iOS 26.4: Apple Health Expands Sleep & Vitals Tracking
▼ Summary
– Apple has released iOS 26.4 beta 1, which includes updates to the Health app’s Vitals metric and sleep tracking.
– The update restores Blood Oxygen readings to the main Vitals graph in the Health app, integrating it with four other metrics.
– This Blood Oxygen feature had been removed from the Apple Watch in January 2024 due to a patent dispute and was later relaunched in a redesigned form.
– iOS 26.4 also adds a new sleep metric that provides a two-week breakdown and comparison of bedtime data.
– The iOS 26.4 beta is currently available for developers and public beta testers.
Apple’s latest iOS 26.4 beta introduces significant enhancements to the Health app, focusing on a more integrated view of wellness metrics and refined sleep analysis. These updates mark a continued evolution in how users can monitor their personal health data directly from their iPhone, building upon the app’s existing framework.
A key restoration in this update is the return of Blood Oxygen readings to the Vitals overview graph. This metric had been absent from the consolidated Vitals display since its initial removal in early 2024 due to a patent issue. While a redesigned version allowed users to take measurements on their Apple Watch and view results on their iPhone later, it remained a standalone metric. Now, with iOS 26.4, it rejoins the other core vitals, creating a unified chart. Users can once again observe trends for heart rate, respiratory rate, wrist temperature, blood oxygen, and sleep duration in a single, convenient location, restoring functionality to its original state.
Alongside the vitals integration, Apple has refined its sleep tracking capabilities. The Health app now features a new Sleep Highlight that provides a two-week bedtime breakdown. This addition offers greater context for sleep habits by displaying your average bedtime alongside data from the previous night. This comparative view makes it easier to identify patterns and deviations in your nightly routine, contributing to a more nuanced understanding of sleep consistency.
The iOS 26.4 beta is currently accessible for developers and participants in the public beta program. These Health app improvements represent focused tweaks that enhance data visibility and user insight, part of a broader set of changes found in this preliminary software release.
(Source: 9to5Mac)
