Like runners striving to break from the pack, a slew of wearables companies are competing for share of consumers' health and fitness tracking habits. With Apple's latest heart-rate focused updates to its best-selling Apple Watch and an upcoming Health app redesign, it's hoping to expand an already impressive lead.

The new app, now in public beta, is due out in late 2026. Users will be able to calculate their "health age"-a comparison of their overall health measurements with their actual age-as well as a Readiness score that gauges capacity for strenuous activity. Health age and Readiness both draw on metrics collected by the Apple Watch, and Apple's claiming its newest models are more accurate than ever.

Another new app feature guides users through physical assessments that test flexibility, strength, and balance. Video explainers from experts can help users make sense of the results and other health data that's tabulated in the app.

In a new move, Apple is also partnering with Quest Diagnostics so users can purchase and schedule lab testing from within the Health app. A panel of over 50 biomarkers costs $119. Competitors Oura and Whoop entered similar partnerships with Quest last year.

Quest executives have said its consumer business is growing fast: "People are proactively getting lab work" and checking biomarkers, CEO James Davis said at a Baird healthcare investor conference in September.

Collaborations with wearables firms and other platforms are helping to drive growth. "We like the partnerships that we have formed," Davis added. "These are strong, sustainable brands that are in the marketplace, and we've been very pleased with the progress."

As consumers look for ways to monitor, assess, and take control of their health, there's plenty of room for competition and growth in the wearables space. Oura's initial public offering planned for this week-and since suspended, with the company blaming market conditions-had plenty of interest from investors.

The Oura Ring is a popular design for those who want a wearable that's subtler than a watch or wristband, or find it more comfortable to wear to bed for sleep tracking. Whoop's wrist device, meanwhile, is screenless, a plus for many who don't want the distractions of a smartwatch. However, both Oura and Whoop charge a monthly subscription, which Apple doesn't. Although it does hope an Apple Watch wearer will be encouraged to sign up for its Fitness+ subscription service of guided workouts.

Rivals notwithstanding, Apple still has a considerable moat. In the second quarter, it held 39.5% of U.S. market share across shipped units of smartwatches, wristbands, and smart rings, according to market intelligence firm IDC. That's especially impressive considering Apple only makes smartwatches. Rounding out the top five were Garmin (16%), Oura (11.6%), Fitbit (9.7%), and Samsung (8%).

"It's a consumer electronics juggernaut and that extends into smartwatches-and extends into wearables, period," says Ramon Llamas, research director for IDC's mobile devices team.

Morgan Stanley's AlphaWise consumer survey completed in January found the Apple Watch was the most popular smartwatch or wrist-worn fitness tracker for 53% of respondents who used a wrist wearable. Google's Fitbit trailed at 21% and Samsung's Galaxy Watch at 14%. Only 8% of respondents used a smart ring versus 35% who had a wrist device. Users of wrist wearables said they most valued tracking steps, fitness, and workouts, and monitoring their heart rate.

With its latest updates to the Health app, Apple is promising deeper insights. "This is what consumers have been expecting-almost demanding-saying, please make sense of my data," Llamas says. "What should I do differently? Or is there something I need to pay more attention to?"

The release of the Apple Watch Series 12 in September set the stage for the next iteration of the health experience. Whether you're working out, sitting at your desk, or sleeping, Apple wants to be on your wrist, gathering data to turn into actionable feedback.

Heart rate data is a big focus. Apple re-engineered the watch to take more frequent readings of both heart rate and heart rate variability (HRV)-the time between heart beats that can signal when the body is stressed.

The heart data and other metrics feed into the new Readiness score, measured on a scale of 0 to 10, and classified in four categories: Recover, Pace Yourself, Ready and Go For It.

Readiness, Llamas says, is an example of giving consumers "quick, easy, and-most important-actionable data."

"Joe and Jane Consumer don't want to go through their data and say, can I have an intense workout or not?," says Llamas. "Apple has figured that out for you, and [it's] done it in the simplest of ways."

Then there's partnership with Quest. Biomarker tests, a Quest spokesperson said, can include a comprehensive metabolic profile, a lipid panel that measures cholesterol, and hemoglobin A1c, which can help identify prediabetes and diabetes.

Whether a consumer is a casual health enthusiast or a professional athlete, with each software and hardware update Apple continues to address the reasons someone might consider a rival brand. If Apple decides to make a smart ring or wrist band, Oura, Whoop, Fitbit, and others might find their already limited slice of the pie further nibbled away at by the undisputed market leader.