Apple is hoping to expand the Apple Watch’s HealthKit functionality to offer more meaningful insights that could one day include potential medical diagnoses.
According to Bloomberg sources, the goal of Apple’s medical technology team is to ‘turn HealthKit into a tool that improves diagnoses.’
The report says Apple is already planning to introduce sleep tracking technology, thus far missing from the first two Apple Watch generations.
Related: Apple Watch Series 2: 7 things you need to know
Also, Apple plans to put the heart rate data currently generated by the device to better use, according to the Bloomberg report.
It would measure how long the heart takes to return to a resting level from the peak of strenuous exercise, the sources say. This metric is already seen by many in the fitness industry as a key metric in determining overall heart health.
The difference is the data will be interpreted as well as just collated in ways that could benefit healthcare professionals and eventually do their job for them, the report says.
It’s not clear yet whether the improvements on deck would require additional hardware or whether they could be included within a forthcoming watchOS update.
The most recent watchOS update included a new breathing app, while greatly improving the Activity app and boosting the Workout app to show five metrics.
Apple also optimized the Activity app for wheelchair users and added the ability to share progress towards Activity goals.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.