will have a new Longevity tab that includes a “health age” showing how your metrics compare to your actual, chronological age. This health age will take into account Apple Watch metrics, including resting heart rate, sleep, VO2 max and HRV (heart-rate variability), as well as any information from blood tests.
Based on data from the iPhone, Apple Watch, AirPods, clinical health records and third-party apps and devices, the Longevity tab will have a visualization showing seven areas of your health: heart health, sleep, mental well-being, movement health, metabolic health, hearing and nutrition. It will also show what’s affecting your long-term health.
There will be another new tab, Insights, that uses Apple Intelligence to provide you with a timely summary of your health across vitals, fitness, heart, readiness, sleep and cycle tracking. This summary will update throughout the day. Under this tab, there will also be a For You section with personalized recommendations and relevant articles that appear based on your health data.
In addition to articles, there will be videos from Apple Health clinical experts offering insights into various aspects of health, such as what LDL cholesterol is and how to improve it, or how to improve balance.
Using vision-based AI models on the iPhone and heart-rate data from the Apple Watch, the Health app will also have new movement tests that measure strength, balance, flexibility, movement mechanics and VO2 max. The latter test will require an Apple Watch, AirPods Pro 3 or a third-party heart-rate-sensing device. These tests are entirely on device, according to Apple, so no video is ever recorded, stored or shared.
Designed to provide preventive health information, a $119 Quest laboratory test panel including over 50 biomarkers is available for purchase directly through the Health app. Testing can then be completed at US Quest Diagnostics locations and includes measurements for height, weight, waist and hip circumferences, and blood pressure.
According to Quest Diagnostics, the company works with third-party providers that review and approve all lab test orders. At the user’s request and for no extra charge, these providers can discuss test results, which will be available in the Health app.
On the Apple Watch
On the Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4, there’s the new readiness feature, which looks at your sleep score, recent activity, vitals and training load to provide a score from 0 to 10. This gives you one of four recommendations — recover, pace yourself, ready or go for it — to help you decide whether you should push yourself or take it easy during the day ahead. This score will update throughout the day, showing you which metrics are driving the chosen number.
This comes with the Watch Series 12’s new S11 chip and Health Sensing System, which Apple calls the most accurate heart-rate sensing in a wearable. This is based on a study involving over 1,000 people that compared the Apple Watch’s new heart-rate sensors with those of leading wearables. The new, larger, power-efficient green LEDs on the optical heart sensor will passively measure your heart rate every 5 seconds.
Heart-rate variability will also be measured up to 24 times more often and will be available to view in the Vitals overview and Heart Rate app. There will be two different HRVs shown: the “recovery HRV” for identifying stress and recovery, and the “overall HRV” for your broader health. Overnight vitals will also show recovery HRV measurements relative to your baseline.
Speaking of overnight vitals, there will be a new view focusing on daytime vitals. To spot changes between the two, you can toggle between overnight and daytime metrics.
Along with its heart-rate sensing, the smartwatch’s pedometer has been redesigned with new machine learning algorithms, so the Apple Watch Series 12, according to Apple, offers the most accurate step tracking of any smartwatch. This is based on a 1,000-step accuracy test conducted by Apple and validated using video step counting. It compared the Series 12 with industry-leading smartwatches available as of July 2026.
Final thoughts
While similar features, including readiness scores and longevity insights, have already been launched by competitors like Oura Ring, Whoop and Fitbit, Apple’s are available without the extra charge. Unless you choose to pay for its new lab tests feature, which will cost you at least $119.
What further sets Apple’s revamped Health app and accompanying features apart is that they’re backed by its sensors. According to CNET’s own testing earlier this year, the Apple Watch Series 11 was the most accurate heart-rate monitor during workouts.
While we haven’t gotten our hands on the new Series 12, our testing gives us high hopes that Apple’s health features will stand out for their accuracy, despite other companies already offering similar scores and wellness insights. We’re looking forward to seeing which comes out on top, and how well we’re aging according to Apple.
Senior Editor, Health and Home
Anna Gragert (she/her/hers) was previously the lifestyle editor at HelloGiggles, the deputy editor at So Yummy and the senior lifestyle editor at Hunker. Over the past 12 years, Anna has also written for the LA Times, Elle, Bust Magazine, Dazed, Apartment Therapy, Well+Good and more. At CNET, she's a senior editor on the Healthy Home team, and her coverage includes health, wellness tech, meal kits and home and kitchen tech with a focus on the technology that aims to help us live our healthiest, happiest lives. See full bio
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