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

iOS 18

iOS 18.4 Coming Next Week With These New Features for Your iPhone

Friday February 14, 2025 6:18 am PST by
The first iOS 18.4 beta for iPhones should be just around the corner, and the update is expected to include many new features and changes. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman expects the iOS 18.4 beta to be released by next week. Below, we outline what to expect from iOS 18.4 so far. Apple Intelligence for Siri Siri is expected to get several enhancements powered by Apple Intelligence on iOS...
iPhone 17 Roundup Feature 2

iPhone Design to Change 'Significantly' This Year

Monday February 17, 2025 7:09 am PST by
Apple is set to "significantly change" the iPhone's design language later this year, according to a Weibo leaker. In a new post, the user known "Digital Chat Station" said that the iPhone's design is "starting to change significantly" this year. The "iPhone 17 Air" reportedly features a "horizontal, bar-shaped" design on the rear, likely referring to an elongated camera bump. On the other...
apple launch feb 2025 alt

What to Expect From the 'Apple Launch' Next Week

Thursday February 13, 2025 11:48 am PST by
Apple has yet to announce any new devices this year, but that could change starting next week. Apple CEO Tim Cook today said to "get ready" for a "launch" on Wednesday, February 19. "Get ready to meet the newest member of the family," said Cook, in a social media post. The post includes an #AppleLaunch hashtag, along with a short video featuring an animated Apple logo inside of a circle....
Apple Maps 2024

Apple Maps Might Start Showing Ads

Sunday February 16, 2025 7:22 am PST by
Apple is "exploring" the idea of showing search ads in the Apple Maps app, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Back in 2022, Gurman said software engineering was "already underway" to display ads in the Apple Maps app, but Apple did not move forward with the idea at the time. Today, he said Apple is "giving this notion more thought" again. This time around, he said Apple has yet to...
Tim Cook Apple Park

10+ Announcements Apple Could Have Rolled Into a February Event

Saturday February 15, 2025 8:00 am PST by
Apple appears to have enough upcoming product announcements to justify a full event this month, yet all signs indicate these reveals will be handled through a series of press releases instead. There are a multitude of rumors from reliable sources about specific announcements in the coming weeks, so here's everything that Apple could have feasibly included in a hypothetical February event: ...
iPhone 17 Pro Render Front Page Tech

iPhone 17 Pro With All-New Camera Bar Design Allegedly Revealed

Thursday February 13, 2025 5:49 pm PST by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro will feature three rear cameras arranged in a familiar triangular layout, but the cameras will be housed in an all-new rectangular camera bar with rounded corners, according to YouTube channel Front Page Tech. iPhone 17 Pro camera design render created by Asher for Front Page Tech In a video uploaded today, Front Page Tech host Jon Prosser said the camera ...
m2 pro mac mini

Apple is Now Selling a Refurbished Mac Mini for Just $319 (!)

Saturday February 15, 2025 9:58 am PST by
A few days ago, we reported that Apple's refurbished Mac mini pricing had a problem, and it appears that Apple has taken note. Apple was offering a refurbished Mac mini with the M2 chip, 16GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage for $559, which was $50 more than a refurbished Mac mini with the M4 chip, 16GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage. All other key specifications were equal. That's no longer...
iPhone SE 4 Thumb 1

Apple's Next iPhone SE Launching on Wednesday - Here's What We Know

Friday February 14, 2025 4:04 pm PST by
Apple CEO Tim Cook teased an Apple announcement that's coming on Wednesday, February 19, and it's looking like that mystery announcement will be the next-generation iPhone SE. We've been hearing about the iPhone SE 4 for quite some time now, and we essentially know everything to expect. If you want a sneak peek at what's coming, read on. Naming Apple first introduced the iPhone SE in...

Top Rated Comments

billybobthornton Avatar
113 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
113 months ago
Relax, chill, breathe easy - handy for another keynote without any hardware updates.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
341328 Avatar
113 months ago
What a load of new age bulls**t ;)
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Phoenixx Avatar
113 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
113 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
113 months ago


Attachment Image
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)