Apple is revamping its Health app, which I've previously written is a huge deal. Most wearables come with dashboards to help you understand your data and advice on what to do about it, but Apple hasn't provided anything like that for the Apple Watch or for the data it collects from other devices or apps you might use. The Health app has always contained a wealth of information and well-hidden power tools, so it's nice that the app is finally getting a better interface to make it easier to actually use. I installed a beta version, and here's what I'm learning.
Apple Watch Series 12 (GPS, 42mm) $399.00 at Amazon Get Deal Get Deal $399.00 at AmazonFortunately, there is a way I was able to get it. It’s in the Developer Beta of iOS 27.2. To get access to that, you have to sign up as a developer, which is free. (There is a higher tier of developer membership that costs $99, but the free registration is all you need to download developer betas.) Once you’re signed up, go to Settings on your phone, then General, Software Updates, and then tap Beta Updates to get the options for public and developer betas.
Step count is at the top of the screen on the Health app
Apple announced that the Series 12 and Ultra 4 watches will be getting step counts on watch face complications and in the Smart Stack. Unfortunately, WatchOS 27 does not bring step counts to older Apple Watches. But the Health app has its little “insights” cards at the top of the home screen, and right on the Fitness one, I can see my step count for the day.
You can see your Fitness rings from the Health app
Credit: Beth SkwareckiThe Fitness app is still available and seems to give the same information it always did, so it seems rings will be available in both places for now. Still, I wonder if Apple is thinking about doing away with the Fitness app in the future since you'll be able to get that data right in the Health app.
You need to give Apple a lot of new data to get your full “longevity” report
Credit: Beth SkwareckiMental well-being: Uses screening questionnaires for anxiety and depression.
Daily movement: Uses steps and stand hours.
Metabolic health: Uses body composition, which includes a waist and hip measurement assessment. Height and weight alone didn’t fill this out for me, but the measurements did. This section invites you to add labs, but that isn’t necessary to get this area to show up on the graphic.
Hearing health: Uses environmental sound exposure (measured by Apple Watch) and headphone audio exposure.
As a regular user of health features (and an occasional user of the Apple Watch), my phone tells me that I’ve only completed three of 16 assessments—and that includes the depression and anxiety screenings that I last took a few years ago. This information on my missing assessments appears directly below my half-filled-in longevity overview graphic. I feel like I’m being graded, and I have homework.
Fortunately, you don’t need to take every test to fill out the longevity tab. I did three assessments to fill in my three missing petals: a nutrition questionnaire, a body composition assessment that required body measurements, and an updated anxiety screening. There are plenty more I could take, if I like. It’s like when a receptionist hands you a clipboard in the doctor’s waiting room, except there are an infinite number of clipboards and the doctor will never call you back.
Health age is recalculated every Monday
To be totally clear, every app’s health age is nonsense. Getting regular exercise, or good sleep, or maintaining the weight that makes the app happy, has nothing to do with your age. We just place some cultural value on youth, which means it sounds good to be young. So the apps subtract years off your age as a sort of vanity reward for good habits.
To find the Health Age, you’ll have to tap on the Longevity tab, and then you’ll find Health Age at the top of the screen. (Visually, it looks like one of the Insights cards on the main screen, but you won’t find it there.)
My Health Age screen tells me that the one thing “raising” my health age (aka, bad) is my sleep score, and I “could benefit from more restorative rest to support healthy aging.” Lowering my health age (that is, good things) are my cardio fitness, exercise minutes, HRV, resting heart rate, and steps. There’s a number associated with each of these, and presumably I could work harder at each of these—get more steps each day, for example—to improve my score. I’m invited to add or order labs for glucose (actually hemoglobin A1c) and LDL cholesterol, which could contribute to the Health Age but currently have no data.
There are four camera-based fitness assessments, not just one
Credit: Beth SkwareckiUnfortunately, the fitness assessments in the beta aren’t ready for testing. Every time I tried one, I’d lean my phone against the wall, step back, and a video would play that tells me what I’m supposed to do. As soon as I was supposed to do it, the app would crash. That’s what I get for testing a developer beta, so I’m looking forward to trying this again on a more stable version of the app in the future.
Flexibility (5 minutes): arm raise, elbow bend, calf stretch, hamstring stretch, hip and knee bend.
VO2max (5 minutes): step test (on the floor, stepping in time with an accelerating beat)
For the VO2max test, you’ll need a device that can measure heart rate (your Apple Watch can do the job). For the strength test, you’ll need a chair for the sit-to-stand. I’ll reserve my judgement on these tests until I’m able to do them myself. They do seem to be geared toward people of all abilities, and especially older people who may not be very strong or active. I’m not sure that I would bother with a sit-to-stand test for my own sake, but I could see it being useful for someone my parents’ age.
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