iOS 27.3 beta brings back Apple's redesigned Health app, plus Safari vertical tabs

The skim

• Apple's redesigned Health app is back in the first iOS 27.3 developer beta, now in more languages, with new Insights and Longevity tabs and a "Health Age" score.
• Health Age turns Apple Watch data such as VO2 max, resting heart rate, sleep and heart rate variability into an estimate of how your body is tracking against your actual age.
• The same beta adds vertical tabs and Adaptive Dark Mode to Safari and brings the iPhone Duo's StandBy design to other iPhones. Apple says the Health app reaches everyone "later this year."

What happened

Apple released the first developer betas of iOS 27.3, iPadOS 27.3 and macOS 27.3 on Nov. 3, and with them, the redesigned Health app returns after appearing in earlier iOS 27.2 betas, 9to5Mac reports. In a Newsroom post, Apple says the app, "built with Apple Intelligence at its core," now supports global English, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), French, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Turkish and Vietnamese.

What's in the new Health app

• Insights tab: rolling summaries across heart, sleep, readiness, fitness, vitals and cycle tracking, plus a For You section with suggestions, such as adjusting your wind-down routine after several nights of broken sleep.
• Longevity tab and Health Age: long-term trends in heart health, sleep, mental wellbeing, movement, metabolic health, hearing and nutrition. Health Age uses Apple Watch data, and you can add lab results such as A1c and LDL cholesterol.
• At-home movement evaluations: using your iPhone camera and Apple Watch, the app measures flexibility, strength, balance, movement mechanics and VO2 max with live feedback. Apple says it runs entirely on device and "no video is ever recorded, stored, or shared."

Who gets it

Read the fine print before you plan around it. Apple says the redesigned Health app needs an Apple Intelligence-enabled iPhone or iPad, with some features iPhone-only. Health Age requires an Apple Watch, and the VO2 max test requires an Apple Watch, AirPods Pro 3 or a third-party heart rate sensor. Some features require users to be 18 or older, and some may not be available in every region or language.

Also in iOS 27.3 beta 1

• Safari vertical tabs: an optional layout that moves tabs to a sidebar on the left. On iPhone it's in Settings > Apps > Safari, and on Mac and iPad it's in Safari's View menu, according to 9to5Mac.
• Adaptive Dark Mode: Safari can create a dark version of sites that don't support Dark Mode, automatically or site by site.
• StandBy: standard iPhones get the iPhone Duo's more customizable StandBy clock faces, and the Duo gets a sideways version of Reachability for one-handed use.
• Siri AI gains actions across Apple's apps and opens to third-party developers. Here's what that means.

Why it matters

The Health app is where years of iPhone and Apple Watch data end up, but until now it has mostly shown charts and left the interpretation to you. The redesign moves it toward advice: daily summaries, suggestions and a single Health Age number. How useful that number is will depend on how clearly Apple explains what drives it once regular users get the app.

What's next

This is a developer beta, so features can change. 9to5Mac expects a public beta soon. Apple says the Health app "will roll out to users as a free software update later this year." If you rely on your iPhone for health tracking, wait for the public release rather than installing beta software on your main phone.

Sources: Apple Newsroom, 9to5Mac and 9to5Mac (Safari).