Rumored 'Healthbook' App for iOS 8 Suggests Significant Health Component to iWatch

[MattInOz]

There are blood pressure monitors that take readings from your wrists, so a watch in theory could be able to measure your BP, but to measure your BP generally you need to stand still or the reading might be erroneous. Also, to take a BP reading an iWatch would have to spend a lot of energy, not something you might expect from a product with a tiny battery in it. So I doubt the iWatch will be measuring the BP unless they came up with a much more energy efficient way.

I wonder how much could be tied to the TouchID tech.
It uses RF array to image the fingerprint in a way that sees the underlying structure of the print and even blood flow. I'm imagining the same tech could be used to image the blood flow through your wrist. From there it might take a whole bunch of research, testing and calibration to get meaningful medical information. Even then that might only tell them changes in the pattern more than being able to put hard numbers, still sounds like that would be useful for general health.

 

[Abazigal]

It would be incredible if Apple was the one to revolutionize the healthcare industry...

They'd have to get providers, insurance companies, and patients in the same widely used app/system. Then help insurance companies create some methodology to incentivize patients to price shop for health services. Then help healthcare providers to provide some pricing transparency. Then magically providers/doctors begin to compete for customers and prices go down. Problem solved, good Job Apple, good job invisible hand.

So...Apple reinvents Obamacare for iPhone users?

 

[Karma*Police]

I think Apple should focus on repairing and refining the iOS UI since it is extremely broken in iOS 7. Yes, they need to fix the icons, blinding whitespace, bugs, glitches, etc. but honestly until they can fix what what was broken, they should hold off on major new features and work on making the stock apps more efficient and usable again (especially the music app).

The healthbook app sounds promising and cool, don't get me wrong but there's a lot else they need to work on before they can move iOS on to bigger and better things.

I really hope Jony Ive has grown as a UI designer and I want iOS 8 to be infinitely better than the disaster that was 7. Hopefully Ive doesn't let iOS grow stale (7 already feels stale tbh) like Forstall did and have the software change and develop along with his hardware designs.

"Extremely broken"? "Disaster"? A bit hyperbolic don't you think? Personally, I love the clean look ("blinding white space") of iOS 7. It makes iOS 6 look dated.

7 has a few rough spots, but for a 1.0 release, it's pretty damn good and it's only getting better. My biggest gripe with 7 was the animation speed and lack of responsiveness compared to 6, but 7.1 b4 already addresses that. There really isn't that much that needs fixing from a UI standpoint, and features like control center and swipe to go back a page (my personal fave) makes iOS 7 the best version yet IMO.

 

[pika2000]

Blood glucose level? Like how? I doubt Apple would want to make an actual blood glucose monitor. Maybe Apple can partner up with other manufactures that have monitors that can communicate wirelessly via bluetooth.

Then again, I can imagine Apple selling its own test strips at premium price.

 

[BillyMatt87]

"Extremely broken"? "Disaster"? A bit hyperbolic don't you think? Personally, I love the clean look ("blinding white space") of iOS 7. It makes iOS 6 look dated.

7 has a few rough spots, but for a 1.0 release, it's pretty damn good and it's only getting better. My biggest gripe with 7 was the animation speed and lack of responsiveness compared to 6, but 7.1 b4 already addresses that. There really isn't that much that needs fixing from a UI standpoint, and features like control center and swipe to go back a page (my personal fave) makes iOS 7 the best version yet IMO.

The "clean look" provides little to no contrast on the display and it makes the OS feel completely bland and lifeless. It's also not very pleasant on the eyes. It goes to show that Jony Ive really threw the baby out with the bathwater in his war on skeumorphism. He got rid of the tacky textures but had no idea what to replace them with.

From the UI side, there are too many things that need to be fixed because they really rushed 7 out of the gate (they should've waited a while to do a complete redesign and have iOS 7 be a Mavericks-style UI refinement which would've made more people happy) and now our iDevices are stuck with what feels like a cartoon knockoff of iOS and an unofficial user's beta.

iOS 8 will either make or break Ive as UI designer and if 8 is more or less the same as 7, I hope Cook has the same courage to demote Ive back to hardware that he did when firing Scott Forstall and John Browett in 2012.

 

[Urban Joe]

If Apple starts piping their tech to collect health data...then what are they going to do with it?

I hope they don't end up secretly sending it to the Feds so they can hike our healthcare premiums....

Be careful what you wish for.

 

[freddiecable]

I think - if this being valid - Apple is on the right track. Why?

1. Health is a HUGE business.

2. Sport and fitness is HUGE. Also for us healthy. I have used Nike + since the inception and it made me work out more due to its social/competing functionality. Also I think this iWatch will inspire more young people to exercise.

3. It will obviously be the main angle on the iWatch - but that does not mean it will only be used for fitness and health?

The only question mark will be the design of it. If it's too sporty it might deter 'regular wrist watch users'?

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+ Completely agree:

The "clean look" provides little to no contrast on the display and it makes the OS feel completely bland and lifeless. It's also not very pleasant on the eyes. It goes to show that Jony Ive really threw the baby out with the bathwater in his war on skeumorphism. He got rid of the tacky textures but had no idea what to replace them with.

From the UI side, there are too many things that need to be fixed because they really rushed 7 out of the gate (they should've waited a while to do a complete redesign and have iOS 7 be a Mavericks-style UI refinement which would've made more people happy) and now our iDevices are stuck with what feels like a cartoon knockoff of iOS and an unofficial user's beta.

iOS 8 will either make or break Ive as UI designer and if 8 is more or less the same as 7, I hope Cook has the same courage to demote Ive back to hardware that he did when firing Scott Forstall and John Browett in 2012.

 

[iKane]

this is going to be a very big failure.
There is a subset of people who would care for this (Lululemon people) and its a small population.

Like the small population of people that would want a phone without a physical keyboard? The truth is, nobody knows what it will turn out to be like (if it exists at all), but if Apple's track record of physical devices is anything to go by, they'll smash it right out of the park.

 

[Msail30bay]

Wait….. What?! iOS8 already ……previewing in June? Maybe? Please, please refine iOS7 FIRST. Safari REALLY needs it - include the back and forth swipes like on the Mac…… unless I missed something.

 

[Tar Sniffer]

People are going to become much more health conscious with HealthBook and the iWatch. A lot of people will ignore them, but those that use utilize it will receive great benefits. Apple is creating another product that enhances our lives.

 

[ghettochris]

this is going to be a very big failure.
There is a subset of people who would care for this (Lululemon people) and its a small population.

I predict you will be eating those words within a year or so, if not I will eat mine.

This will be the beginning of the cyborg revolution, the computer body interface. how could you not want a program that logs every heart beat, monitors blood sugar levels and hydration, warns you of oncoming heart attack, tells you to eat certain things or drink water when levels get out of whack. "i'm hungry" doesn't work. over half the population is obese. If you feel thirsty you're already dehydrated. I can guarantee every diabetic on this planet wants their watch to know their blood sugar levels and have it be tracked constantly with no effort.

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Oh boy, another app I can't delete. Newsstand, meet healthbook.

Enjoy your premature death!

 

[peterdevries]

It isn't a mass consumer product. It's very niche if thats where they're going.

It's becoming ever more of a mainstream product with all the Fitbit, Nike and other monitors that are already sold and endomondo subscriptions which are taking off like crazy. It has surpassed the point of being a niche, whether it is effective or needed is an entirely other matter.

 

[MattInOz]

Wait….. What?! iOS8 already ……previewing in June? Maybe? Please, please refine iOS7 FIRST. Safari REALLY needs it - include the back and forth swipes like on the Mac…… unless I missed something.

Been noted here before most larger developers have Two Teams - one for odd number OS releases the other even. They all talk and set road maps together but have different target dates.

I understand Apple work like that mostly. which would mean nothing about iOS8 is delaying any planned work for iOS7.

 

[CoreForce]

Reminds me so much on the Ferat, the car designed to run on human blood.
Shocking but fascinating as we'll.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upír_z_Feratu

 

[Serban]

to measure all these things, they need blood sample, so will be fixed in our skin?

 

[gikku]

would buy for my Mum in a heartbeat, (sorry)

 

[Manic Mouse]

yes

No you aren't a medical doctor. If you were you would realise that hypertension is nearly always symptomless, and only gets symptomatic at malignant hypertension levels.

The fact you stated that "symptoms are what matters" when it comes to BP shows you most definitely aren't a medical doctor. Arn, who is a medical doctor, can back me up here.

You should be ashamed of yourself for spreading disinformation about health and pretending to be a doctor. In fact, one would wonder if that's illegal. Either that or you're a terrible, terrible doctor that doesn't even know basic facts about hypertension.

Source: I'm about to qualify as a doctor in June. (And if that isn't good enough here's what Wikidpedia has to say about it: "Hypertension is rarely accompanied by any symptoms, and its identification is usually through screening, or when seeking healthcare for an unrelated problem.")

 

[LadyApple]

I'm really, really getting interested now. Apple can make a tremendous change in how we deal with our health issues. In a couple of years we no longer wait 'till we get ill, but get warned before anything serious occurs. This watch might be the beginning of all this.

 

[iKane]

Wait….. What?! iOS8 already ……previewing in June? Maybe? Please, please refine iOS7 FIRST. Safari REALLY needs it - include the back and forth swipes like on the Mac…… unless I missed something.

You have missed something; swipe from the left edge to go back, swipe from the right edge to go forward.

 

[cambookpro]

[/COLOR]

Enjoy your premature death!

Because not buying a (presumably very expensive) watch from Apple means you'll die sooner... Brilliant...

 

[tiguk]

Because not buying a (presumably very expensive) watch from Apple means you'll die sooner... Brilliant...

I think the point is if you're already willing to dismiss a Health/Fitness App that would be readily available to you, without even caring what it can help you to achieve, it indicates you don't give a crap about your health in general.

 

[mdridwan47]

Image

 

[Macist]

Great move from a financial perspective.

In the UK at least the emerging 20 somethings face brutal housing costs, massive student loans, extreme real inflation masked by fiddled official figures, and reduced pensions.

Health-monitoring will be a brilliant way to really get a slice of the grey-£ and as baby boomers will likely want to know when they are about to die.

 

[osx11]

Great move from a financial perspective.

In the UK at least the emerging 20 somethings face brutal housing costs, massive student loans, extreme real inflation masked by fiddled official figures, and reduced pensions.

Health-monitoring will be a brilliant way to really get a slice of the grey-£ and as baby boomers will likely want to know when they are about to die.

Not Funny!

FAIL

 

[b-dogg]

They really should fix the bugs in iOS7 (5 months + without a .1 update nor any significant bug squashing) before they busy themselves with iOS8.

So pissed off with Safari crashes, reboots and those stupid slow unlock animations.