Apple's announcement of the new Apple Watch Series 12 includes references to some notable Apple Intelligence upgrades to Health features, but the iPhone and iPad also benefit in some big ways.
The Apple Watch Series 12 unveiling saw Apple focus on its ability to monitor the wearer's heart rate, heart rate variability (HRV,) and more. But it's what Apple intends to do with the data the Apple Watch collects that will make the biggest difference to people's lives.
Between a newly redesigned Health app on the iPhone and iPad and a new Readiness feature that uses data from multiple sources, Apple just revamped the way it interprets the data it collects. As a result, it also revamped how people will be able to make use of it.
A new app for all
While the Apple Watch Series 12 will be responsible for collecting health data, the newly redesigned Health app on iPhone and iPad are where people will most likely interact with it.
The new app will leverage Apple Intelligence and dynamically adapt to a user's personal health and fitness metrics. The result is a new view that translates complex health data like heart rate, sleep, activity, vitals, and cycle tracking into easy-to-understand guidance.
All of this will feed into a new Insights tab, which will surface health information at the right time. A summary will update throughout the day and include heart, sleep, readiness, fitness, vitals, and cycle tracking data. This data will also feed into a new For You section that will include recommendations and articles specific to the user's stats and data.
A new section will also be dedicated to longevity and what Apple calls Health Age. It will use Apple Watch data to compare a user's own data against their age to help them understand how they are doing and where improvements can be made.
Those looking to dive even deeper will be able to pay $119 and receive lab testing that features over 50 key biomarkers, right from the Health app.
The updated iOS 27 Health app also adds support for perimenopause and menopause, plus notifications about cycle deviations inclusive of perimenopause, to Cycle Tracking.
Apple notes that many people don't realize they are in perimenopause, so it will send notifications to those aged 40 and over if a deviation in their logged cycle patterns is suggestive of perimenopause. This will all be managed via the Health app on the iPhone.
Get ready for Readiness
Both Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4 feature a new Readiness score. The wearables will analyze the wearer's recent activity, vitals, and sleep score, and use that data to generate a Readiness score.
Apple says that the score, ranging from 0 to 10, can be used to help users decide whether they should rest or push forward. The score will update dynamically throughout the day as new data becomes available, so you'll know if that nap was enough to carry you through or if it's time to kick back and relax.
While this is an Apple Watch feature, the Readiness score will also be visible in the Health app elsewhere.
Apple has also been quick to point out that all processing and health data powered by Apple Intelligence is built with privacy in mind. Data remains secure and encrypted.
