Ben Reid on December 31, 2013, 3:00 am

Fitbit App Update Turns iPhone 5s Into A Fitness Tracking Device, Fitbit Hardware Not Required

Motion tracking technology has seen something of a boom in the consumer market in recent times, and not only have we seen products like the Nike FuelBand take the market by storm, but mobile devices have also proven themselves to be worthy accompaniments to the fitness-conscious. With the right app and solid hardware, a smartphone can make for a very useful activity-tracker, and Fitbit for iOS latest app update aims to achieve exactly that with your iPhone 5s.

Announced in September, Apple’s latest gadget has sold in record-breaking numbers in just three short months, but while we did get a bit carried away with the glamor of gold and the Touch ID fingerprint sensor, it was the internal hardware that really set the device apart from both its predecessor and its 5c incarnate.

As well as being the first smartphone to boast a 64-bit processor, Apple also threw in an M7 motion coprocessor to accompany the A7 SoC. While many quad-core-and-beyond fans baulked at the idea of the Cupertino still opting for a dual-core chip, the motion coprocessor helps to create a more efficient system of divided tasks, and with fitness tracking apps heavily reliant on motion sensing, the makers of said utilities have been swift to capitalize on the newly-upgraded innards.

Like Nike FuelBand, Fitbit has its own hardware and supplementary iOS app, with the idea being that you purchase their wearable gadget first and then download said software companion from the App Store. But in an overt attempt to increase interest in its services, the app has been given a rather handsome update that adds a feature called MobileTrack — essentially bringing base-level tracking right to your iPhone 5s.

Thanks to that motion coprocessor, you can yield some of the benefits of a Fitbit device without actually going out and stumping up for one, and with no additional battery life being drained, you can keep tabs on how many calories you’re burning without the worry of running your device — as well as your energy — into the ground.

The app is fairly bog-standard, and will not offer all of the features of a Fitbit tracker. But it does provide a taster, and since it’s absolutely free, is well worth checking out via the link below.

Oh, and yes — it does also work with the new iPads and their M7 motion coprocessors.

(Download Fitbit for iOS on App Store)