Health | The Verge

Wearable health tech might be Tim Cook’s greatest legacy

2026-04-21T13:07:54-04:00

The Apple Watch was the first new product in the post-Jobs era.

An apple a day keeps the doctor away. Granted, 19th-century proverb writers were talking about the fruit, but Tim Cook helped give new meaning to the adage with the release of the very first Apple Watch. In fact, I'd argue that when he hands the reins to John Ternus in September, it won't be iPhones, Macs, AirPods, or the Vision Pro that defines Cook's legacy. It'll be how the Apple Watch set the course for modern health tech.

You don't have to take my word for it. In 2019, Cook himself told told Mad Money host Jim Cramer, "…If you zoom out into the future, and you look back, and you ask the question, 'What was Apple's greatest contribution …

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Continuous glucose monitoring made me continuously crazy

2026-04-08T07:01:19-04:00

Continuous glucose monitors — also referred to as glucose biosensors — aren’t just for diabetics anymore.

Daily life is different when you're tracking glucose. A little over a year ago, I was on my way to a conference. My bags were packed, the Uber was on its way, but there was one last thing to do before I could head to the airport. Tearing open a small isopropyl alcohol wipe, I cleaned the skin on the back of my arm. After that, I applied a small applicator to the clean skin, doing my best to ignore the visible needle inside. I squeezed my eyes shut and pressed a button. It made a ka-thunk. I repeated the process on the other arm.

In my right arm, I now had a Dexcom Stelo. In the left, an Abbott Lingo. Both were over-the-counter continuous g …

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Gemini is making it faster for distressed users to reach mental health resources

2026-04-07T06:09:57-04:00

Google says it has updated Gemini to better direct users to get mental health resources during moments of crisis. The change comes as the tech giant faces a wrongful death lawsuit alleging its chatbot "coached" a man to die by suicide, the latest in a string of lawsuits alleging tangible harm from AI products.

When a conversation indicates a user is in a potential crisis related to suicide or self-harm, Gemini already launches a "Help is available" module that directs users to mental health crisis resources, like a suicide hotline or crisis text line. Google says the update - really more of a redesign - will streamline this into a "one-touc …

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Chatbots are now prescribing psychiatric drugs

2026-04-03T09:09:04-04:00

Utah is allowing an AI system to prescribe psychiatric drugs without a doctor. It's only the second time the state - and the country - has delegated this kind of clinical authority to AI. State officials say it could bring costs down and ease care shortages, but physicians warn the system is opaque, risky, and unlikely to expand mental health care to those who need it.

The one-year pilot, announced last week, will allow Legion Health's AI chatbot to renew certain prescriptions for psychiatric medications, in some cases. The San Francisco startup promises Utah-based patients "fast, simple refills" through a $19-a-month subscription. The prog …

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It’s not easy to get depression-detecting AI through the FDA

2026-04-02T11:33:23-04:00

For the past seven years, the California-based startup Kintsugi has been developing AI designed to detect signs of depression and anxiety from a person's speech. But after failing to secure FDA clearance in time, the company is shutting down and releasing most of its technology as open-source. Some elements may even find a second life beyond healthcare, like detecting deepfake audio.

Mental health assessments still largely rely on patient questionnaires and clinical interviews, rather than the lab tests or scans common in physical medicine. Instead of focusing on what someone is saying, Kintsugi's software analyzes how it is being said. Th …

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These ‘clinically tested’ gummies may or may not help you poop

2026-04-05T08:49:21-04:00

Clinical testing is turning into a product of its own. | Image: Cath Virgina / The Verge, Grüns

This is Optimizer, a weekly newsletter sent every Friday from Verge senior reviewer Victoria Song that dissects and discusses the latest gizmos and potions that swear they're going to change your life. Opt in for Optimizer here.

Influencer after influencer says the same thing about Grüns. The gummy vitamins are delightful, chockful of whole organic ingredients, and much tastier than icky powders or pills. One of my most indelible childhood memories is the chalky, gritty, vaguely fruit-flavored taste of a Flintstones vitamin. I hated those cursed tablets so much, I learned how to swallow pills to avoid having to chew them. So I get the whole …

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Much ado about protein

2026-04-17T13:51:40-04:00

Why is my local Target selling protein powder in the tampon aisle? An investigation.

This is Optimizer, a weekly newsletter sent every Friday from Verge senior reviewer Victoria Song that dissects and discusses the latest gizmos and potions that swear they're going to change your life.

Wellness crazes come and go, but protein is forever. At least that's how it feels as the algorithm subjects me to the latest protein-related wellness trend: a video of a gym bro whipping up a piping hot plate of boy kibble.

Boy kibble is not complicated. According to influencers and trend pieces alike, it's a humble meal of ground beef and white rice. Yes, that's it. The beef provides fat and protein, while the white rice provides carbs. Ea …

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No, ChatGPT did not cure a dog’s cancer

2026-03-24T11:56:47-04:00

When an Australian tech entrepreneur with no background in biology or medicine said ChatGPT helped save his dog from cancer, the story spread with the kind of validation Big Tech has long craved: proof that AI will revolutionize medicine and take on one of its deadliest diseases. The reality, as usual, is more complicated.

The version of the story that made the rounds online, first reported by The Australian, was relatively straightforward. In 2024, Sydney-based Paul Conyngham learned that his dog Rosie had cancer. Chemotherapy slowed the disease but failed to shrink the tumors. After vets said "nothing could be done" for the Staffordshire …

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European retailers yank popular headphones after study reports trace amounts of hormone-disrupting chemicals

2026-03-29T12:05:22-04:00

Some European retailers have stopped selling certain headphones after an EU-funded study found that they contained hormone-disrupting chemicals.

The study included leading brands such as Apple, Beats, Samsung, Bose, JBL, and Sennheiser. Retailers Bol.com, Coolblue, and Mediamarkt didn't respond to inquiries from The Verge about which headphones they pulled, but local news outlets report that they're among the sellers that have decided to yank some of the worst-scoring models off the market.

The study authors analyzed 81 different types of headphones, and found that all of them contained at least traces of harmful chemicals including bis …

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Microsoft’s Copilot Health can connect to your medical records and wearables

2026-03-12T10:14:23-04:00

Microsoft announced on Thursday that it's launching Copilot Health, a "separate, secure space" in Copilot for asking questions about lab results and medical records, searching for providers, analyzing data from wearables, and other health-related chats. The feature will have a phased rollout, so it won't be available to everyone immediately, but users can join a waitlist to get access.

Microsoft says Copilot Health "doesn't replace your doctor" and isn't intended for providing medical diagnoses or treatment, but rather helping users understand their health data. Users can import medical records from over 50,000 US hospitals and healthcare …

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