Dr. Apple Takes First Steps Into the Trillion-Dollar Health Sector

The introduction of the pulse-reading Apple Watch along with HealthKit software designed to log activity and health data form something of a beachhead into the $2.7 trillion U.S. health sector, a vast domain where tech companies large and small have been trying to improve care and reduce cost. And because it’s Apple, a move into health care is worth watching closely.

The smartwatch described in Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook’s presentation on Tuesday appears to be a more sophisticated tracking gadget than FitBits or GPS-equipped running watches. The Apple Watch can certainly capture more precise data. Combined with HealthKit’s power to connect fitness, nutrition, and medical data, it will likely have hard-core adherents of the quantified self movement jumping for joy (and measuring how high). More casual users may find it interesting to see, for example, whether their RunKeeper workouts affect how well they snooze as measured by Sleep Cycle. HealthKit will make that kind of analysis simpler, enticing more iPhone users into the world of obsessively measuring their personal performance.