Jay Blahnik Discusses Apple's Delve Into Mindfulness With 'Breathe'

One of Apple's newest apps revealed at WWDC this month was a meditation-enabling Apple Watch app called Breathe that will encourage users to take a break every day to focus on the rhythm of their breathing patterns. In a recent interview with BuzzFeed, Apple’s director of fitness for health technologies, Jay Blahnik, discussed the benefits of "mindfulness" apps like Breathe, and the research done by Apple to find the timing sweet spot that a user should spend on meditation each day.

Structured like the stand goals, and upcoming roll goals, on Apple Watch, Breathe will tap users using haptic feedback with a notification to step back from what they're doing and take a few deep breaths. Blahnik said that both beginner and experienced meditators will benefit from the app's coaching, thanks to the ease with which the Apple Watch integrates into a daily schedule.

apple_watch_breathe

“Just doing some deep breathing can have some great benefits for a lot of people,” whether they’re taking a break from a busy work day or winding down for the day, Jay Blahnik, Apple’s director of fitness for health technologies, told BuzzFeed News. And with an app like Breathe, “it wouldn’t be hard for them to do it, regardless if they were a beginner or were very experienced with having more mindfulness in their day.”

Meditation has become a popular outlet for many people within Silicon Valley, with companies like Google even offering internal courses, like "Search Inside Yourself," to teach workers how to handle stressful emotions, hopefully resulting in more efficient workflow. Apple's new app is poised to provide a simpler version of these mindfulness-focused trends for any Apple Watch wearer.

Like most Apple products and services, Breathe went through a period of thorough testing before it was revealed at WWDC. Blahnik confirmed that the company tested the app with "hundreds" of employees, along with a council of psychology and mindfulness experts, before nailing down what will be arriving in watchOS 3 this fall.


The app can be set for sessions of 1 to 5 minutes, with the company's tests revealing that 7 breaths in the fastest session of 1 minute hit the sweet spot of "the most comfortable rate for most people." This rate can be raised up to 10 breaths or lowered down to 4 breaths for more customizability.

The easy-to-access, low-commitment nature of the feature also turned out to be key. At work, especially, Blahnik said, the prospect of taking “a minute between meetings, to push away from their desks, quiet their mind, relax their bodies, [and] just take deep breaths, seemed to be appealing to a lot of people.”

However, according to a few studies of similar apps that promote tranquility through breathing prompts, there is "little evidence" on the efficacy and reliability of these apps at developing a habit of mindfulness. Because of the potential for Breathe to fail at its goal for some people, psychiatrist Dr. John Torous believes that Apple's biggest hurdle might be those individuals who become frustrated with the app and think they're "not going to benefit from behavioral treatment," and give up on finding other solutions beyond Breathe that might be more effective for them.

You can read the rest of BuzzFeed's report on Breathe, and its potential for impact in the mindfulness app market, right here.

Related Roundup: Apple Watch 10
Buyer's Guide: Apple Watch (Neutral)

Popular Stories

App Store vs EU Feature 2

Apple Says It Doesn't Approve of EU Porn App

Monday February 3, 2025 1:15 pm PST by
Apple does not approve of the "Hot Tub" pornography app that was released for the iPhone in the EU using alternative app distribution, Apple said in a statement to MacRumors. Further, Apple is concerned about the potential user safety risks with a pornography app, and says that it undermines consumer trust in the Apple ecosystem. We are deeply concerned about the safety risks that hardcore...
iPhone 17 Pro Dual Tone Horizontal 1

iPhone 17 Pro Launching This Year With These 8 New Features

Tuesday January 28, 2025 11:48 am PST by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. iPhone 17 Pro concept based on rumors Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of January 2025: More aluminum: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models ...
apple power beats pro 2

Apple Expected to Announce Powerbeats Pro 2 on February 11 With These New Features

Sunday February 2, 2025 6:15 am PST by
Apple previously teased that Powerbeats Pro 2 would be released in 2025, and now an announcement date has leaked. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today said Apple plans to unveil the wireless earbuds on Tuesday, February 11. Powerbeats Pro 2 will be priced at $250 in the U.S., he said. Powerbeats Pro are a sportier, fitness-focused alternative to AirPods Pro with built-in, adjustable ear hooks...
applecare apple care banner

AppleCare+ Policy Change Coming to Apple Stores

Sunday February 2, 2025 8:34 am PST by
Starting next week, Apple's retail stores will no longer offer AppleCare+ plans as a one-time purchase, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Instead, he said the stores will only offer AppleCare+ as a subscription. For example, AppleCare+ for the iPhone 16 Pro Max costs $9.99 per month, or $199 upfront for two years. The latter option would no longer be available at Apple's stores....
iCloud General Feature Redux

Apple May Launch New iCloud Invite Tool Codenamed 'Confetti' This Week

Sunday February 2, 2025 6:42 am PST by
As early as this week, Apple plans to introduce a new iCloud-based service for event invites, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In his Power On newsletter, Gurman said the new service is codenamed "Confetti" within Apple. He said the service will offer users a "new way to invite people to parties, functions, and meetings." He did not say if this functionality would be available through a ...
top stories 2025 02 01

Top Stories: iOS 18.3 Released, AirPods News, and More

Saturday February 1, 2025 6:00 am PST by
January has come to a close, with Apple pushing out iOS 18.3 and related software updates in the final week of the month to deliver some refinements for Apple Intelligence, security fixes, and more. We're looking ahead to more substantial updates with iOS 18.4, while we also shared news and rumors about AirPods and the upcoming "iPhone 17 Air," so read on below for all the details! iOS...
maxresdefault

The MacRumors Show: Latest iPhone SE 4 Rumors

Friday January 31, 2025 8:29 am PST by
On this week's episode of The MacRumors Show, we talk through all of the latest rumors about the iPhone SE 4 as it nears launch. Subscribe to The MacRumors Show YouTube channel for more videos The fourth-generation iPhone SE is widely rumored to feature an iPhone 14-style all-screen design with a 6.1-inch OLED display, Face ID, and USB-C. Images of dummy models showcasing the new design were ...

Top Rated Comments

billybobthornton Avatar
112 months ago
This is Apple's way to calm everyone down after the removal of the headphone jack.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Kebabselector Avatar
112 months ago
Relax, chill, breathe easy - handy for another keynote without any hardware updates.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
341328 Avatar
112 months ago
What a load of new age bulls**t ;)
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Phoenixx Avatar
112 months ago
And coming next year, Apple brings out an app to remind you to pee. Seriously, this is getting ridiculous.
[doublepost=1467094982][/doublepost]
Points for keeping an open mind and trying it out first, rather than simply categorically dismissing it.
The problem with having an open mind is your brains fall out. Deep breathing is a great idea, but it needs to be done when you feel stressed, not on a schedule. This is just another pointless feature that the majority of people will simply disable once the novelty wears off.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
CarlJ Avatar
112 months ago
What a load of new age bulls**t ;)
Points for keeping an open mind and trying it out first, rather than simply categorically dismissing it.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
NightFox Avatar
112 months ago


Attachment Image
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)