Health & Fitness

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Explore the technical aspects of health and fitness features, including sensor data acquisition, health data processing, and integration with the HealthKit framework.

Health & Fitness Documentation

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Extended Runtime Session vs HKWorkoutSession Issues
I am working on an Apple Watch companion app to an existing live iOS app. I am utilizing the heart rate tracking for an active 'self-care' sauna session. I say self-care in quotes because it's more self-care than a workout activity, but it is closely blurring the lines between the two. I have come to understand that if a session truly isn't a workout, then you should not use workoutSession.startActivity. However the app needs to function entirely like a workout would. This is not a meditation application. Sauna is actually just one of many activity types supported in the app. I have tried using extended runtime session, and there have been numerous issues with doing so. It is not nearly as robust for the user. For example, the active session is not prioritized by the watch's CPU. Now playing is no longer functional. Heart rate is far more inconsistent, and this variable is as critical as if it were in a workout. I have tried using HKWorkoutSession, however I worry the app will be rejected by doing so. This method works most accurately to collect the right data for the user, and prioritizes system resources as expected. The app can be moved to the background as expected and continue to communicate with the iOS app. What is the best way to move forward here. It almost feels like I am operating in a grey area with no real solution in place. Any assistance is greatly appreciated as we would like to follow all guidelines while producing a high quality experience for our users.
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793
Jan ’25
Apple Watch Ultra 2 having issues with heart rate measurements
I am using a new Apple Watch Ultra 2 (MX5R3LW/A) running WatchOS 11.3 (22S553). I noticed that the watch often misses heart measurements during meaningfully long segments of exercise sessions. This has been bugging me for a while and today I read an article that described perfectly, and much better than I could, what I am experiencing. Here is the article: https://apple.news/AK_QJyoLaQ1eaeySWHlkLPw Is this a known issue that is being worked? Thanks.
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795
Jan ’25
Workouts fail to register on Fitness activity rings
Hello, My app syncs workout data from a third-party device and records workouts with HealthKit as follows: let builder = HKWorkoutBuilder(healthStore: healthStore, configuration: hkConf, device: hkDevice) try await builder.beginCollection(at: startDate) try await builder.addSamples(samples) try await builder.endCollection(at: endDate) let workout = try await builder.finishWorkout() let workoutRouteBuilder = HKWorkoutRouteBuilder(healthStore: healthStore, device: hkDevice) try await workoutRouteBuilder.insertRouteData(filteredLocations) try await workoutRouteBuilder.finishRoute(with: workout, metadata: nil) However, I’m encountering two issues: The workouts appear in Apple Fitness but do not contribute to the activity rings. The workout includes a route (visible in the raw workout data in Apple Health) but does not display on Apple Fitness. Is there any way to fix this? I’d appreciate any suggestions you might have. __
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747
Jan ’25
Is sleep analysis data available in Smart Alarms?
I am working on a Smart Alarm app for Watch OS. When testing on an Series 10 watch, I am successfully able to read heart rate data in the ExtendedRuntimeSession. However, although the calls succeed, the sleep analysis data is all 0. The app successfully gets authorization for: [HKQuantityType(.heartRate), HKObjectType.categoryType(forIdentifier: .sleepAnalysis)!] I have read that sleep data is not available for less than an hour time period. The Smart Alarm extended session has a 30 minute limit. Does that mean it is not possible to read sleep analysis data in a Smart Alarm extended session? Thank you!
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887
Jan ’25
Can I use an HKQueryAnchor across multiple devices?
Hello, I am currently working on an app that uses HealthKit to sync health data to a backend server that performs analysis on this data. I am keeping track of the synced data with the HKQueryAnchor I receive for each query I make. I want to address an edge case: if a user has multiple devices running the app, would it make sense to store the anchor on my backend? This would ensure that other instances of the app do not sync data that has already been synced from another device. Thank you for your help!
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785
Jan ’25
car accident detect API
https://support.apple.com/zh-cn/104959 Our application provides car insurance services. Does Apple have any API related to car accident detection exposed to developers? We want to do something when an iPhone detects a car accident
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416
Jan ’25
Can't properly check if Health Kit is authorized.
In my WatchOS app I've written the following code to check if my app has access to the user's health data: func isHealthKitAuthorized() -> Bool { let typesToRead: [HKObjectType] = [ HKObjectType.quantityType(forIdentifier: .heartRate)!, HKObjectType.quantityType(forIdentifier: .activeEnergyBurned)!, HKObjectType.quantityType(forIdentifier: .appleMoveTime)!, HKObjectType.quantityType(forIdentifier: .appleExerciseTime)!, HKObjectType.workoutType() ] let typesToShare: Set<HKSampleType> = [ HKObjectType.workoutType(), HKObjectType.quantityType(forIdentifier: .activeEnergyBurned)!, HKObjectType.quantityType(forIdentifier: .heartRate)! ] var isAuthorized = true for type in typesToRead { let status = healthStore.authorizationStatus(for: type) if status != .sharingAuthorized { print("Access denied to: \(type.identifier)") isAuthorized = false } } for type in typesToShare { let status = healthStore.authorizationStatus(for: type) if status != .sharingAuthorized { print("Access denied to: \(type.identifier)") isAuthorized = false } } return isAuthorized } However for the appleMoveTime and appleExerciseTime types their status is returning as 'sharingDenied' (checked by printing the status' rawValue) even though they are authorized on the Watch's settings. This happened both on the simulator and on the Watch itself. Am I doing something wrong?
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799
Jan ’25
Read Workout Effort Scores
Is there documentation on how to read workout effort scores from a HealthKit workout? I'm interested in reading workoutEffortScore and estimatedWorkoutEffortScore. I have not been successful trying to read them using the same method that I do other workout HKQuantityTypes (heartRate, stepCount, etc). I'm using Swift and I do have authorization for those types requested and granted. I have found documentation on setting these values (https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/763539) but not reading them. Thank You
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911
Jan ’25
When does appleExerciseTime update or change?
I've been trying to figure out what the bare minimum is required for HKWorkoutBuilder to create a workout that adds time the appleExerciseTime. I couldn't find the documentation for this. This is my code so far. func createWorkoutSample( expectedActiveEnergyData: [Double], expectedExerciseMinutesData: [Double], calendar: Calendar, startDate: Date ) async throws -> [HKSample] { var testData: [HKSample] = [] let workoutConfiguration = HKWorkoutConfiguration() workoutConfiguration.activityType = .running workoutConfiguration.locationType = .outdoor let results = try await withThrowingTaskGroup(of: HKSample?.self) { group in for (index) in 0..<expectedActiveEnergyData.count { guard let date = calendar.date(byAdding: .day, value: index, to: startDate) else { continue } group.addTask { let builder = HKWorkoutBuilder( healthStore: self.manager.healthStore, configuration: workoutConfiguration, device: .local() ) let endDate = date.addingTimeInterval(expectedExerciseMinutesData[index] * 60) try await builder.beginCollection(at: date) let energyType = HKQuantityType.quantityType( forIdentifier: .activeEnergyBurned )! let energyQuantity = HKQuantity( unit: HKUnit.kilocalorie(), doubleValue: expectedActiveEnergyData[index] ) let energySample = HKQuantitySample( type: energyType, quantity: energyQuantity, start: date, end: endDate ) return try await withCheckedThrowingContinuation { continuation in builder.add([energySample]) { (success, error) in if let error = error { continuation.resume(throwing: error) return } builder.endCollection(withEnd: endDate) { (success, error) in if let error = error { continuation.resume(throwing: error) return } builder.finishWorkout { (workout, error) in if let error = error { continuation.resume(throwing: error) return } continuation.resume(returning: workout) } } } } } } for try await workout in group { if let workout = workout { testData.append(workout) } else { print("Skipping nil workout result.") } } return testData } print("Total samples created: \(results.count)") return results } When I query appleExerciseTime, there are no results. I've looked at the HKWorkoutBuilder documentation, and most of the information expands on adding samples related to the deprecated HKWorkout.
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891
Jan ’25
Apple Healthkit data usage
I want to use the Apple Healthkit data to recommend personalised insurance. Is this allowed? As I have read in the documentation that the Apple Healthkit data can only be used for fitness and health purposes. Anyone knows what is meant / scope of "fitness and health purposes"? Will personalised insurance as per health data be allowed under this category?
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373
Jan ’25
Change displayed metric in Fitness app
Good afternoon, I am working on a workout tracking app. So far everything is working as expected. However, I note that when my workout saves and is visible within the Fitness App, the workout duration is displayed rather than the kCal burned. What changes are required to be made in order for this to display the kCal in the list of workouts in Fitness rather than duration? For reference https://developer.apple.com/videos/play/wwdc2021/10009 this was my reference source for workout functionality.
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905
Jan ’25
Workout not showing for import on Strava
I have a workout app which I am testing on device currently via TestFlight. The generated workout (tennis and indoor) shows in the fitness app with correct HR and duration. However, when I go to my Strava app, it does not show in the list of workouts for importing. (note, activities tracked using the regular tennis mode on the Apple Watch show fine) I have also concurrently reached out to Strava support to see if there's anything they can offer support for. However, does anybody here have any knowledge/experience of the requirement? Or whether this is a limitation of an application deployed via TestFlight? I have a terrible feeling I am chasing ghosts, and it may be a TestFlight limitation for exporting workouts? Thanks
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874
Jan ’25
HealthKit SDK Not Responding When Querying Step Data on iPhone 16 Pro Max
We have working code to fetch step data from HealthKit after requesting the necessary permissions. However, we’ve encountered an issue specific to one device, the iPhone 16 Pro Max. When querying the data, we do not receive a response, and the code enters an infinite loading state without completing the request. The user who is facing this issue has tried logging in on another device, and it works fine. On the problematic device (iPhone 16 Pro Max), the request does not complete. For reference, I’ve included the code below. Resolving this issue is crucial, so we would appreciate any guidance on what steps we can take to troubleshoot or resolve the problem on this specific device. Please note that the device has granted permission to access HealthKit data. static let healthStore = HKHealthStore() static func limitReadFromHealthKitBetweenDates(fromDate: Date, toDate: Date = Date(), completion: @escaping ([HKStatistics]) -> Void) { guard let stepsQuantityType = HKQuantityType.quantityType(forIdentifier: .stepCount) else { return } let ignoreUserEntered = HKQuery.predicateForObjects(withMetadataKey: HKMetadataKeyWasUserEntered, operatorType: .notEqualTo, value: true) let now = toDate var interval = DateComponents() interval.day = 1 var calendar = Calendar.current calendar.locale = Locale(identifier: "en_US_POSIX") var anchorComponents = calendar.dateComponents([.day, .month, .year], from: now) anchorComponents.hour = 0 let anchorDate = calendar.date(from: anchorComponents) ?? Date() let query = HKStatisticsCollectionQuery(quantityType: stepsQuantityType, quantitySamplePredicate: ignoreUserEntered, options: [.cumulativeSum], anchorDate: anchorDate, intervalComponents: interval) query.initialResultsHandler = { _, results, error in guard let results = results else { print("Error returned from resultHandler: \(String(describing: error?.localizedDescription))") return } print(results) var statisticsArray: [HKStatistics] = [] results.enumerateStatistics(from: fromDate, to: now) { statistics, _ in statisticsArray.append(statistics) if statistics.endDate.getddmmyyyyslashGMT == now.getddmmyyyyslashGMT { completion(statisticsArray) } } } healthStore.execute(query) } Please note that the code works on all devices except the problematic one. Could you please guide me on the next steps to resolve this issue?
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900
Dec ’24
Sleep Analysis inBed sample not recorded on Apple Watch in iOS 18
In this link, Apple states we can know when a user is in bed vs sleeping and compare their quality of sleep by it. Only, in iOS 18, Apple no longer reports inBed time samples for the Apple Watch. I get why they stopped doing this for the phone, but why the watch? Bug? My app was using the inBed times for this very purpose and now only works for Garmin and Oura who still report inBed times. https://developer.apple.com/documentation/healthkit/hkcategoryvaluesleepanalysis
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1.4k
Dec ’24
Deprecated: HKCategoryValueMenstrualFlow
We currently use the HKCategoryValueMenstrualFlow enum to determine the type of menstrual flow: light, medium, etc. a user is having. We also use this enum in determining if it's an actual period day. The Problem I see HKCategoryValueMenstrualFlow was recently deprecated but has not been replaced by another data type. Are there plans to replace/update it with another data type? When or at what point in the future will this deprecation cause a problem in my code?
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930
Dec ’24
Workout mode drains battery heavily
I am building a watchOS app with iOS companion app. The watch app needs to track the heart rate during the night or while user is sleeping. And the desired frequency of measurement is 0.2Hz (every 5 seconds) For this I am using the HKWorkout mode with mindAndBody session. While it works fine, One of the main issue is: after about 6-7 hours of usage, the battery on the watch drains between 40% (Series 9) and 100% (series 7, I think) My questions: Are there any other option to track user's heart rate without workout, while the app could be in background? Another side effect of this workout mode is, Even if we choose not to save the workout in HealthKit, the Activity rings gets populated by this mindAndBody session, which makes it when the user is waking up, the bar is already full, This is not desired. Is there any option to specify for ActivityRing skips this? Highly appreciate any help in advance. Cheers - Prakash
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1.1k
Dec ’24
User-Entered Sleep Data Lacks Time Zone
As a user, there are times when I don't wear my sleep tracker to bed, but I nonetheless want to record my sleep times. Apple Health supports this with the "Add Data" feature, but it's not possible to provide a time zone in the form. Then as a developer, user-added sleep samples are missing time zone information. I would expect that the time zone is requested within the Add Data form. Without this information provided at input time, downstream applications are forced to infer the time zone ourselves, leading to potentially buggy or unintuitive behavior.
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408
Dec ’24
HealthKit quantity types are not documented when generated by the system and on which Apple Watch models
Finally at last Apple Health supports saving .distancePaddleSports, .distanceCrossCountrySkiing, .distanceRowing, .distanceSkatingSports, and much more. The backstory. In the land of 10,000 lakes, there hasn't been a way to save 'canoe' or 'kayak' distance and I've been asking for it for years. Thank you health team for adding it this year! FB7807993 - Add HKQuantityTypeIdentifier.paddleDistance for canoeing, kayaking, etc type workouts (June 2020) Prior we could just save the totalDistance to a workout, but since the HKWorkout initializers were deprecated we no longer have a supported way to save these distances in our workouts. The iOS 18 / watchOS 11 introduction addresses this. If you want to know more why you can't do this in earlier versions you can check these feedback titles: FB10281482 - HealthKit: Deprecation of totalDistance on a workout session of paddleSports breaks apps that used that to save distance to the workout because there is no "paddleDistance" type available to save as sample data (June 2022) FB12402974 - HealthKit: Deprecation of HKWorkout completely breaks support for third party fitness apps from saving non-standard workout distance (June 2023) Great, so there is new support that solves all of these requests and issues for the new version of the OSes. However, the downside is now that there is not much for documentation. Unlike the .runningSpeed and .runningPower introduced in iOS 16 / watchOS 9, none of the new iOS 18 / watchOS 11 types have documentation, at all. To some degree this is understandable, but types from last year still remain undocumented too. Without this information for the data types introduced in both iOS 17/18 and watchOS 10/11 it makes building and integrating with these new types difficult to say the least. We can't make assumptions about anything. Can we get a documentation update for new (and existing) quantity types for when Apple Watch will automatically generate samples? FB14236080 - Developer Documentation / HealthKit: Update documentation for HKLiveWorkoutDataSource typesToCollect for which sample types are automatically collected by watchOS 10 and 11 (July 2024) FB14942555 - HealthKit / Documentation: App Update Release Issue - HKQuantityTypeIdentifiers are missing documentation describing when the system automatically adds data (today) I know that the behavior has changed from release to release for some of these types, so documentation would be based on OS version. If you didn't catch it, watchOS 11 will now associate .cyclingSpeed for cycling workouts both indoor and outdoor. FB12458548 - Fitness: Connected cycling speed sensor did not save samples to health via cycling workout (June 2023 - received reply that only saved for indoor cycling, but not documented otherwise) FB14311218 - HealthKit: Expected outdoor cycling to include .cyclingSpeed quantity type as a default HKLiveWorkoutDataSource type to collect (July 2024) To the other third party fitness apps out there, how are you managing the knowledge of which devices collect which data types on which versions of the OS? Sure, we could look at the HKLiveWorkoutDatSource and inspect the typesToCollect property across a bunch of devices, but again that is trial by error not 'as documented'. Is the behavior of simulators guaranteed to match the behavior of real devices? Maybe, but also maybe not. Fingers crossed for a nice documentation update to spell out all of the behavioral details. Apple folks / DTS, many of the above feedbacks are addressed and I plan to update or close them after the releases this fall. Some are still outstanding. P.S. I hope that .paddleSports gets deprecated and split into individual activity types like skiing did years ago. Their MET scores are different according to the research on the physical activity compendium site. FB7807902 - Split HKWorkoutActivityType.paddleSports into their own activity types (June 2020)
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851
Dec ’24