I might have to upgrade my Apple Watch just for Siri’s new health features

In addition to the iPhone’s iOS 17.2, the Apple Watch got its own update in the form of watchOS 10.2 on Monday, which comes with novel health features that I want. I can talk to Siri about my health and fitness routines, which is great news. The problem is that my Apple Watch doesn’t support any of that. The only way to fix it is to buy a new device.

Apple explains that the S9 processor that powers the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 can process health-related Siri requests on the device. That means your information will never leave those devices. This is exactly the kind of privacy feature I want from an AI assistant with access to my health information.

For example, I can now use Siri to log health information. Here are some of the things Siri can do, according to Apple:

“I took my 8 a.m. medications.”
“Log that I took my multivitamin.”
“I weigh 167 pounds.”
“My period started today.”
“Log that I have spotting today.”
“My blood sugar is 122.”
“Record my blood pressure as 118 over 76.”
“Log my body temperature as 98.3 degrees.”

I already use the Apple Watch to monitor my health and fitness. Features like the ability to log my weight via Siri would definitely come in handy. I’ve told you before that I’ve used ChatGPT to train for running a half-marathon. Now, I’ve moved to training for a full marathon. Part of the process involves making sure I eat correctly, and that’s why I keep track of my weight.

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I’m not running to lose weight. It’s more the other way around. I don’t want to lose weight because of the increased effort. But because I hate manually logging my weight every time I measure it, I don’t.

I just used Siri to log my weight on an iPhone running iOS 17.2. Image source: Chris Smith, BGR

To do it, I have to unlock the iPhone, go to the Health app, look for Body Measurements, tap Weight, tap Add Data, actually type the weight, and then tap Add. Yeah, I’m never doing that manually multiple times a week. Also, the real reason I don’t do it has to do with the fact that my weight doesn’t vary that much.

I know that I could set up shortcuts to log my weight in fewer steps. Or that I could hook up a digital scale to the iPhone and have it transfer the readings automatically. I. Know.

The point is, I’d love it if it were that much simpler. Siri in watchOS 10.2 (and iOS 17.2) can do that. But the Apple Watch has to be a 2022 model. Otherwise, you’re going to have to rely on the iPhone or iPad to do it.

Also, yes, the Siri health commands work with the iPhone. I’ve just tested it, as seen above. They don’t work with my Apple Watch SE 2, however. Siri will not quite get that.

Why would I even need a new Apple Watch if the iPhone (or iPad) can do it? Well, there might be cases where the iPhone isn’t close by. Or where I’d train using my Apple Watch only. I could then ask the Apple Watch other fitness questions. Apple has another list of questions Siri can now answer:

“How does my Move ring look today?”
“Did I close my Exercise ring?”
“What’s my step count?”
“How far have I walked this week?”
“How far did I bike yesterday?”
“What’s my heart rate?”
“What’s my blood oxygen?”
“How much did I sleep last night?”
“How much have I slept this week?”
“What’s my blood glucose level?”
“What was my blood pressure yesterday?”

The point here is that the Apple Watch is almost always closer than the iPhone. Siri logging health events like the ones above will make it even easier to keep track of health conditions and improve my fitness. The second point is that I might actually want a new watch even if the current model fits my needs perfectly. And Siri’s new Health features might just give me a good excuse to upgrade.

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