Newsletter
Google, along with nine new partners, has released updates to the Google Fit app that could prove beneficial to users as well as software developers. With additions such as new data trackers and nutritional information, users have greater opportunity to track their progress and make necessary changes in order to reach their fitness goals. Google has added new data types to the Google Fit Software Development Kit (SDK) that developers can use in their own apps.
One of the major updates that have already been released is the Android Wear watch face, which will allow users to easily track progress throughout the day with a glance to the wrist. The watch face features a succinct graph of the user’s daily progress. Google Fit’s new data trackers include Distance Traveled and Calories Burned. The calories burned tracker computes this data based on the weight of the user entered into the app. Users can view their progress in their timeline, grouped by days, weeks, or months to assess their progress to-date. Google has partnered with fitness wearables and apps Endomondo, Garmin, the Daily Burn, the Basis Peak and the Xiaomi Mi Band to bring workout trackers to Fit users, allowing them to store workout sessions and activity data. Developers can access workout information with permission from the user.
Developers can reap the benefits of Google’s new partners and data types to enhance their fitness apps. LifeSum and Lose It! are now writing nutritional data for example (such as calories consumed) to Google Fit. These partners are also reading the daily activity to help users keep track of their activities via their favorite fitness app. MyFitnessPal will begin writing this data soon. Google Fit also has new measures of tracking sleep activity through Sleep as Android and Basis Peak. Developers are taking the reins and incorporating Google Fit’s Platform in new and innovative ways. Runkeeper shows a Google Now card to its users encouraging them to “work off” their meals. Instaweather has integrated Google Fit into a new Android Wear face that they’re currently testing in beta. Google’s new partners have paved the way for fitness apps, and the tech giant intends on using their partnerships to continue app and data advancements.