GoKawiilAn apple a day keeps the doctor away. Granted, 19th-century proverb writers were talking about the fruit, but Tim Cook helped give new meaning to the adage with the release of the very first Apple Watch. In fact, I’d argue that when he hands the reins to John Ternus in September, it won’t be iPhones, Macs, AirPods, or the Vision Pro that defines Cook’s legacy. It’ll be how the Apple Watch set the course for modern health tech.
You don’t have to take my word for it. In 2019, Cook himself told told Mad Money host Jim Cramer, “...If you zoom out into the future, and you look back, and you ask the question, ‘What was Apple’s greatest contribution to mankind?’, it will be about health.”
The Apple Watch was the first new Apple product in the post-Steve Jobs era and the first developed without his input — though Cook was adamant that his predecessor’s influence could be seen and felt within the device. Consequently, it served as a barometer for Cook’s leadership and whether Apple could continue to innovate without Jobs’ singular vision.
It was a shaky start. Apple’s early gambit on the Watch as a high-end fashion piece didn’t stick. But looking back, the gadget has defined the modern wearable industry. FDA-cleared digital health screening features weren’t a thing before the Series 4. Now, wearable devices across the industry can detect atrial fibrillation, hypertension, and sleep apnea. They can call emergency services if you get into a car crash or take a nasty fall. Each year, before a new Watch is announced, Apple rolls a clip of “Dear Tim” letters where users express how the gadget saved their lives. (It’s a moment Cook also called out yesterday in his letter to Apple fans.) We’ve written at The Verge about how these ads can feel like subtle fearmongering, but it’s an undeniable fact that there are real-life people who owe their lives to the device.
Hypertension alerts are the latest digital health screening feature from Apple.
This idea is one we’ve seen adopted by politicians as well. Current Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has also been an outspoken proponent of “taking control of your health” with wearable tech. RFK Jr. has gone as far as saying he believes wearable tech to be a pillar of the Make America Healthy Again movement. Regardless of how you view MAHA or RFK Jr.’s wellness beliefs, none of that would’ve been possible without the blueprint Apple set with its Apple Watch.
It might be tempting to downplay Cook’s role in Apple’s pivot to health. After all, Jony Ive often gets credited with dreaming up the Apple Watch and its iconic design. Steve Jobs’ healthcare experiences while battling pancreatic cancer have also been cited as the “true” reason behind the Apple Watch’s creation. But I’d argue you can’t fully separate Tim Cook the man from Apple’s approach to health tech.
For one, I must point to Slate’s investigation into whether Tim Cook is secretly swole. (Spoiler: Yes, he is.) Numerous profiles have also pointed to Cook’s strict daily routine, which starts at 4AM and includes a roughly hourlong workout at Apple’s corporate gyms. In a podcast with Outside magazine, Cook also described himself as an outdoor nerd and that exercise as a key to a good quality of life. To Fortune, Cook called himself a “fitness nut.” Cook has also previously said using the Apple Watch helped him lose 30 pounds and fine-tune his exercise routines. You can see aspects of this within Apple’s Fitness Plus service, breathing reminders, and the hiking navigation features on the Apple Watch Ultra.
The Ultra 3’s 3D-printed titanium was courtesy of John Ternus.
Cook has set a strong foundation and lead, but the gap is closing. Oura and Whoop, in particular, continue to barrel forward in setting new wearable health tech trends. But, 30 years from now, when we’re all wearing glucose monitors and possibly getting illness alerts from our earbuds, we’ll be able to point back to Cook’s tenure and say this is when it all started.