Apple to Reassign Health, Fitness Departments to Services

Apple is undertaking a major reorganization in anticipation of the longtime Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams stepping down at year’s end, by moving its health and fitness divisions under its Services division.

According to Bloomberg, Apple’s health and fitness operations, which had previously reported to Williams, will report directly to Eddy Cue.

Within that structure, Sumbul Desai, currently leading Apple’s health team, is expected to assume oversight of both health and fitness. Meanwhile Jay Blahnik, who leads the Fitness+ arm, will be realigned underneath Desai.

At the same time, oversight of watchOS will shift to Craig Federighi, the company’s Senior Vice President of Software Engineering. Federighi already manages iOS, macOS, visionOS, and now will add the operating system for Apple Watch to his remit. On the hardware side, Apple’s hardware head John Ternus is set to assume full authority over Apple Watch hardware engineering, a responsibility that Williams had shared.

This reshuffling comes as Williams has already begun delegating some of his duties. After announcing his retirement in July, responsibilities for supply chain, operations, AppleCare support, and China business were handed over to Sabih Khan, Apple’s newly elevated operating chief.

Observers believe Apple is positioning this reorganization to support a broader push into wellness services and subscription models. One key driver is the anticipated launch of “Health+,” a subscription service reportedly powered by artificial intelligence to deliver tailored guidance on exercise, nutrition, and sleep.

Placing health and fitness under Services suggests Apple intends to treat its wellness capabilities more like other ongoing revenue streams such as Apple Music, iCloud, and Apple TV+ rather than as standalone hardware features.

While Apple has not publicly confirmed details of the reorganization or the Health+ service, the restructuring suggests wellness is becoming a central pillar of the company’s future growth.