We are developing a health app that relies on HKObserverQuery and BackgroundDelivery to monitor Heart Rate data. On watchOS 10.6 and 11.6 , these data updates are typically delivered reliably every 8–12 minutes, occasionally exceeding 12 minutes, but generally not longer than 15 minutes. This frequency has been sufficient for the real-time data requirements of our app. However, after adapting our app to watchOS 26, we noticed that HKObserverQuery triggers much less frequently, with longer and very inconsistent intervals. This issue has had a major impact on our product: data collection for essential features is unreliable, resulting in a greatly diminished user experience on watchOS 26 and making the app essentially useless from the user’s perspective. Observed Behavior: HKObserverQuery and BackgroundDelivery are extremely unstable, with trigger intervals frequently exceeding 15 minutes, and sometimes even 20 minutes. When the user is sedentary, intervals become even longer; there are cases where no heart rate or active energy updates are delivered for 30 minutes, or even over 1 hour. Request for Support and Guidance: Have there been any changes to the HKObserverQuery background delivery mechanism on watchOS 26, specifically for Heart Rate and Active Energy data? If these changes are intentional system optimizations, could you provide guidance or recommended practices to ensure our app can reliably retrieve updates and maintain a smooth experience for users? Thank you for your support.

Why can I use background delivery to realize background notifications when I run the app for the first time, but when I delete the app running in the background, and then reopen the app to run it in the background, there will be no background notification when the data changes?

When we upload workout data to HealthKit the route information with the workout detailed data is incomplete: just a few dots. When we select "Show all workout routes" the route data for the same workout shows correctly. We use the HKWorkoutBuilder to store the workout data, and add the location data with the HKWorkoutRouteBuilder to the workout with Is this an Apple Health issue, or do we have to change something in the way we store the location data to the workout?

Hey everyone, I was wondering if it is possible to access the raw data of the gyroscope and accelerometer of the Airpod 3 pro? I found different answers online - some say I can only get some processed data, but in the Core Motion documentation it reads as it might be possible to get raw data. Any clear answer for this one? Thanks!

Hello everyone, I’m currently enrolling as an Organization from Albania and I’ve been stuck on the "Enrolling" status for 8 business days now. I have my D-U-N-S number sorted and everything was submitted. I sent an email last week to the support but I haven't heard back yet. I’ve already sent another support message 2 days ago but no reply so far. I’m curious to hear from others who have enrolled recently (especially in 2026): How long did your organization verification take? Did you receive a verification phone call, or was it just approved via email? For those in the Balkans/Europe, did you have to provide extra local business registry documents (like the QKB extract) manually? I’m trying to time my launch with my Google Play release, so I’m a bit anxious about the "black hole" of waiting. Any experiences or "nudge" tips would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

1/ Issue Summary In our application, we use HKObserverQuery together with:HKHealthStore.enableBackgroundDelivery(for:frequency: .immediate) to enable HealthKit Background Delivery, allowing the system to wake our App Extension in the background to process health data updates. Under the same app build, identical HealthKit permission configuration, and the same watchOS version, we have observed significant differences in background delivery frequency across different devices. Specifically, on certain devices (e.g. Apple Watch Series 10, watchOS 26.2.1), the background delivery frequency is significantly reduced, behaving as if it is capped at approximately once per hour. On other control devices, under the same configuration, background delivery is triggered much more frequently and consistently, at approximately every 8–16 minutes. This behavior is consistently reproducible on the affected devices. **We would like to understand whether there are any officially recommended implementation patterns, best practices, or device-/system-level considerations when using HKObserverQuery and Background Delivery, in order to achieve more consistent and predictable background update behavior across different devices running the same system version. ** 2/ Detailed Device Comparison We conducted internal comparison testing across multiple devices with the following results: Device A (Affected / Abnormal) Model: Apple Watch Series 10 (46mm) OS: watchOS 26.2.1 Serial (partial): C*HY Background Delivery Frequency: ~ once every 60 minutes (significantly lower than expected) Device B (Normal) Model: Apple Watch Series 10 (42mm) OS: watchOS 26.2.1 Serial (partial): G*4R Background Delivery Frequency: ~ every 8–16 minutes Device C (Normal) Model: Apple Watch Series 8 (41mm) OS: watchOS 26.3 Serial (partial): C*J6 Background Delivery Frequency: ~ every 8–16 minutes Device D (Normal) Model: Apple Watch Series 5 (41mm) OS: watchOS 10.6.1 Serial (partial): G*TQ Background Delivery Frequency: ~ every 8–16 minutes All devices share the following conditions: HealthKit permissions: Full read/write permissions granted Background App Refresh: Enabled System state: Low Power Mode, Do Not Disturb, and all Focus modes disabled App build: Identical app build installed on all devices HealthKit configuration: Same data types and same frequency parameter used in enableBackgroundDelivery Implementation: Identical HKObserverQuery implementation logic 3/ Abnormal Behavior Observed On the affected device(s), we observe that: HealthKit background delivery appears to be heavily coalesced or throttled The system rarely attempts to wake the App Extension Behavior is clearly inconsistent with other devices using the same configuration The behavior does not match our expectations for HealthKit Background Delivery with .immediate frequency 4/ Troubleshooting Already Performed We have already attempted the following on the affected device(s): Restarted both Apple Watch and paired iPhone Re-paired the Apple Watch Uninstalled and reinstalled the app Revoked and re-granted HealthKit permissions Confirmed that Low Power Mode, Do Not Disturb, and Focus modes are all disabled The issue remains consistently reproducible. 5/ Assistance Requested We would appreciate guidance on: Whether there are any officially recommended implementation patterns, tuning options, or best practices for using HKObserverQuery and HealthKit Background Delivery Whether there are any known device-level or system-level factors that may cause significantly different background delivery behavior on different devices running the same watchOS version How to best achieve consistent and predictable background update delivery behavior across devices for apps that rely on this mechanism 6/ Additional Information We can provide sysdiagnose logs from both affected and unaffected devices for comparison We can also provide a minimal reproducible sample project if needed

How to legally and compliantly upload users' fitness and health data to our own server—while adhering to Apple's strict privacy policies—for analysis by our AI large model to provide personalized feedback and recommendations to users.

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!

After upgrading to a new iPhone and restoring from an iCloud backup using the same Apple ID, I noticed an issue with Health app permissions. ■ What is happening On my previous iPhone, an app had permission to read step count data. After restoring to the new iPhone, the app still appears in the Health app under Sources. However, when I tap the app, the usual data type permission toggles (such as Steps) are not displayed at all. As a result, the app is unable to read step count data. ■ Additional details The app itself seems to be recognized as a Health data source. However, the data type permission screen is empty. No ON/OFF switches are shown. The backup was created on iOS 18, and the restore was performed on iOS 26. I have not yet confirmed whether this also happens with other iOS version combinations. ■ Questions Is it expected behavior that Health app permissions (per data type) are not restored via iCloud backup? Has anyone experienced a similar situation where the app appears under Sources but the permission options are missing? If so, how did you resolve it? Any information from users who have experienced the same issue would be greatly appreciated.

Some users have switched to wearing smart rings instead of an Apple Watch, but they still want their rings to close throughout the day in Apple Fitness to keep their streaks going. I've noticed that the 3rd party smart ring apps do not affect the progress of the exercise and move rings unless the user puts on their Apple Watch and syncs with there iPhone throughout the day. Is there a way to make the progress rings update throughout the day without having to connect an Apple Watch periodically?

I'm developing a watchOS nap app that detects when the user falls asleep by monitoring heart rate changes. == Technical Implementation == HKWorkoutSession (.mindAndBody) for background execution HKAnchoredObjectQuery for real-time heart rate data CoreMotion for movement detection == Battery Considerations == Heart rate monitoring ONLY active when user explicitly starts a session Monitoring continues until user is awakened OR 60-minute limit is reached If no sleep detected within 60 minutes, session auto-ends (user may have abandoned or forgotten to stop) App displays clear UI indicating monitoring is active Typical session: 15-30 minutes, keeping battery usage minimal == The Problem == HKWorkoutSession affects Activity Rings during the session. Users receive "Exercise goal reached" notifications while resting — confusing. == What I've Tried == Not using HKLiveWorkoutBuilder → Activity Rings still affected Using builder but not calling finishWorkout() (per https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/780220) → Activity Rings still affected WKExtendedRuntimeSession (self-care type) (per https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/721077) → Only ~10 min runtime, need up to 60 min HKObserverQuery + enableBackgroundDelivery (per https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/779101) → ~4 updates/hour, too slow for real-time detection Audio background session for continuous processing (suggested in https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/130287) → Concerned about App Store rejection for non-audio app; if official approves this technical route, I can implement in this direction Some online resources mention "Health Monitoring Entitlement" from WWDC 2019 Session 251, but I could not find any official documentation for this entitlement. Apple Developer Support also confirmed they cannot locate it? == My Question == Is there any supported way to: Monitor heart rate in background for up to 60 minutes WITHOUT affecting Activity Rings or creating workout records? If this requires a special entitlement or API access, please advise on the application process. Or allow me to submit a code-level support request. Any guidance would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Area Health & Fitness → HealthKit → Health Records (FHIR Ingestion) Summary On devices running iOS 26.2, FHIR Clinical Records successfully connect and validate, but no data (Procedure, DiagnosticReport, Observation, etc.) is ingested into the Health app. The same FHIR server and patient connection works correctly on iOS 18.1, where all data syncs and displays as expected. On iOS 26.2: FHIR validation passes in Health Records “Last Download Date” updates Patient data is visible in connection No clinical data appears in Health app No apps are listed under Privacy → Health Device shows “No Data Found” Crash logs show healthappd terminating during ingestion This appears to be a regression in the HealthPlatform / HealthKit ingestion pipeline in iOS 26. Steps to Reproduce Use an iPhone running iOS 26.2 Open Health app Add Health Record from FHIR server Authenticate successfully Confirm FHIR validation screen shows all resources as “Passed” Wait for sync to complete Expected Result Procedures, DiagnosticReports, Observations, etc. should appear in Health app Data should be written to HealthKit Apps should appear under Settings → Privacy & Security → Health Actual Result No data appears in Health app No Procedures, DiagnosticReports, Observations, etc. Apps section under Health permissions shows “None” Device shows “No Data Found” Last Download Date updates correctly Validation Results (All Passed) The following FHIR resources show “Passed” in Health validation: AllergyIntolerance Condition DiagnosticReport DiagnosticReport-ClinicalNotes-Cardiology DiagnosticReport-ClinicalNotes-Pathology DiagnosticReport-ClinicalNotes-Radiology DocumentReference-ClinicalNotes Immunization MedicationRequest Observation-Labs Observation-VitalSigns Patient Procedure Server responses are correct and return expected data when tested via Postman. Crash Log Details Crash occurs in process: healthappd Frameworks involved: HealthPlatform.framework HealthKit Combine Exception: EXC_BAD_ACCESS SIGKILL EXC_ARM_PAC_FAIL Thread: com.apple.HealthKit.HKHealthStoreImplementation.client Stack trace includes: objc_msgSend HKSharedSummary DictionaryStorage.deinit swift_release_dealloc objc_destructInstance Publishers.MergeMany Future.init This indicates the ingestion pipeline crashes before data is written to HealthKit. Comparison Across OS Versions iOS Version Result iOS 18.1 Data syncs correctly iOS 26.2 No data syncs, healthappd crash Same: Same FHIR server Same patient Same authentication Same device model Same iCloud settings Additional Notes OAuth flow succeeds FHIR validation passes Server responses are correct Postman returns correct JSON No TLS errors No permission errors Issue only occurs on iOS 26+ This appears to be a regression in the FHIR ingestion engine introduced after iOS 18.1.

Area Health & Fitness → HealthKit → Health Records (FHIR Ingestion) Summary On devices running iOS 26.2, FHIR Clinical Records successfully connect and validate, but no data (Procedure, DiagnosticReport, Observation, etc.) is ingested into the Health app. The same FHIR server and patient connection works correctly on iOS 18.1, where all data syncs and displays as expected. On iOS 26.2: FHIR validation passes in Health Records “Last Download Date” updates Patient data is visible in connection No clinical data appears in Health app No apps are listed under Privacy → Health Device shows “No Data Found” Crash logs show healthappd terminating during ingestion This appears to be a regression in the HealthPlatform / HealthKit ingestion pipeline in iOS 26. Steps to Reproduce Use an iPhone running iOS 26.2 Open Health app Add Health Record from FHIR server Authenticate successfully Confirm FHIR validation screen shows all resources as “Passed” Wait for sync to complete Expected Result Procedures, DiagnosticReports, Observations, etc. should appear in Health app Data should be written to HealthKit Apps should appear under Settings → Privacy & Security → Health Actual Result No data appears in Health app No Procedures, DiagnosticReports, Observations, etc. Apps section under Health permissions shows “None” Device shows “No Data Found” Last Download Date updates correctly Validation Results (All Passed) The following FHIR resources show “Passed” in Health validation: AllergyIntolerance Condition DiagnosticReport DiagnosticReport-ClinicalNotes-Cardiology DiagnosticReport-ClinicalNotes-Pathology DiagnosticReport-ClinicalNotes-Radiology DocumentReference-ClinicalNotes Immunization MedicationRequest Observation-Labs Observation-VitalSigns Patient Procedure Server responses are correct and return expected data when tested via Postman. Crash Log Details Crash occurs in process: healthappd Frameworks involved: HealthPlatform.framework HealthKit Combine Exception: EXC_BAD_ACCESS SIGKILL EXC_ARM_PAC_FAIL Thread: com.apple.HealthKit.HKHealthStoreImplementation.client Stack trace includes: objc_msgSend HKSharedSummary DictionaryStorage.deinit swift_release_dealloc objc_destructInstance Publishers.MergeMany Future.init This indicates the ingestion pipeline crashes before data is written to HealthKit. Comparison Across OS Versions iOS Version Result iOS 18.1 Data syncs correctly iOS 26.2 No data syncs, healthappd crash Same: Same FHIR server Same patient Same authentication Same device model Same iCloud settings Additional Notes OAuth flow succeeds FHIR validation passes Server responses are correct Postman returns correct JSON No TLS errors No permission errors Issue only occurs on iOS 26+ This appears to be a regression in the FHIR ingestion engine introduced after iOS 18.1.

In the WWDC 2019 session "Extended Runtime for WatchOS apps" the video talks about an entitlement being required to use the HR sensor judiciously in the background. It provides a link to request the entitlement which no longer works: http://developer.apple.com/contect/request/health-monitoring The session video is also quite hard to find these days. Does anyone know why this is the case? Is the API and entitlement still available? Is there a supported way to run, even periodically, in the background on the Watch app (ignoring the background observer route which is known to be unreliable) and access existing HR sensor data