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Introduction
Apple’s long-rumored push into AI-driven health coaching is no longer moving at full speed. According to Bloomberg, the company has quietly scaled back its ambitious Project Mulberry initiative after major leadership changes inside its health and AI organizations. Once envisioned as a flagship, AI-powered health companion deeply integrated into a revamped Health app, Project Mulberry is now being fragmented, delayed, and partially repurposed. While Apple hasn’t abandoned health AI altogether, the shift signals deeper internal doubts about competitiveness, timing, and strategic focus in a rapidly evolving digital health market.
the Original Report
Project Mulberry first surfaced last year as Apple’s attempt to introduce an AI-powered health coach inside a redesigned Health app. The system was reportedly trained using data and guidance from Apple-contracted physicians and supported by a wide range of specialists, including sleep experts, nutritionists, physical therapists, mental health professionals, and cardiologists. The goal was to turn raw health data into understandable, actionable insights for users through personalized recommendations and educational content.
A major component of the project involved professionally produced health videos. Apple even built a dedicated studio in Oakland, California, to record this content. These videos were designed to explain concerning health trends detected by Apple devices and were expected to be hosted by a well-known medical personality. Internally, some employees referred to the service as “Health+,” positioning it as a premium, guidance-driven layer on top of existing health features.
Despite early momentum, Project Mulberry faced repeated timeline changes. Originally rumored to debut alongside iOS 26, the initiative was affected by internal restructuring within Apple’s health and AI divisions. Longtime COO Jeff Williams retired, and responsibility for health and fitness shifted to services chief Eddy Cue. On the AI side, John Giannandrea, Apple’s senior vice president of Machine Learning and AI Strategy, announced his retirement for spring 2026, with his teams being absorbed into Craig Federighi’s broader software engineering organization.
Bloomberg reports that Eddy Cue ultimately questioned whether Project Mulberry, in its current form, was strong enough to compete with existing health-focused rivals. He reportedly pointed to companies like Oura and Whoop, whose apps already deliver more compelling and practical health insights. As a result, Apple scaled back the unified vision of the project, while also reviewing possible changes to Apple Fitness+, its $9.99-per-month workout subscription service.
Even so, Apple is not scrapping everything. Some features originally planned for Project Mulberry are expected to roll out individually within the Health app over time. These include an AI chatbot for health-related questions, powered by Apple’s internal “World Knowledge Answers” system, as well as experimental tools such as gait analysis using the iPhone’s camera. Looking further ahead, Apple plans to enhance Siri in iOS 27, enabling it to handle more advanced health-related queries across the Health app and the broader operating system.
What Undercode Say:
Apple’s decision to scale back Project Mulberry is less about failure and more about strategic hesitation at a critical moment. Health is one of the most sensitive and regulation-heavy domains Apple operates in, and combining it with generative AI multiplies both the opportunity and the risk. Unlike productivity features or photo tools, an AI health coach must be accurate, trusted, and genuinely useful—or it becomes a liability overnight.
The leadership reshuffle is a major signal here. Moving health oversight to Eddy Cue reframes wellness not just as a hardware or sensor-driven initiative, but as a service business. Cue’s reported comparison to Oura and Whoop is telling: those companies move fast, iterate aggressively, and focus narrowly on actionable insights. Apple, by contrast, tends to prioritize polish, caution, and ecosystem-wide integration, which can slow innovation in fast-moving markets.
Project Mulberry also exposes Apple’s ongoing tension with AI strategy. The retirement of John Giannandrea and the absorption of AI teams into core software engineering suggests Apple wants tighter control and less fragmentation. That likely means fewer moonshot projects and more incremental AI features baked directly into existing products. From that perspective, breaking Mulberry into smaller Health app features fits Apple’s current DNA.
There’s also a philosophical issue. Apple already collects massive volumes of health data, but translating that into personalized guidance crosses a psychological line for many users. An AI telling you how to sleep, eat, walk, or manage stress carries emotional and ethical weight. Apple’s brand depends on trust, and a misstep here could damage years of credibility built around privacy and user well-being.
The repurposing of the Oakland studio is another quiet clue. Apple clearly still believes in educational health content, but it may see media and explanation as safer than prescriptive AI coaching. Teaching users what their data means is lower risk than telling them what to do. This shift aligns with Apple’s historically conservative approach to health recommendations.
Finally, the gradual rollout of features like a health chatbot and gait analysis suggests Apple is choosing optionality over spectacle. Instead of launching a single, headline-grabbing service, it may seed AI health capabilities slowly, observe user behavior, and adjust without public pressure. In a world where competitors are loud and fast, Apple is once again choosing to be quiet and slow—but that strategy only works if the end result truly feels better, not just safer.
Fact Checker Results
The leadership changes at Apple’s health and AI divisions are accurately reported and align with Bloomberg’s coverage. Claims about Project Mulberry’s AI health coach and Oakland studio have been previously documented. No evidence currently suggests Apple has fully canceled the project, only restructured it.
Prediction
Apple will reintroduce the core ideas of Project Mulberry under a different name, spread across multiple iOS updates rather than a single launch. AI-driven health guidance will arrive gradually, framed as assistive and educational rather than authoritative coaching. By the time competitors push further into aggressive health AI, Apple will aim to enter with a quieter but more trusted solution.
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References:
Reported By: 9to5mac.com
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