Hello, I’m building a health-related app for both watchOS and iOS, which needs to monitor certain health data (e.g., heart rate, active energy). Before updating to watchOS 26, the queries worked reliably without any issues. However, after adapting to watchOS 26, some users have reported that health data updates stop being delivered. What I’ve observed: HKObserverQuery with enableBackgroundDelivery is set up normally. On WatchOS 26, the query sometimes stops delivering updates entirely after a certain point, and once an update is missed, it may stop delivering further updates completely. Restarting the Apple Watch temporarily restores delivery, but the problem reoccurs after some time. This makes background health data monitoring unreliable for my app. Here’s a simplified version of the code we are using: guard let heartType = HKObjectType.quantityType(forIdentifier: .heartRate) else { return } let query = HKObserverQuery(sampleType: heartType, predicate: nil) { query, completionHandler, error in if let error = error { logEvent("Observer error: \(error.localizedDescription)") return } logEvent("Heart rate changed") MyNotificationManager.shared.sendNotification() // Send a local notification completionHandler() } healthStore.execute(query) healthStore.enableBackgroundDelivery(for: heartType, frequency: .hourly) { success, error in if success { logEvent("Background heart rate delivery enabled") } else { logEvent("Failed to enable background heart rate delivery: \(error?.localizedDescription ?? "Unknown error")") } } Could you please clarify: Is this a known issue with HKObserverQuery and enableBackgroundDelivery on watchOS 26? Are there any recommended workarounds or best practices to ensure continuous background delivery of health data? Thank you in advance for your help.

Hi all, I'm developing fitness app and I use healthkit to track user's "STEPS" count from their iphone devices. I have been receiving this rejection and can't seem to get past this: Guideline 2.5.1 - Performance - Software Requirements The app uses the HealthKit or CareKit APIs but does not clearly identify the HealthKit and CareKit functionality in the app's user interface. Apps using these APIs should be clearly indicated to provide transparency and valuable information to users. Next Steps To resolve this issue, it would appropriate to clearly identify the HealthKit and CareKit functionality in the app's user interface. Resources Learn more about software requirements in guideline 2.5.1. I have modified my app: adding user permission prompt, adding healthkit notification, adding healthkit indicator in the UI, adding healthkit information in the onboarding process. I keep getting the same message. When I asked the reviewer what else could be done to satisfy the requirement, I only get boiler plate message above. Anyone know what they really looking for? Any insights is appreciated. Thanks!

Hello, In my application, I need to obtain precise workout segment data from HKWorkout in order to calculate per-kilometer metrics such as heart rate and pace. My current approach is: 1.Use HKWorkout to fetch the associated HKWorkoutEvents. 2.Take the end time of one event as the start time of the next event to derive per-kilometer segment ranges. The issue I’m facing: •If a user sets Apple Watch to notify every 5 kilometers, then at 5 km, 10 km, 15 km, etc., I see overlapping event times. •From the HKWorkoutEvents data alone, I cannot distinguish between events that represent “per-kilometer splits” and those that represent “5-kilometer notifications.” •As a result, my per-kilometer heart rate and pace calculations can be inaccurate. My question is: Is there a recommended way to reliably differentiate per-kilometer splits from custom distance notifications and ensure accurate segment data retrieval? For example, should I instead reconstruct segments using HKWorkoutRoute and distance samples, rather than relying on HKWorkoutEvents? STEPS TO REPRODUCE 1.On Apple Watch, start an Outdoor Run using the Workout app. 2.In workout notifications, set distance alerts to every 5 kilometers. 3.During the run, when reaching 5 km, 10 km, 15 km, etc., the watch triggers notifications. 4.Query the corresponding HKWorkout from HealthKit and inspect its HKWorkoutEvents. 5.Notice that some event start times are duplicated, and it is unclear which events represent “per-kilometer splits” and which represent “5-kilometer notifications.” Expected Result: Be able to differentiate between per-kilometer splits and custom distance alerts, so that heart rate and pace per kilometer can be calculated accurately. Actual Result: The HKWorkoutEvents data contains duplicated event times without a way to distinguish event types, leading to inaccurate per-kilometer statistics.

Are there any HealthKit related changes to be aware of in the new update that enables SPO2 / Blood Oxygen Saturation measurements on certain Apple Watch models within the US? I’m aware of processing happening on the phone…. But beyond that: Does this mean values are then saved to Apple Health? Do these models still take background SPO2 measurements in the same way as other models do? Are these values then visible in third party iOS apps as normal through HealthKit? Do these values sync back to the paired Apple Watch HealthKit store for third party apps to access on the Watch? For reference I have an iOS and WatchOS app that, amongst other features, provides the ability to see your SPO2 values in the Watch app, complications and in the iOS app.

I have an iPhone 11 Pro Max running iOS 26. But since iOS 18, Apple decided to remove the "Time in Bed" feature[1][2]. Is it possible to develop an app that, effectively, "brings back" this feature? It doesn't have to be that accurate. Just a gauge is fine. As a starter I would like to track the time the phone was in Sleep mode (regardless whether the phone is being used). I have a minimal programming background but have not developed an iOS app before so any help would be appreciated. I found out about HealthKit[3] which lets me access (edit?) Health data, but I don't know where to go from there. [1] https://www.reddit.com/r/iOSBeta/comments/1em8bl6/ios_181_db1_time_in_bed_via_iphone_feature_removed [2] https://www.reddit.com/r/ios/comments/1fkjat4/apple_removed_the_iphoneonly_sleep_tracking [3] https://developer.apple.com/documentation/healthkit

Hello, I have enabled HealthKit background delivery for sleep analysis samples: private func setupSleepDataBackgroundDelivery() { if let sleepType = HKObjectType.categoryType(forIdentifier: HKCategoryTypeIdentifier.sleepAnalysis) { healthStore.enableBackgroundDelivery(for: sleepType, frequency: .immediate) { (success, error) in } } } In general, this function works. But I would love to know what the limitations / expected delivery delay for frequency: .immediate is. The documentation is only very vague about this and specifies that some sample types such as steps are only delivered once per hour. But how about sleep data? Is this expected to be delivered immediately once available on iPhone? Thanks a lot for your help!

New in iOS 26 and WatchOS 26 is a Sleep Score calculation for users based on Duration, Bedtime and Interruptions. Unfortunately I can't find any APIs for developers to tap into this metric. Yes, in theory it's all created off the same Sleep Analysis data already available with HealthKit but that makes it very hard to recreate in our apps. If the numbers don't match up exactly, users will understandably complain. Can anyone confirm that this is the case and I've not missed a Sleep Score API? I'll then file feedback. Hopefully this doesn't go the way of Heart Rate Zones where the Apple Watch iPhone app has generated them for years and provided no way for third party apps to access these values (yes many feedbacks provided previously).

Hello, everyone! I'm seeking some guidance on the App Store review process and technical best practices for a watchOS app. My goal is to create an app that uses HealthKit to continuously monitor a user's heart rate in the background for sessions lasting between 30 minutes and 3 hours. This app would not be a fitness or workout tracker. My primary question is about the best way to achieve this reliably while staying within the App Store Review Guidelines. Is it advisable to use the WorkoutKit framework to start a custom, non-fitness "session" for the purpose of continuous background monitoring? Are there any other recommended APIs or frameworks for this kind of background data collection on watchOS that I should be aware of? What are the key review considerations I should be mindful of, particularly regarding Guideline 4.1 (Design) and the intended use of APIs? My app's core functionality would require this kind of data for a beneficial purpose. I want to ensure my approach is technically sound and has the best chance of a successful review. Any insights or advice from developers who have experience with similar use cases would be incredibly helpful! Thank you!

According to the WWDC25 Presentation Track workouts with HealthKit on iOS and iPadOS, there is supposed to be a new property for restoring an active workout after a crash on iOS/iPadOS. The developer documentation also supports this. However, this property does not seem to exist in the latest Xcode 26 beta, even in projects targeting iOS 26.0 as the minimum version. Am I missing something? Has this property not been made available yet? It is actually looking like all of the new iOS 26.0 properties are missing UIScene.ConnectionOptions on my system.

Hello everyone, Ujjwal here, founder and CEO of a new iOS app in the mental wellness space. Our mission is to provide accessible, AI-driven support for individuals dealing with anxiety, depression, and loneliness. From the very beginning, this has presented us with a unique and critical challenge: How do we effectively market an app to reach those who need it most, while upholding the absolute highest standards of user privacy? We've built our app, ThunDroid, with a "privacy-by-design" philosophy. We leverage on-device processing for our core AI features, utilize end-to-end encryption, and have proudly integrated 'Sign in with Apple' to maximize user anonymity. We believe these are not just features, but ethical obligations to our users, especially given the nature of the data they trust us with. The challenge, however, arises in marketing. This leads us to focus on mission-driven, organic marketing, but it's a slower path to reaching users who might be in immediate need of support. This brings me to my question for this knowledgeable community. What best practices or creative strategies have you found effective for marketing applications? I appreciate any insights or experiences you're willing to share as we continue to grow ThunDroid responsibly. Thank you for your time and consideration. App Store link: (would love to hear your reviews) [https://apps.apple.com/in/app/thundroid-ai-human-companion/id6746182736)

Hi everyone, while testing HKWorkoutSession with HKLiveWorkoutBuilder on iOS 26 Beta (cycling workout), I noticed the following behavior: – Starting a cycling HKWorkoutSession automatically connects to my Bluetooth heart rate monitor and records HR into HealthKit ✅ – However, my Bluetooth cycling power meter and cadence sensor (standard BLE Cycling Power & CSC services) are not connected automatically, and no data is recorded into HealthKit ❌ On Apple Watch, when starting a cycling workout, these sensors do connect automatically and their data is written to HealthKit — which is exactly what I would expect on iOS as well. Question: Is this by design, or is support for power and cadence sensors planned for iOS in the same way as on watchOS? Or do we, as developers, need to implement the BLE Cycling Power and CSC profiles ourselves (via CoreBluetooth) if we want these metrics? Environment: – iOS 26 Beta – HKWorkoutSession & HKLiveWorkoutBuilder (cycling) – Bluetooth HRM connects automatically – BLE power & cadence sensors do not This feature would make it much easier to develop cycling apps with full HealthKit integration, and also create a more consistent user experience compared to watchOS. Thanks for any insights!

Hello, What is the best practice for sending customized workouts to the Apple Watch. For example, sending a running workout that entails: Run 1 mile at 8:00/mile Walk 2 minutes Run 2 mile at 7:00/mile ---- Walk 2 minutes ---- Repeat 2x Run 1 mile at 8:00/mile Any documentation or sample codes would be amazing. Thank you

In iOS 26, HKLiveWorkoutBuilder is supported, which we can use like HKWorkoutSession in watchOS - this is very exciting. However, it currently seems to have a bug in calculating calories. I tested it in my app, and for nearly 6 minutes with an average heart rate of 134, it only calculated 8 calories consumed (80 calories per hour), including basal consumption, which is obviously incorrect. (I used Powerboats Pro 2 connected to my phone, which includes heart rate data, and HKLiveWorkoutBuilder correctly collected the heart rate, which is great.) I think my code is correct. func workoutBuilder(_ workoutBuilder: HKLiveWorkoutBuilder, didCollectDataOf collectedTypes: Set<HKSampleType>) { for type in collectedTypes { guard let quantityType = type as? HKQuantityType else { return // Nothing to do. } let statistics = workoutBuilder.statistics(for: quantityType) if let statistics = statistics { switch statistics.quantityType { case HKQuantityType.quantityType(forIdentifier: .heartRate): /// - Tag: SetLabel let heartRateUnit = HKUnit.count().unitDivided(by: HKUnit.minute()) let value = statistics.mostRecentQuantity()?.doubleValue(for: heartRateUnit) let roundedValue = Double( round( 1 * value! ) / 1 ) if let avg = statistics.averageQuantity()?.doubleValue(for: heartRateUnit) { self.avgHeartRate = avg } self.delegate?.didUpdateHeartBeat(self, heartBeat: Int(roundedValue)) case HKQuantityType.quantityType(forIdentifier: .activeEnergyBurned): let energyUnit = HKUnit.kilocalorie() let value = statistics.sumQuantity()?.doubleValue(for: energyUnit) self.totalActiveEnergyBurned = Double(value!) print("didUpdate totalActiveEnergyBurned: \(self.totalActiveEnergyBurned)") self.delegate?.didUpdateEnergyBurned(self, totalEnergy: self.totalActiveEnergyBurned + self.totalBasalEneryBurned) return case HKQuantityType.quantityType(forIdentifier: .basalEnergyBurned): let energyUnit = HKUnit.kilocalorie() let value = statistics.sumQuantity()?.doubleValue(for: energyUnit) self.totalBasalEneryBurned = Double(value!) print("didUpdate totalBasalEneryBurned: \(self.totalBasalEneryBurned)") self.delegate?.didUpdateEnergyBurned(self, totalEnergy: self.totalActiveEnergyBurned + self.totalBasalEneryBurned) return default: print("unhandled quantityType=\(statistics.quantityType) when processing statistics") return } } I think I've found the source of the problem: let workoutConfiguration = HKWorkoutConfiguration() workoutConfiguration.activityType = .traditionalStrengthTraining //walking, running is ok workoutConfiguration.locationType = .outdoor When I set the activityType to walking or running, the calorie results are correct, showing several hundred calories per hour. However, when activityType is set to traditionalStrengthTraining or jumprope, the calculations are incorrect. PS: I'm currently using Xcode 26 beta3 and iOS 26 beta3. Hope this issue can be resolved. Thanks.

I'm using following filters to fetch swimming activities from HealthKit. For some users it fetches all workouts (pool && open water) but for other it skips some open water activities. See screenshot, all those swimming activities are not fetched by following code. let startDate = Calendar.current.date(byAdding: .month, value: -1, to: Date())! let endDate = Date() let swimmingPredicate = HKQuery.predicateForWorkouts(with: .swimming) let timePredicate = HKQuery.predicateForSamples(withStart: startDate, end: endDate, options: .strictStartDate) let predicate = NSCompoundPredicate(andPredicateWithSubpredicates: [swimmingPredicate, timePredicate]) let query = HKSampleQuery(sampleType: .workoutType(), predicate: predicate, limit: HKObjectQueryNoLimit, sortDescriptors: [.init(keyPath: \HKSample.startDate, ascending: false)], resultsHandler: { [weak self] query, samples, error in ... Could someone help with ideads what is missing in this case?

Has anyone seen the workout buddy options on watch OS yet? I am not able to get it on my watch. My setup is an iPhone 16 and Watch Ultra 1 with the 26 OS I am currently using beta 3. English US language on both and US as region. I am located in Germany though. I restarted both devices multiple times without any changes. Hopefully someone can help.

I'm trying to hook into the new workoutEffort score supported in iOS 18, I am collecting this information from users when they submit their workout and trying to add a sample to the HKWorkout in the same manner as I've been adding other samples like bodyweight, calories burned, etc. I'm receiving the error: HKWorkout: Sample of type HKQuantityTypeIdentifierWorkoutEffortScore must be related to a workout I tried adding the samples using HKWorkoutBuilder.add([samples]) as which has been working perfectly for calories burned & bodyweight, but I am receiving the above error for workoutEffortScore As a second approach, I tried adding the sample after I called finishWorkout on the HKWorkoutBuilder and received back the HKWorkout object using HKHealthStore.add([samples], to: HKWorkout) and am still receiving the same error! I don't know otherwise how to relate a sample to a workout, I thought those were the APIs to do so? I'm using Xcode 16.0 RC (16A242) and testing on an iOS 16 Pro simulator

Has anyone had success using the HKWorkoutRouteBuilder in conjunction with the new iOS support for HKLiveWorkoutBuilder? I was running my watchOS code that worked now brought over to iOS and when I call insertRouteData the function never returns. This happens for both the legacy and closure based block patterns. private var workoutSession: HKWorkoutSession? private var workoutBuilder: HKLiveWorkoutBuilder? private var serviceSession: CLServiceSession? private var workoutRouteBuilder: HKWorkoutRouteBuilder? private func startRouteBuilder() { Task { @MainActor in self.serviceSession = CLServiceSession(authorization: .whenInUse) self.workoutRouteBuilder = self.workoutBuilder?.seriesBuilder(for: .workoutRoute()) as? HKWorkoutRouteBuilder self.locationUpdateTask = Task { do { for try await update in CLLocationUpdate.liveUpdates(.fitness) { if let location = update.location { self.logger.notice(#function, metadata: [ "location": .stringConvertible(location) ]) try await self.workoutRouteBuilder?.insertRouteData([location]) self.logger.notice("Added location") } } } catch { self.logger.error(#function, metadata: [ "error": .stringConvertible(error.localizedDescription) ]) } } } } I did also try CLLocationManager API with delegate which is what my current watch code uses (a bit old). Same issue. Here is what I've found so far: If the workout session is not running, and if the builder hasn't started collection yet, inserting route data works just fine I've tried different swift language modes, flipped from main actor to non isolated project settings (Xcode 26) Modified Apple's sample code and added location route building to that and reproduced the error, modified sample attached to feedback This issue was identified against Xcode 26 beta 2 and iPhone 16 Pro simulator. Works as expected on my iPhone 13 Pro beta 2. FB18603581 - HealthKit: HKWorkoutRouteBuilder insert call within CLLocationUpdate task never returns

Hi, i'm trying to get the number of step counts a person has taken. I decided to pull the data from health kit and the number of steps are incorrect. Come to find out apple health recommends an app called pedometer++ for the number of steps counted and after testing I realized that they are getting the correct number of steps a person is taking. How can I pull the correct number of steps a person has taken? I want to be able to merge the data from watch and phone to make sure we are getting the correct number of steps but not double counting the steps either. any guidance on this would be appreciated! Here's the code snippet that i'm using right now: permissions: { read: [AppleHealthKit.Constants.Permissions.StepCount], write: [], }, }; AppleHealthKit.initHealthKit(permissions, error => { if (error) { console.log('Error initializing HealthKit: ', error); return; } else { dispatch(setAllowHealthKit(true)); getHealthKitData(); console.log('HealthKit initialized successfully'); } }); const getHealthKitData = async () => { try { const today = new Date(); const options = { startDate: new Date(today.setHours(0, 0, 0, 0)).toISOString(), endDate: new Date().toISOString(), }; const steps = await new Promise((resolve, reject) => { AppleHealthKit.getStepCount(options, (error, results) => { if (error) reject(error); resolve(results?.value); }); }); setStepsCount(steps); } catch (error) { console.error('Error fetching HealthKit data:', error); } };

I'm reading hourly statistics from HealthKit using executeStatisticsCollectionQuery (code below). Expectation What I expect is to get back the list with one row per hour, where each hours has the same cumulative sum value. Actual result In results, first hour always contains less calories than next hours, which all have the same value. Example: Start: 2025-06-02T00:00:00+03:00, anchor: 2025-06-02T00:00:00+03:00, end: 2025-06-02T12:00:00+03:00 🟡 2025-06-02T00:00:00+03:00 Optional(50.3986 kcal) 🟡 2025-06-02T01:00:00+03:00 Optional(64.421 kcal) 🟡 2025-06-02T02:00:00+03:00 Optional(64.421 kcal) 🟡 2025-06-02T03:00:00+03:00 Optional(64.421 kcal) 🟡 2025-06-02T04:00:00+03:00 Optional(64.421 kcal) 🟡 2025-06-02T05:00:00+03:00 Optional(64.421 kcal) 🟡 2025-06-02T06:00:00+03:00 Optional(64.421 kcal) 🟡 2025-06-02T07:00:00+03:00 Optional(64.421 kcal) 🟡 2025-06-02T08:00:00+03:00 Optional(64.421 kcal) 🟡 2025-06-02T09:00:00+03:00 Optional(64.421 kcal) 🟡 2025-06-02T10:00:00+03:00 Optional(64.421 kcal) 🟡 2025-06-02T11:00:00+03:00 Optional(64.421 kcal) 🟡 2025-06-02T12:00:00+03:00 Optional(14.0224 kcal) As you can see, here we have 2025-06-02T00:00:00+03:00 Optional(50.3986 kcal) Now, if I add one more hour to the request (from beginning of time window), the same hour has proper calories count, while newly added hour, has wrong value): 2025-06-01T23:00:00+03:00, anchor: 2025-06-01T23:00:00+03:00, end: 2025-06-02T12:00:00+03:00. 🟡 2025-06-01T23:00:00+03:00 Optional(50.3986 kcal) 🟡 2025-06-02T00:00:00+03:00 Optional(64.421 kcal) 🟡 2025-06-02T01:00:00+03:00 Optional(64.421 kcal) 🟡 2025-06-02T02:00:00+03:00 Optional(64.421 kcal) 🟡 2025-06-02T03:00:00+03:00 Optional(64.421 kcal) 🟡 2025-06-02T04:00:00+03:00 Optional(64.421 kcal) 🟡 2025-06-02T05:00:00+03:00 Optional(64.421 kcal) 🟡 2025-06-02T06:00:00+03:00 Optional(64.421 kcal) 🟡 2025-06-02T07:00:00+03:00 Optional(64.421 kcal) 🟡 2025-06-02T08:00:00+03:00 Optional(64.421 kcal) 🟡 2025-06-02T09:00:00+03:00 Optional(64.421 kcal) 🟡 2025-06-02T10:00:00+03:00 Optional(64.421 kcal) 🟡 2025-06-02T11:00:00+03:00 Optional(64.421 kcal) 🟡 2025-06-02T12:00:00+03:00 Optional(14.0224 kcal) And now first hour of the day, magically has more calories burned: 2025-06-02T00:00:00+03:00 Optional(64.421 kcal) I suspect similar things happen with other quantity types, but haven't yet found a way to reproduce it. Am I doing something wrong or is it a bug in HealthKit? Code let anchorDate = startDate let predicate = HKQuery.predicateForSamples(withStart: startDate, end: endDate, options: [.strictStartDate]) healthStore.executeStatisticsCollectionQuery( quantityType: .basalEnergyBurned, quantitySamplePredicate: predicate, options: [.separateBySource, .cumulativeSum], anchorDate: anchorDate, intervalComponents: DateComponents(hour: 1), initialResultsHandler: { statistics, error in if let error = error { log(.error, "Error retrieving steps: \(error.localizedDescription)") continuation.resume(throwing: SpikeException("Error retrieving steps: \(error.localizedDescription)")) return } if let statistics { let f = ISO8601DateFormatter() f.timeZone = TimeZone.current for s in statistics { log(.debug, "\(f.string(from: s.startDate)) \(s.sumQuantity())") } } continuation.resume(returning: statistics ?? []) } )

When I set the distanceFilter = 5 (5 meters) in the GPS CLLocationManager I can't display the workout routes in the Apple Fitness app after writing the recorded GPS data to HealthKit via HKWorkoutRouteBuilder. The smaller distanceFilter, Fitness will displays the route. Should I consider setting up a small distanceFilter when developing a workout app on watchOS?