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With every new device and feature, Apple further builds out its ecosystem in ways meant to make sure you never have to, or want to, leave the confines of iOS. Now, it’s bringing that approach to a far more important aspect of life than media, messaging, or even payments: Apple is increasingly becoming a central hub for people to track, manage, and understand their health.
This transition began in 2014, when Apple introduced the Health app, a dashboard of health metrics. Last spring, it unveiled ResearchKit, an app framework that lets iPhone users participate in clinical studies about conditions from diabetes to breast cancer. Apple also unleashed its first wearable, the Apple Watch.
Now, Apple is seeking to widen its ecosystem even more. It recently announced CareKit, an app framework that will soon let iPhone users keep other people updated on the status of their health. And 23andMe, the DNA-testing startup, started letting people upload their DNA to two ResearchKit apps, so those researchers can in turn probe the potential genetic causes of their conditions. Oh, and Apple made the Watch cheaper, too.
“When we introduced ResearchKit, our goal was simply to improve medical research, and we thought our work was largely done,” Jeff Williams, Apple’s chief operating officer, said at the company’s product event in Cupertino. “But what … became clear to us later is the very tools used to advance medical research can also be used to help people with their care.”
Read full, original post: Apple Wants The iPhone To Record Every Aspect Of Your Health
