Apple’s redesigned Health app adds five movement evaluations, covering flexibility, strength, balance, movement mechanics and VO2 max, that use the iPhone camera together with Apple Watch. Apple says the tests were developed with clinicians and run entirely on device, with no video recorded, stored or shared.
The evaluations feed the movement health category of the new Longevity tab in the iOS 27 Health app. Movement health is one of seven categories in that tab, alongside heart health, sleep, mental wellbeing, metabolic health, hearing and nutrition.
The five movement evaluations
Apple’s release names the five areas but does not describe the individual exercises. Here is what it has published for each.
Don’t miss the best of The Mac Observer
Set us as a preferred source and our Apple reporting ranks higher in your Google Search results and Discover feed — one tap, no account changes.
| Evaluation | What Apple has said |
|---|---|
| Flexibility | Uses the iPhone camera and Apple Watch |
| Strength | Uses the iPhone camera and Apple Watch |
| Balance | Uses the iPhone camera and Apple Watch |
| Movement mechanics | Uses the iPhone camera and Apple Watch |
| VO2 max | Needs Apple Watch, AirPods Pro 3 or a third-party heart rate device |
Apple has not said how long each test takes, how often it recommends repeating them, or how results are scored. It also has not published whether the camera tests require a specific iPhone model beyond the Apple Intelligence devices the new Health app needs.
How the VO2 max test works and what you need
VO2 max is the one evaluation with a stated heart rate requirement. Apple lists three options: an Apple Watch, AirPods Pro 3, or a third-party heart rate device. That makes it the only test in the set that can run without a watch, provided you have another heart rate source.
On Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4, the new Health Sensing System measures heart rate every five seconds all day, and Apple says a study of more than 1,000 participants found it the most accurate heart rate sensing in a wearable. Apple has not said whether the VO2 max test behaves differently on older watches.
VO2 max results also feed Health Age, the new comparison of your metrics against your chronological age, alongside resting heart rate, sleep and HRV. Our Series 12 preview covers what was expected from the sensor changes before the event.
Privacy: on device, no video kept
Apple makes three specific claims about the camera-based tests.
- Processing runs entirely on device.
- No video is recorded.
- No video is stored or shared.
Apple applies those claims to all five evaluations, not only the VO2 max test.
Availability
The redesigned Health app launches with iOS 27 on September 14 on Apple Intelligence devices, in US English first, with more languages to follow. Apple says some features require users to be 18 or over, and has not said whether the movement evaluations are among them. The Vitals app, Apple notes, is for wellness rather than medical use.
Series 12 and Ultra 4, which bring the new heart sensors, ship on September 18. See the event recap for the full list of announcements.
