Sumbul Desai, MD, holds our health in her hands. As Apple's vice president of health, she says of all things health at the company, “I'm responsible for that.” In layman's terms this means period cycles an app on your watch and phone, an ECG monitor on your watch, an app that measures your blood oxygen levels… the list goes on. And it will most likely last longer. Earlier this year, in February 2025, Apple announced more than $500 billion investmentswhich analysts predict will have a profound impact on the health of consumers, as well as the success that Dr. Desai can achieve in his work. She's now excited about the continued rollout of hearing testing and hearing aid features in the Airpods Pro 2s.
However, it is not just technological advances that are driving it. These are its patients – more than 2 billion Apple users around the world. Her mission? “To empower people to take their own data and use it in a way that allows them to make better decisions and protect themselves if they have health issues,” she says.
Personal protection, she reiterates, is key, a position influenced by her own experiences. Desai did not start out in medicine. She wanted to become a journalist and began working for ABC News in 2000. But a year later, while she was home visiting family, her mother suffered a massive stroke. “She fell into a coma right in front of me,” she says. On the advice of doctors, Desai had to learn to be his mother's most ardent defender. She took a year and a half off to care for her; when she returned to work, “It was different. It wasn't that I didn't value what I was doing, it was just that I wanted to do more. So I went back to medical school when I was 30.”
The rest, as they say, is history. This foundational experience with her mother has guided her throughout the lives of her patients ever since. “I want your relationship with your doctor to be richer,” she explains.
Here, she shares the lessons she's learned along the way and tips for getting the most out of your gadgets.
Glamor: So, we open our watches or phones – what are the key apps we should check in terms of daily health?
Sumbul Desai: Health and Fitness apps are critical. The Health app in particular brings together all your movement data. If I needed to prescribe something, I always said “movement.” It also contains data about your heart rate, resting heart rate, your VO.2 Max, your cardio training, how much sleep did you have? So I understand what happened last night and how I can plan my day to improve next night.
