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Apple is reshuffling its leadership as it prepares to launch a new subscription called Health+. The move consolidates the company's health and fitness efforts under a single chain of command and signals a bigger push to turn wellness features into a services business.
Who reports to whom after the shakeup?
Following the planned retirement of COO Jeff Williams later this year, Apple will shift several responsibilities across its executive ranks. Health and fitness units that previously reported to Williams will be reorganized so Sumbul Desai, Apple’s head of health, will now oversee both teams. Desai will report to Eddy Cue, the senior vice president in charge of Services, while Jay Blahnik, who runs fitness efforts, will report to Desai.
Meanwhile, design and engineering leads who had reported to Williams will move closer to the top: Molly Anderson and Alan Dye, who manage hardware and software design respectively, will begin reporting directly to CEO Tim Cook.
What this means for Apple’s Health+ push
Putting health and fitness under Eddy Cue, who already manages TV+, iCloud and Maps, is a clear business signal. Apple is preparing to launch Health+, a subscription service that reportedly includes an AI-powered assistant to deliver personalized recommendations on nutrition, sleep and exercise. The consolidation suggests Apple wants Health+ to live alongside its other recurring-revenue services rather than remain siloed inside hardware divisions.
Imagine a single hub where your watch, apps and cloud data feed into tailored wellness tips. That is the idea Apple seems to be chasing, and putting the effort under Services could speed integration across software, cloud and subscription billing.
What changes for watchOS and Apple Watch hardware?
Apple also reallocated responsibilities tied to the Apple Watch. Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of software engineering, will take on watchOS oversight. On the hardware side, John Ternus, senior vice president of hardware engineering and a rumored eventual CEO successor, will assume sole control of Apple Watch hardware engineering. Williams had overseen many of the smartwatch programs, so this redistribution centralizes both software and hardware ownership under long-time engineering executives.
These moves line up teams around clear business goals: subscriptions and services on one side, device innovation and design on the other.
Why it matters to users and investors
For customers, the reorg could mean faster rollouts of health features that tie watch data, iPhone apps and iCloud together with intelligent coaching. For investors, it signals Apple is serious about expanding services revenue beyond entertainment and storage to include wellness, a market with deep upsell potential.
As Apple prepares to debut Health+, the company is not only rearranging org charts but also placing a strategic bet: integrate health into its services stack and monetize long-term relationships with users through subscriptions and AI-driven personalization.
Expect the next software and hardware announcements to show how these teams will collaborate in practice, from watchOS updates to Health+ features that lean on machine learning and cloud services.
Source: gsmarena
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