Health and fitness apps are becoming the latest frontier in mobile app technology. According to Flurry, an analytical and marketing tool creator, average daily use of fitness apps increased a staggering 62 percent from December to June. Earlier this summer, Google released its health-tracking platform known as Google Fit. Last month, the new Apple Health app was introduced for iOS 8.0 Beta 5. Finally, Apple unveiled the new iPhone 6 and iWatch yesterday. With an all-new wearable device, Apple promises to deliver the Health app to its true potential.
Last month, Forbe's Ewan Spence compared the Google Fit against the Apple Health Kit to get an understanding of what the new health app movement is actually offering. According to Google, the new Google Fit is an "open platform that lets users control their fitness data. Google Fit lets developers build smarter apps and manufacturers focus on creating amazing devices." Essentially, the Apple Health Kit serves exactly the same purpose as the Google Fit, but for Apple devices.
When Google Fit was introduced, the app focused its attention on fitness uses. Google Fit utilizes sensors to monitor the user, similar to bike computers and heart-rate straps. Google Fit could then record the data real-time to display useful diagrams such as a run map or food log. Finally, the Fit app could generate all recorded data points to create a history to show the user's progress. Last but not least, the more data the app collects, the smarter it becomes. Rather than keep track of a user's weight, Google Fit can take it a step further with a body composition tracker.
Compared to the Google Fit, the initial release of the Apple HealthKit was less of a fitness app and more of a doctor's assistant. The HealthKit collected and stored information of our vitals. Now, the latest revamp of HealthKit was introduced with the introduction of the new Apple Watch.
Not only does the new Apple Watch contain more than 10 sensors to open up new possibilities for fitness tracking, but the Apple HealthKit will also sync with apps like MyFitness Pal and Nike+. All in all, the HealthKit stores fitness records, nutrition, and various vital data into a tidy file that can be accessed by your doctor. The Apple Health App was designed with the input of Mayo Clinic doctors.
“The grand vision would be once the information is contained within HealthKit, patients can take that on their iDevices or eventually Android and transfer that to wherever they are in the world or country,” said Dr. John Wald. “That information will be put into HealthKit, then we’ll be able to pull that information into your electronic medical record.”
At this point, the Apple Watch will not begin production until the beginning of 2015, but we've already begun to see significant distinction between Google Fit and Apple HealthKit. What's more, we expect to see some important innovations from both apps in the months ahead.
Now it's your turn. Let us know which app better serves you. Do you prefer the fitness options in Google Fit or are you interested in the heathcare integration of Apple HealthKit?
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