All the latest news from Apple on vision and mental health for iPhone, iPad and Watch

At WWDC 2023, which opened with the “barrels” of yesterday’s keynote announcements, Apple extended the concept of “health“. The app of the same name, present on the iPhone and Apple Watch for some time now, has been a control center for everything related to physical health, from sleep to physical activity, passing through any other parameter such as SpO2 or the estimate of VO2 Max. With iOS 17, watchOS 10 and also iPadOS 17 (in fact, the app will also debut on the iPad) Apple also embraces the large set of parameters that concern mental healththe psychological well-being which is just as important as the physical one.

The innovations announced for mental health – this possibility has been discussed at length – make it possible to record the emotions of the moment and the daily state of mind, as well as to consult useful information and easily access assessments and resources elaborated and predicted by the algorithms of Apple. Moreover, in addition to mental healthwe also focused on the vision health with the aim of reducing the risk of myopia.

Our goal is to provide people with the tools they need to take care of their health. With the introduction of these new features, we’ve expanded the already comprehensive range of health and wellness tools available on iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch,” said Sumbul Desai, MD and Apple’s vice president of health. Mental health and vision are important, but are often overlooked. We are happy to introduce features that will provide you with valuable new information to better understand your health. With this data, we’ll be able to make more informed decisions and have more informed conversations with our caregivers.

The Salute app on iOS 17 and iPadOS 17 and the Mindfulness app on watchOS 10 they count on the benefits that derive from even a brief reflection on their state of mind. Apple’s idea, supported by some studies, is that the moment you feel sad identifying that sadness, reflecting on it even for a moment, can bring benefits. In other words, being aware of one’s emotions or state of mind can have a positive effect on our body.

It has been shown – explains UCLA psychology and psychiatry professor Michelle Craske – that identifying the sensations we experience helps us manage difficult emotions, appreciate the good times and improve our state of well-being.

And preliminary results from a survey conducted as part of the UCLA Digital Mental Health Study showed that 80 percent of participants found that reflecting on their state of mind through the app they used for research, the forerunner of the ” new” Health app, has increased emotional awareness: about half of the participants said they felt better.

With iOS 17, iPadOS 17 and watchOS 10, the user can swipe between various multidimensional shapes and choose the one that represents his mood on a scale ranging from Very pleasant a Very regrettable. Then he can select the factors that influence his moods the most, such as travel or family, and indicate how he feels, for example gratitude or concern.

However, the direct benefit of awareness of one’s moods and emotions is not the only objective pursued by Apple with the new Health app, which once the data has been “digested”, preferably with the help of the Apple Watch sensors, offers a series of Useful information to identify factors that may be influencing one’s moodfrom associations to lifestyle aspects, such as sleep or exercise.

No magic though, so if the user had any symptoms pertaining to theanxiety o alla depression however, they can be “weighed” through the evaluation criteria that are used in health facilities to identify depression and anxiety, determine the level of risk and possibly get in touch with a professional in the area where you live.

As for the vision health, Apple started from the most widespread defect in the world whose incidence, moreover, is destined to grow in the coming years. Currently to suffer from myopia it is more than 30% of the population, by 2050 the forecast is that 5 billion people will suffer from it, that is about 50% of the world population. It is a vision defect whose risk of occurrence, however, can be reduced.

As? Apple will provide useful tools through the Health app of iOS 17 and iPadOS 17. If necessary, for example, it will advise parents to get your kids to spend more time outdoors – according to the International Myopia Institute, boys and girls should spend at least 80-120 minutes outdoors a day – or increase the distance between your eyes and the electronic device. iOS and iPadOS will be able to make data with what’s already there.

Il brightness sensor for example it will be able to measure the time spent in daylight, while as regards the distance from the screen, the data will be obtained from system that realizes the Face ID: If you keep the display within 30 cm of your face for too long, a notification will advise you to move it away. This too is education, isn’t it?

Between so to speak minor news of the new Health app there are:

• reminders if you miss taking a medicine registered on Medicines
• the new Journal app on iOS 17, thanks to machine learning it suggests to annotate something based on the user’s recent activity which can be related to photos, people, places, workouts and more
• Apple Fitness+ introduces Personalized Plans, a new way to receive customized training or meditation programs, based on day, duration, type of workout and more
  • Collections allows you to select multiple workouts and meditations to switch between easily
  • Audio Foreground gives you the choice of prioritizing the volume of the music or the voice of the trainer team

L’Health app with news will arrive for everyone in the fall, when iOS 17, iPadOS 17 and watchOS 10 have reached maturity. Anyone wishing to shorten the time must wait until July, when at the address beta.apple.com will be available there public beta for enthusiasts. Developers on the other hand can get immediately the first betas of the new operating systems, including the Health app, on developer.apple.com.