During an Apple event yesterday (September 15), Apple CEO Tim Cook said that Singapore will be the first country to leverage the capabilities of the Apple Watch by offering incentives for people to use it to stay healthy.
The tech giant and the Health Promotion Board (HPB) are jointly developing a new free app exclusive for Apple Watches.
Called LumiHealth, it will set reminders for users to go for health screenings or immunisations. The app also helps users set fitness and healthy eating goals by drawing behavioural insights from their habits.
How To Earn S$380 In E-Vouchers
LumiHealth gamifies fitness goals. NPCs will guide users through worlds and tasks, which include weekly activity goals that are personalised according to your age, gender and height.
Users can also take part in wellness challenges to improve their sleep and eating habits.
Those who complete the tasks and challenges during the two-year span of HPB’s LumiHealth Programme are eligible to earn S$380 in e-vouchers. They’re redeemable at stores like FairPrice, Sheng Siong and Tangs.
LumiHealth will be launched in late October, and will be made available to Singapore residents above 17 years old with a SingPass account.
The app can be used on iPhones running iOS 13 or later and Apple Watches with at least watchOS 6.
The data and health insights gathered by the new app will shape future health initiatives for Singapore, but sharing of health data will require user’s consent.
Collection of personal identifiable data is minimised and will be used to only administer the programme such as using email-addresses to award the right recipients.
Tech Giants Race To Roll Out MedTech Solutions
Since the outbreak of COVID-19, tech giants have been racing to roll out medtech in collaboration with local governments.
For example, Apple’s latest series 6 Apple Watch allows users to measure their blood oxygen level, take an ECG to measure heart rate, and track their fitness metrics on the retina display.
In April, Apple and Google also announced a partnership on contact tracing technology.
In an official statement on Apple’s site, both companies announced the release of APIs in May that enabled interoperability between Android and iOS devices.
Apple and Google are also working on Bluetooth-based contact tracing platform.
For HPB, it has already released the Healthy 365 app and Fitbit is offering free watches for Singaporeans enrolling in Live Healthy SG.
These initiatives are all part of HPB’s drive to roll out technologies that promote healthier lifestyles among Singaporeans.
Featured Image Credit: Sky News / Apple
