These are some great features hidden in Apple's Health app that iPhone users can take advantage of even with no Apple Watch

You might think Apple’s Health app is mostly useful if you own an Apple Watch, but your iPhone can actually do a surprising amount on its own.

The app quietly collects information from your phone, compatible apps and other devices, while also letting you manually add plenty of useful health data.

Some of its best features are buried away in menus you might never think to open.

Here are some of the Apple Health features worth checking out even if your Apple Watch is nowhere to be seen.

Your iPhone can track how much you walk

You don’t need an Apple Watch strapped to your wrist for your most-used gadget, your iPhone, to count your steps.

Its built-in sensors can automatically track steps, walking and running distances, flights climbed and other mobility data when you’re carrying the phone with you.

The Apple Health app can also use this information to calculate things such as walking speed, walking asymmetry and walking steadiness over time.

Apple says the latter can even alert you if your walking steadiness becomes low enough to indicate an increased risk of falling.

It can remind you to take your medication

The Health app can double as a surprisingly useful medication tracker.

You can add medications, vitamins, and supplements, set schedules, and log when you’ve taken them.

That means your iPhone can remind you when it’s time to take something without needing an Apple Watch buzzing on your wrist.

You can also review your history and export a PDF of your current medications.

Your medical records can live on your iPhone

Depending on your healthcare provider and region, the Health app can pull medical records directly onto your iPhone.

Supported records can include things such as allergies, medications, vaccinations, medical conditions and lab results, with new information automatically downloaded when it becomes available.

It’s worth checking whether your healthcare provider supports the feature because it could save you from digging through emails or patient portals when you need to find an old result.

There’s a surprisingly useful Medical ID

One of the most practical features in Health is also one you hopefully never have to use.

You can create a Medical ID containing important information such as allergies, medical conditions, medications and emergency contacts.

If you enable ‘Show When Locked’, emergency responders can access this information from your iPhone’s Lock Screen without needing your passcode.

It’s one of those features that’s easy to set up and potentially very useful when it matters most.

Your iPhone can monitor your headphone listening

If you regularly blast music through AirPods or other compatible headphones, the Health app can keep an eye on your listening levels.

The iPhone can automatically store headphone audio-level measurements, allowing you to see information about your listening habits in the Hearing section of Health.

It’s a handy way to discover whether you’re regularly listening at levels that could be damaging to your hearing.

You can track sleep without wearing a watch

You don’t necessarily have to sleep with an Apple Watch on your wrist to use Apple’s sleep tools.

The iPhone’s Health app can estimate periods when you’re lying in bed with the intention of sleeping once you’ve set up a sleep schedule.

You can also create different schedules for weekdays and weekends and use Sleep Focus to reduce distractions around bedtime.

It won’t give you all the detailed sleep measurements associated with wearing an Apple Watch, but it’s still useful if you’re trying to build a more consistent bedtime routine.

You can bring other health apps into one place

Health doesn’t have to rely entirely on information collected by Apple.

Compatible third-party apps and devices can send information into Health, meaning your iPhone can become a central hub for data from different services. You can control which apps are allowed to read or write different categories of health information from the Health app’s privacy settings.

You can even manually enter information such as body measurements, symptoms and menstrual cycle data if you want a more complete picture.

You can share your health data with someone else

Another feature hidden in plain sight is Health’s sharing system.

You can choose to share specific health information with a family member or another person, including certain health trends and notifications.

You remain in control of which categories are shared and can change or stop sharing them later.

And unlike many of the more advanced Apple health features, this doesn’t require an Apple Watch.

So if you’ve been ignoring the Health app because you don’t own Apple’s smartwatch, it might be worth giving it another look.

Your iPhone is already capable of collecting more health information than you might realize – and some of the most useful tools don’t require any Apple Watch at all.