Apple Intends to Upgrade iPhone's Health App by Including an 'AI doctor'

According to a report by an international news agency, Apple appears to be placing a significant bet on artificial intelligence once more. The brand is planning 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. In a 2019 interview, the CEO of Apple said that if we go back and zoom out into the future, and someone asks, "What was Apple's greatest contribution to mankind?" it would be related to health. The company's health division is looking to employ AI to improve the lives of its customers, according to Apple whisperer Mark Gurman.

How Apple is Planning to Execute this Move?

A media report 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 utilise this information to provide tailored suggestions aimed at enhancing the user's well-being.

Apple Already Began the Training of the AI Agent

Although Gurman doesn't go into much depth about the doctor's personality, this might be an attempt to give the app a more human touch. 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, people 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.

Turbulent Affair Between Apple and AI

Apple has recently placed significant money on artificial intelligence. However, the brand has not yet seen any notable returns while competitors like Google and Samsung keep releasing new features. At WWDC 2024 last year, Apple first showcased its AI initiatives with iOS 18. At best, Apple's implementation of AI features, which it refers to as Apple Intelligence, has been patchy. 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.