Apple’s new Vitals app for watchOS 11 appears to be impressing some users with its ability to detect potential illness days before symptoms manifest, according to recent reports on Reddit.
The Apple Watch app, which analyzes key health metrics measured during sleep over the last seven days, appears to be providing early warnings of impending sickness for at least some Apple Watch wearers ahead of time. It’s available on Apple Watch Series 8 and newer models, including the Apple Watch Ultra series, as long as the devices are running watchOS 11.
One Reddit user, RCG21, shared their experience with the new feature:
“I started using Vitals when it first came out on the beta and since then I’ve gotten sick about twice. Both times it knew a couple days in advance and I hadn’t felt anything wrong.”
Vitals can be viewed on the Apple Watch in the Vitals app, or in the Vitals section of the Health app on iPhone, where it displays metrics such as heart rate, respiratory rate, wrist temperature, sleep duration, and blood oxygen levels. It establishes a typical range for each user over time and notifies them when metrics fall outside this range.
Another user, dalethomas81, posted a screenshot of their Vitals data, stating, “Woke up today feeling off. Now as the evening is setting in, I am feeling that old familiar feeling in my head. I’m sick.” The image showed multiple metrics falling outside the typical range days before the user reported feeling ill.
Some users also reported the app detecting outliers associated with vaccines in their system before they experienced associated symptoms. TizianosBoy said:
“My watch knew I wasn’t 100% after my COVID and flu jabs as all three vitals (Wrist Temperature, Heart Rate and Respiratory Rate) were outliers and that’s how I knew I was not well, amazing tbh.”
While many users praised the feature’s accuracy, experiences varied. At least one user in the thread mentioned that the app didn’t detect their illness in advance, suggesting that individual results may differ.
Despite signs that Vitals is picking up illnesses before users present symptoms, it’s worth emphasizing that Apple says the app is not intended to diagnose or treat any medical conditions. Bear in mind that the ability to measure blood oxygen is not available on Apple Watch units sold by Apple in the United States after January 18, 2024, due to a legal ruling that found Apple violated Masimo’s pulse oximetry patents with the feature.
