Apple Announces New Health Study Involving the iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods

Wednesday February 12, 2025 6:13 am PST by Joe Rossignol

A new comprehensive Apple Health Study is launching today in the Apple Research app. Apple says U.S. residents can participate in the study if they meet the minimum age requirements, and complete the informed consent process.

The new Apple Health Study aims to further understand how technology, including the iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods, can "play a role in advancing and improving physical health, mental health, and overall wellbeing."

The research study will also "explore relationships between various areas of health, such as mental health's impact on heart rate, or how sleep can influence exercise."

This is Apple's most holistic research study yet. It will track how technology impacts many aspects of health and diseases, including activity, aging, cardiovascular health, circulatory health, cognition, hearing, menstrual health, mental health, metabolic health, mobility, neurologic health, respiratory health, sleep, and more.

The all-encompassing Apple Health Study builds upon the Apple Women's Health Study, Apple Hearing Study, and Apple Heart and Movement Study.

Apple is conducting the study in collaboration with Brigham and Women's Hospital, a leading research hospital and Harvard Medical School teaching affiliate.

Apple Research is available in the App Store for the iPhone and Apple Watch. The app was updated today with the Apple Health Study.

Tag: Apple Research

Popular Stories

RIP, MacBook Ultra

Monday October 19, 2026 9:37 am PDT by Joe Rossignol

Apple today sent out invites for an experience in Los Angeles on Wednesday, October 28, and the "Pro and tell" tagline on the invitation likely means that the rumored MacBook models with touch-enabled OLED displays will stick with MacBook Pro branding instead of the once-rumored "MacBook Ultra" name. The long-rumored "iPhone Ultra" ended up being named iPhone Duo, so speculation that Apple...

• 160 comments

Here's What Apple's Apps Look Like on the iPhone Duo

Tuesday October 20, 2026 11:12 am PDT by Juli Clover

With just three days to go until the iPhone Duo is released, Apple is getting ready for the launch. Behind the scenes, the App Store now has screenshots of Apple's built-in apps running on the Duo. We've seen some apps in marketing materials, but images of the ones we haven't seen give us an idea of what it will be like using the iPhone Duo day to day. Many apps are shown in landscape...

• 116 comments

Apple Announcing New Products Next Week: 'Pro and Tell'

Monday October 19, 2026 9:05 am PDT by Juli Clover

Apple's Greg Joswiak today hinted at new product announcements coming next week, sharing a social media post that says "Can't wait to pro and tell next week." Rumors suggest Apple is planning to debut the new MacBook Pro with an OLED touchscreen display, an M6 entry-level MacBook Pro, an M6 iMac, an iPad mini with an OLED display. Can't wait to pro and tell next week....

• 126 comments

Top Rated Comments

Amazing Iceman

22 months ago

My experience with these studies and surveys TMI. No guarantee the personal data will not get shared to the insurance industries etc. While they may have medical benefits, TMI collected and floating around the internet a high risk. A direct discussion with a doctor, fine. Sharing my watch and or App data, no.

Apple Studies are kept anonymous. your profile becomes a number that's not related to you personally.
Already there's a lot more personal information about you floating around on the internet that you can imagine.
If this study was conducted by Facebook or Google, then I would be worried.

Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)

DrJR

22 months ago

Nothing yet for ED….. sigh….

Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)

turbineseaplane

22 months ago

Please also study the human impacts of carrying around an always connected attention sucking addiction device

I call them "iPhones"

Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Amazing Iceman

22 months ago

Nothing yet for ED….. sigh….

Not until they release the Ring

Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)

roncron

22 months ago

I'm a little skeptical they'd ever publish study results that said or implied...

"For your mental health, you really should get rid of your smartphone"

It's like expecting a tobacco industry study to pump out a result of "you should quit smoking"

Your skepticism is very reasonable and understandable.

But I think this case is different. If people reduce their daily phone usage by 25%, Apple still will sell the same number of phones. But if smokers cut their daily tobacco use by 25%, tobacco companies will sell 25% fewer cigarettes.

Also, Apple developed the screen time app (introduced in iOS 12, give or take?) to help people who want to reduce their phone usage. Apple spent money to develop that app, and it’s not clear that the app generates revenue for Apple. I don’t know of any initiatives the tobacco companies have taken to help folks who want to reduce their dependence on tobacco products, with the possible exception of court-ordered actions like warning labels and educational materials.

Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)