Apple scales back AI health coach as new leadership pushes for faster results

Apple is pulling back on plans for an AI-powered virtual health coach codenamed "Mulberry," according to Bloomberg. Instead of launching the feature as a standalone product, the company will roll out some of its planned capabilities as individual additions to the Health app. The shift comes after a leadership change: Services chief Eddy Cue took over the health division following Jeff Williams' retirement late last year.

Cue told colleagues that Apple needs to move faster and stay more competitive. Rivals like Oura and Whoop are offering better features, particularly in their iPhone apps. The service was originally supposed to launch with iOS 26 but has been delayed multiple times. Apple still plans to build an AI chatbot for health-related questions and wants to use the new Siri chatbot for these queries starting with iOS 27. OpenAI has also entered the health market with ChatGPT Health.