Apple watch the least important announcement that Apple made today.

Jeff Williams, Apple’s senior vice president of operations launching Research Kit

The Apple watch is the least important announcement that Apple made today. 

The Research Kit that Apple unveiled today is perhaps one of the most significant contributions to medical science research in a generation. The problem with research has always been the difficulty with which subjects can be recruited for studies. With 700 million apple phones 6 and 6s out there, the methods with which subjects can be recruited with appropriate sampling and data coherence is significant. This will inevitably lead to better understanding of the causal architecture of many diseases simply by the potential access to rich, nuanced and accurate data. 

The potential of what Apple calls a new framework on how to conduct research, is truly groundbreaking. Forget the gold Apple watch and all the other luxury high end products that they have introduced today. The most important thing they announced today was the research kit, which truly unleashes the power of mobile computing to tackle some of the intractable health issues humanity deals with. 

There are many concerns floating around on popular media about Apple, including the use of rare materials in their phones, which have horrendous environmental and social costs however for the first time in a long time the return on investment in terms of the potential to transform medical research might just be justifiable. 

The inbuilt sensors that are part of every Apple phone, are an incredible source of quality data. The first example of this tool in use, that Apple unveiled today with the assistance of some of the major medical research institutions on the planet is the use of the phone in diagnosing Parkinson’s disease. The built in accelerometers which can measure gait, replicating the gait test which is a diagnostic component of Parkinson’s. The current research kit also includes tools to be able to gather data on Cardiovascular disease. 

With growing concerns about data privacy, people all over the world are concerned about what happens to the very personal data that such apps will draw from the user. Apple has committed to make sure that the data will not be visible to Apple- rather directly to researchers who use the research kit. The whole kit will also be open source so that there isn't a boundary in terms of the program and machine customization. There are important lessons to be learned to other companies like Samsung with this investment in basic science research. Truly an example of doing good by doing well by Apple. 

The implications of the Health Research Kit will be tremendous in the years ahead. In an endless cycle of consumer oriented announcements it is really heartening to see Apple take a step in a direction that truly benefits the wellbeing of people around the world. As arguably the most powerful corporation on the planet, this company has the potential to marshall resources like no other institution on this planet. This is an exciting development and the future will tell if the ambitious plans of this company will continue to benefit humanity.