Apple’s new Apple Watch is scoring higher and higher on the health score, and now, it might become an even more inseparable part of our lives, thanks to new reports about an upcoming transformation to the Apple HealthKit.
After the unveiling of the new Apple Watch, which is equipped with new and improved apps, and following the news of purchasing digital healthcare app Gliimpse, it was a matter of time until the tech giant will take a bigger bite of the healthcare industry, continuing to show growing dedication to supporting users’ healthy lifestyles.
According to a report by Bloomberg, Apple’s HealthKit, which up until now collected user data, will start interpreting that information and turn it into a device for users and doctors.
A key element of this new system will be the new Apple Watch, which will come with a series of apps that’ll make sophisticated measurements of fitness levels, sleeping habits and more. Gliimpse’s acquisition will come in handy here, pulling electronic health records and organizing them for ease of use and analysis.
As of now, it’s still unclear how soon this we’ll see this HealthKit makeover, but this initial information sure shows Apple’s dedication to beat the competition to the $8 trillion worth healthcare industry, after successfully turning an iPod into an enormous music platform.
Apple HealthKit- Leaving a Significant Mark on the Healthcare Industry
In a recent interview with Fast Company, Apple’s CEO Tim Cook said: “We’ve gotten into the health arena and we started looking at wellness, that took us to pulling a string to thinking about research, pulling that string a little further took us to some patient-care stuff, and that pulled a string that’s taking us into some other stuff.”
“When you look at most of the solutions, whether it’s devices, or things coming up out of Big Pharma, first and foremost, they are done to get the reimbursement [from an insurance provider]. Not thinking about what helps the patient. So if you don’t care about reimbursement, which we have the privilege of doing, that may even make the smartphone market look small.”
If this process will become successful, then it’s safe to assume that much like the company’s music devices, users will be shackled to Apple’s healthcare products. Knowing how difficult it is for users to switch devices from iOS to Android because their music library is already organized, it’s easy to see how much more dependent users will become of Apple’s devices once their health data is stored within them.