What’s the recommended way to determine whether HealthKit data is being accessed on an iPad versus an iPhone? My goal isn’t really to identify the device type itself, but to know whether the HealthKit data is likely being viewed on the device where it was originally recorded, or on a device that receives the data via HealthKit/iCloud syncing. This matters because synced HealthKit data can appear with a delay, and I’d like to set appropriate expectations for users. I previously used UITraitCollection.current.userInterfaceIdiom == .pad as a proxy for this, but that API is being deprecated. Is there a better way to distinguish between locally recorded HealthKit data and data that has arrived via sync, or otherwise identify when the app is running on an iPad?

Since there were not 1:1 labs available for HealthKit, I’d like to just share to the team continued interest in some feedbacks related to Medication API from last year. FB18310503 FB18310200 FB18309972 To update the post with a question, are there any medications API changes since the release in iOS 26.0? There was a short session video last summer but I haven't found anything 'new'.

We ship a focus timer where every session is user-initiated: the user deliberately starts a 25- or 45-minute session, then it's logged. We'd like that focused time to live in the user's health picture alongside sleep, exercise, and State of Mind, as self-reported context — the same standing as manually entered steps, and never inferred from device usage. The nearest interval type today is HKCategoryTypeIdentifier.mindfulSession, but its semantics are meditation. Is writing focused-work intervals to mindfulSession considered a misuse of the type? And if so, what's the recommended way to represent self-reported focus time until a dedicated type exists?

When will ResearchKit get the needed overhaul to be fully compatible with Liquid Glass? CareKit is a SwiftUI first offering with many customization points, but ResearchKit, its older sibling, hasn’t merged the SwiftUI work. I’d like to see SwiftUI, distribution as a Swift Package, and more frequent versioned releases. Can anything be shared on the state of and plans for ResearchKit going forward? It is open source so there isn’t a good way to file feedback other than just sending to the HealthKit team. FB9558499 FB15694524 FB20292373

Since there were not 1:1 labs available for HealthKit, I’d like to just share to the team continued interest in some feedbacks related to the sleep disturbances API from last year. FB20332832 FB20330679 To make this not just a transfer of feedbacks here is a question. How can you create a sleep disturbance value on the simulator? The Health app allows you to show a sheet to create one, but the values I enter don't seem to be valid and the save button is never functional. FB20979381 - Simulator / HealthKit: The Simulator allows for launching a 'create breathing disturbances' sample but never permits saving

Workout Activities are very useful for tracking metrics for each interval of a HIIT workout (e.g. Run/Walk or Work/Recover intervals for core body workout). However, if the workout contains lots of intervals (50 or more), I find that saving all those workout activities slow down saving the workout to Apple Health. Is this an appropriate use of workout activities? If so, it would be great to be able to set the activity type for each activity (e.g. run or walk).

How do you suggest developers help users get their EMRs setup and connected? I don’t want to maintain custom instructions that are potentially os-version and device varying. There isn’t a way to deep link the user directly to that page, but if there was that would help me bring more products online with consuming health records, as well as making that recommendation to the user to connect — which helps all apps. FB9950311 Sorta related is the desire to deep link the user to the manage health settings page. Same thing, don’t want to maintain updating documentation I don’t control. My users need help changing their decisions and ‘go to Apple health’ isn’t great. Do you have any recommendations to Apple support articles or other ways to cleanly and simply educate users on how to manage their choices? FB13683502

How can third party workout apps take advantage of the announced improvements to treadmill workouts metric tracking? Are those improvements available on both watchOS and iOS?

Is this exclusive to the Apple Watch Workout app? If I make a third party workout app, and use a workout builder to create a running workout, will that workout still cause VO2Max values to be generated? Similar question for Cardio Recovery values.

In the WWDC 2019 session "Extended Runtime for WatchOS apps" the video talks about an entitlement being required to use the HR sensor judiciously in the background. It provides a link to request the entitlement which no longer works: http://developer.apple.com/contect/request/health-monitoring The session video is also quite hard to find these days. Does anyone know why this is the case? Is the API and entitlement still available? Is there a supported way to run, even periodically, in the background on the Watch app (ignoring the background observer route which is known to be unreliable) and access existing HR sensor data

In the last few weeks 5 users have reported my workout watch app being unable to read health data despite the permissions being enabled in the iPhone Settings app. This has been a common complaint over the years and is usually fixed by disabling the permissions; rebooting both devices; and then enabling them again. This usually nudges iOS into sending the permissions to watchOS. However that procedure doesn't work for these users, all of whom are using watchOS 10.6.2. They are using various versions of iOS 18 or 26 so it seems to be a problem with that version of watchOS, which users are usually limited to because their hardware won't support anything more up to date. It seems that unpairing and re-pairing the watch can fix the problem but not always. I looked around and it seems that other apps are having the same problem: https://www.reddit.com/r/runna/comments/1rhhs2n/runna_wont_start_an_outdoor_run_on_apple_watch/ Does anyone know a way to fix this? My current advice is to repeatedly unpair / re-pair until it works, which isn't really practical! Thanks in advance.

I would like to create an Apple Watch only app that queries data such as blood oxygenation, heart varibility, number of steps, energy consumed, and other data of a similar nature recorded over the past month and performs calculations on them. I read from the HealthKit documentation that Apple Watch synchronizes data with iPhone and periodically deletes older data, and that I can get the date from which the data is available with earliestPermittedSampleDate(). Is there a risk that in general, by making queries to retrieve data up to a month old, the data will no longer be available? I need the app to work properly without needing an iPhone.

would like to enable Apple touschscreens to measure a set of bio parameteres through NDR (negative differential resistance) at the finger tip, whereas the proprietary measurement therapeutically channels out current out of the finger

In the Fitness app under iOS 26, each workout location is displayed on a small map. For workouts with routes, I can already successfully read out the route and thus also determine the starting point. So that works. For indoor workouts such as yoga or indoor rowing, the exact location is also displayed in the Fitness app. I would now also like to read out this location for these indoor workouts in my app. Does anyone know how to do this?

Hello, I am working on a iOS app. This is my first big project in SwiftUI which it is going well besides I can not get my phone to auto-sleep/auto-lock when I am in the app. I am testing the app on my phone through xcode. As I am checking my energy report on idle it is saying Low and is almost to the very bottom, and my memory is idling at 90MB~115MB which seems very low. Now If I just leave the app it works right away even if I do not clear the app. I am wondering if anyone has any ideas on how to help me with this issue. I am using HealthKit, a Timer and the camera. I am making a workout app to give some information. I can also give more info if needed I will appreciate any help or ideas. I have tried to use AI to see if it can find any issues and it said that it didn't see anything wrong with my code that will cause it not to sleep now that is AI and it isn't perfect so I would appreciate any help.

We are seeing a reproducible process termination involving a companion watchOS app and its paired iOS companion app when Motion & Fitness authorization is requested from the watchOS app. Context: iOS app bundle identifier: com.alpha.golfbird watchOS app bundle identifier: com.alpha.golfbird.watchkitapp The watchOS app has WKCompanionAppBundleIdentifier set to the iOS app bundle identifier. Both the iOS app and the watchOS app include NSMotionUsageDescription in their Info.plist files. The watchOS app uses CMAltimeter to read barometric altitude changes for slope-adjusted golf distance calculations. The authorization flow checks CMAltimeter.authorizationStatus(). If the status is notDetermined, it uses CMMotionActivityManager.queryActivityStarting(from:to:to:) before starting CMAltimeter updates, following the known iOS 17.4+ Core Motion authorization behavior. Observed behavior: Install or launch the watchOS companion app for the first time. Open the paired iOS companion app and keep it in the foreground. In the watchOS app, enter the feature that starts the slope/altimeter flow. watchOS shows the Motion & Fitness permission prompt. After the user grants permission, the watchOS app continues normally and CMAltimeter authorization succeeds. At approximately the same time, the foreground iOS app process is terminated. In debug builds, Xcode reports: Debug session ended with code 9: Terminated due to signal 9 In TestFlight builds, users observe that the iOS app closes and relaunches. We do not get a normal iOS crash stack trace for the iOS app, which makes this look like a system termination rather than an application exception. Expected behavior: Granting Motion & Fitness authorization from the watchOS companion app should not terminate the foreground paired iOS companion app, or there should be documented lifecycle behavior and a recommended state-restoration strategy for this case. Question: Is it expected system behavior for a watchOS companion app's Motion & Fitness / Core Motion authorization change to terminate the paired foreground iOS companion app process? If it is expected, is there any documented notification, lifecycle callback, or recommended workaround so the iOS app can preserve and restore user state without looking like a crash? If it is not expected, should this be filed as a Core Motion / watchOS / WatchKit privacy authorization bug via Feedback Assistant, and what diagnostic logs would Apple recommend attaching?

Hello, I have submitted multiple requests for the Family Controls Distribution Entitlement through this form: https://developer.apple.com/contact/request/family-controls-distribution After submitting my requests, I waited for about 1 week but did not receive any response. Since I heard nothing, I contacted Apple Developer Support by email. After that, I finally received a response from an advisor asking for additional information, including my follow-up number. I replied with all the requested information immediately, but it has now been 5 more days and I still have not received any further response. In total, I have been waiting for about 2 weeks for this entitlement request. My app is a Screen Time control / digital wellbeing application that helps users reduce screen time through exercise-based challenges and healthy habits. My app uses the FamilyControls, ManagedSettings, and DeviceActivity frameworks and requires the Distribution Entitlement for App Store release. Here are my details: Case Number: 102866460896 Request Type: Family Controls Distribution Entitlement I understand the team may be busy, but I would appreciate any help checking the status of my request or escalating it if possible. Thank you very much.

Hi all, I'm building a coaching app for runners on top of WorkoutKit and would like to confirm a missing API — or learn that I overlooked something. The gap IntervalStep transitions deliver a haptic at T0 of the next step. The available alerts (HeartRateRangeAlert, SpeedRangeAlert, PaceRangeAlert, PowerRangeAlert, CadenceRangeAlert) are reactive — they activate when the measured value leaves the target range, not ahead of a planned step. There is no API for a "pre-roll" haptic at, say, T-15s before a high- effort step. On watchOS today, the only signal arrives exactly at step start. What I checked The WorkoutAlert protocol and concrete types — all metric-driven, no scheduling primitive. IntervalStep initializer — (.work, step: WorkoutStep). No leadTime, warning, countdown, or prepareDuration parameter. CustomWorkout — no per-step pre-roll knob. WorkoutScheduler and the rest of the surface in iOS/watchOS 26.4 SDK. If I missed something obvious, please point me at it. Filed with Apple Feedback ID: FB22708659 Has anyone here found a cleaner workaround, or seen any signal from the WorkoutKit team about pre-roll cues being on the roadmap? Thanks!

Hello Apple Developer Support / Community, I would like clarification regarding HealthKit data access behavior when an iPhone is locked. We are building an app that uses: HKObserverQuery enableBackgroundDelivery HKAnchoredObjectQuery Background execution to sync HealthKit data to our server Our specific question is: When the device is locked with passcode/Face ID protection enabled, can an app launched in the background through HKObserverQuery or other background mechanisms reliably access and read HealthKit data? We would like to understand the expected Apple-supported behavior for the following scenarios: If new HealthKit samples are written while the phone is locked, will HKObserverQuery still trigger immediately? If the observer callback is invoked while locked, can HKAnchoredObjectQuery successfully read the new samples? Is HealthKit data inaccessible while locked due to Data Protection / encrypted store behavior? Should developers expect delivery or data reads to be deferred until the user unlocks the device? We are trying to set correct expectations for background syncing and would appreciate official clarification on whether near real-time HealthKit sync is possible while the device remains locked. Relevant documentation mentions HealthKit store encryption, but we would appreciate direct confirmation for production behavior. Thank you.

Hello Apple Developer Support / Community, I would like clarification regarding HealthKit observer behavior when comparing a Flutter-based iOS app with a fully native iOS app. We are using HealthKit background delivery with: HKObserverQuery enableBackgroundDelivery HKAnchoredObjectQuery We have observed that in a Flutter-based app, HKObserverQuery callbacks appear to execute multiple times or more frequently than expected for a single data update. In comparison, a native iOS implementation using similar HealthKit logic appears more stable and predictable. We would like to understand the expected platform behavior and whether there are any known considerations from Apple’s perspective. Specific questions: Does iOS treat HealthKit observer delivery differently for apps built with Flutter versus fully native UIKit / Swift apps? Are there known issues where app lifecycle handling, Flutter engine initialization, method channels, isolates, or plugin architecture could cause repeated observer callbacks? Can repeated HKObserverQuery executions occur if queries are registered multiple times during app launches or engine restarts? Does Apple recommend any specific observer management pattern for cross-platform frameworks such as Flutter? From the HealthKit system side, should observer callback frequency be identical regardless of whether the app is Flutter or native, assuming the same iOS code is used? We are trying to determine whether this behavior is due to HealthKit delivery semantics, duplicate observer registration, Flutter lifecycle integration, or framework-related limitations. Any guidance from Apple or developers who have implemented HealthKit successfully in Flutter would be appreciated. Thank you.