Apple is consolidating its health and fitness divisions under Services chief Eddy Cue in a strategic reorganization timed with the company’s upcoming Health+ subscription launch. The move comes as longtime Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams prepares to depart at year’s end, signaling Apple’s intent to transform wellness initiatives into significant revenue streams. Health lead Sumbul Desai will oversee the consolidated teams, with Fitness+ head Jay Blahnik now reporting to her in the new structure.
Strategic Shift Toward Subscription Health Services
Apple’s decision to place health and fitness teams under Eddy Cue’s Services organization represents a fundamental shift in how the company views its wellness initiatives. Cue already manages Apple’s most profitable subscription services, including Apple Music, Apple TV+, and iCloud, giving him extensive experience in building recurring revenue streams. The reorganization suggests Apple is preparing to monetize its health technology more aggressively through subscription models rather than treating wellness as merely a hardware differentiator.
This strategic alignment comes as Apple prepares to launch its rumored Health+ service, which Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman first reported in March 2025. The timing indicates Apple wants to position health as a core service rather than a hardware feature. According to Gurman’s reporting, the Health+ subscription will feature an AI-powered assistant providing personalized recommendations for nutrition, exercise, and sleep optimization. This approach mirrors Apple’s successful transition with other services, where the company leverages its ecosystem to create sticky, recurring revenue.
Leadership Changes Signal Broader Apple Evolution
The health team consolidation coincides with broader leadership transitions at Apple, particularly the impending departure of COO Jeff Williams at year’s end. Williams has been instrumental in Apple’s health initiatives since their inception, overseeing the development of health features across Apple Watch and iPhone. His retirement announcement in July triggered a careful redistribution of responsibilities, with supply chain and operations duties moving to new operating chief Sabih Khan.
Meanwhile, hardware chief John Ternus—widely seen as a potential successor to CEO Tim Cook—will assume sole control of Apple Watch hardware engineering. This consolidation of wearable hardware under Ternus comes as Apple prepares for more advanced health monitoring capabilities. According to Apple’s latest product announcements, future Apple Watch models are expected to include more sophisticated health sensors, requiring tighter integration between hardware and software development.
Positioning Health as Next Major Revenue Stream
Apple’s Services division has become the company’s second-largest revenue category, generating $24.3 billion in the most recent quarter according to Apple’s Q3 2025 earnings report. By placing health under Cue’s leadership, Apple appears to be betting that wellness subscriptions could become the next major growth driver within this already-lucrative segment. The company has been steadily building its health capabilities for years, from the ResearchKit framework launched in 2015 to the more recent FDA-cleared AFib history feature.
The Health+ service represents Apple’s most ambitious move to directly monetize these investments. Unlike Apple Fitness+, which focuses primarily on workout content, Health+ is expected to offer comprehensive wellness guidance powered by artificial intelligence. This aligns with broader industry trends, as the global digital health market is projected to reach $657 billion by 2025 according to Statista research. Apple’s massive installed base of over 2 billion active devices provides a substantial advantage in capturing this growing market.
Future Implications for Apple’s Health Strategy
The reorganization under Cue suggests Apple is preparing for a more integrated approach to health across its ecosystem. With health teams now reporting through the same leadership as other subscription services, we can expect tighter integration between Health+ and existing offerings like Apple Fitness+, Apple Music, and even Apple TV+. This could enable bundled subscription packages similar to Apple One, creating additional value for consumers while increasing revenue per user.
Industry analysts see this move as Apple responding to increasing competition in the digital health space. Companies like Google and Amazon have expanded their health initiatives, while specialized fitness companies continue to innovate. By consolidating health under its most successful services executive, Apple positions itself to compete more effectively while leveraging its unique strengths in privacy, hardware integration, and user experience. The success of this strategy will likely depend on Apple’s ability to deliver genuinely valuable health insights that justify subscription costs while maintaining its strong privacy standards.
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