Report: watchOS 27 to improve heart-rate tracking; AI health coach may not debut at launch
Apple is reportedly refining heart-rate tracking in watchOS 27, while its AI health coach may arrive later in the iOS 27 cycle.
Intelligence analysis by GPT-5.4 Mini
Apple is expected to focus watchOS 27 on stability and smaller refinements, with better heart-rate tracking among the few notable upgrades. Separately, Apple’s AI health coach project, Mulberry, may slip past the initial iOS 27 launch.
Apple Watch may soon get better at checking heart rate. That means the watch could notice changes more smoothly, like a teacher taking attendance more often instead of only once in a while.
Apple is also making a smart health helper, like a coach in a pocket. But that helper may not be ready when the next big software update first comes out.
The article says Apple wants to spend more time making the health helper better before releasing it. The watch gets a tune-up now, while the bigger health coach may arrive later.
Analysis
What Apple is said to be changing
According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, watchOS 27 will mostly be about stability, performance, and smaller refinements rather than major new features. One of the notable changes in that release is improved heart-rate tracking on Apple Watch.
The article does not spell out exactly how Apple plans to improve the sensor experience. It only says the tracking should get better, which leaves the details open. 9to5Mac frames this as a meaningful tweak because more consistent refreshes can make heart-rate data feel more useful in daily use.
Where Project Mulberry stands
The bigger health story in the piece is Apple’s AI health coach, internally known as Project Mulberry. The article says the project has already been scaled back and that features from it may not arrive when iOS 27 first ships.
Gurman is quoted saying he does not expect Mulberry features to launch until later in the iOS 27 update cycle. That could mean something like iOS 27.1, iOS 27.4, or another point later in the cycle. The article also says the redesigned Health app may still debut in iOS 27 even if the coach itself does not.
Why the delay
The reporting says Apple paused because it felt the product was not yet competitive with other health subscriptions on the market. Apple apparently wants more time to get the service right before launching it, and the article suggests the eventual Apple Health+ subscription is also pushed back with it.
In short, the near-term Apple Watch story is a smaller one: better heart-rate tracking. The larger health-platform ambition is still alive, but it may take longer to reach users.
Key points
- watchOS 27 is expected to focus on stability, performance, and smaller refinements.
- Apple Watch heart-rate tracking is reportedly getting improved in watchOS 27.
- Project Mulberry, Apple’s AI health coach, may not launch at the start of iOS 27.
- The redesigned Health app could still debut in iOS 27 even if the coach does not.
- Apple reportedly delayed the coach because it wanted a more competitive product.
