Apple’s AI health coach could be delayed, leaving fitness fans in the lurch as rival companies surge ahead

• Apple’s AI-powered health coach has apparently been delayed
• It’s now not expected until “later in the iOS 27 update cycle”
• The news arrives in a new report from a reputable source

Apple’s WWDC event is just around the corner, which means we can expect a host of software announcements from the tech giant on June 8. One thing fans of the best Apple Watches might have been excited for is Apple’s long-rumored AI health coach (AI) — but a new report has just put a dampener on those expectations.

According to Bloomberg journalist Mark Gurman, Apple’s AI health coach — apparently dubbed ‘Project Mulberry’ inside Apple — might not be revealed at WWDC after all. That will come as a blow to anyone looking forward to this feature, but it’s not all doom and gloom.

Past rumors have suggested that Apple is building an AI helper that can study your fitness metrics and identify key areas of improvement, then give you tips and plans to help you get there. Another feature might involve using your device cameras to monitor your workouts and give you pointers to step up your posture and performance.

However, Gurman says this fitness coach won’t be shown off at WWDC. Instead, the reporter now doesn’t expect any of Project Mulberry’s features to arrive until “later in the iOS 27 update cycle,” meaning a key delay for the mooted health tools.

Rivals pushing ahead

This news comes after Gurman previously reported that Project Mulberry had been “scaled back,” with the company planning to include its features in its existing tools rather than offering a standalone app. Yet even that delay and restructuring wasn’t enough to get the feature ready for WWDC, at least according to Gurman.

It stands in stark contrast to the Fitbit Air and its Google Health companion app, which features an AI-based Google Health Coach that absorbs your health metrics, sleep data, nutritional intake, medical records and more in order to build a personalized plan to help you feel healthier, sleep better, and more. While Google’s effort has rolled out around the world, Apple’s is nowhere to be seen.

Still, Gurman has some more positive news for fitness fans who live in the Apple ecosystem. For one thing, he believes that watchOS 27 will bring improved heart-rate tracking, which could make the Apple Watch an even better fitness tracker for those who need these features.

As well as that, Apple is expected to overhaul its Health app at WWDC, and while Gurman said the AI fitness coach has been pushed back, he made no mention of similar delays to this Health revamp. That could mean the app gets a little more useful this summer, even if Project Mulberry is nowhere to be found.

Regardless, we’re hoping that Apple’s improved fitness offerings aren’t held up for too long. With rival companies pushing ahead with their own personalized metrics and analyses, Apple has its work cut out to draw level in this area.

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Alex Blake has been fooling around with computers since the early 1990s, and since that time he’s learned a thing or two about tech. No more than two things, though. That’s all his brain can hold. As well as TechRadar, Alex writes for iMore, Digital Trends and Creative Bloq, among others. He was previously commissioning editor at MacFormat magazine. That means he mostly covers the world of Apple and its latest products, but also Windows, computer peripherals, mobile apps, and much more beyond. When not writing, you can find him hiking the English countryside and gaming on his PC.