When we saw Apple roll out HealthKit with iOS 8, it was only inevitable that Google will soon counter with an answer. Google Fit for Android has been released and serves somewhat the same purpose as Apple’s HealthKit. Google Fit is the app that centralizes all your health goals and workout stats monitoring.
As a stand-alone health tracker, all data that your device records such as jogging or walking distance, cycling and more, will be logged into Google Fit. The app will also let you establish a goals-based activity by letting you define the total duration, steps, or distance for your workout routine. With all this monitoring activity, the question of putting your phone through all of it may be too much for some, hence third-party fitness trackers along with apps – if you insist with the phone – can also integrate with Google Fit, which will be dumping all collected data in the Google Fit app.
Google Fit creates health profiles that can be accessed via the Web or on tablets as well, giving users the flexibility of keeping tabs on their profile when say, using a tablet in the gym.
In the backdrop, Apple’s roll-out of HealthKit wasn’t as smooth as it would have liked it to be, with the Cupertino giant ceasing apps from using the service soon after it was released, causing a great deal of embarrassment. A thing of the past, but it would be interesting to see how smoothly Google handles this release. An advantage that Google currently has over Apple’s HealthKit is the availability of Android Wear, letting users sync their smartwatches to their Google Fit on their phones, and while it may or may not be a smooth one at that, Google will manage to gather some hands-on feedback from consumers. Google has already announced that all Android Wear devices on the market will be compatible with Google Fit, so that’s once crucial achievement straight up.
When Google Fit was announced earlier this year, the venture included some confirmed partners as well; Nike, HTC, LG, RunKeeper, Withings, Motorola, Noom, Runtastic and Polar. With all these companies to offer compatible products for Google Fit, users can use different products but still centralize all their data within Google Fit, giving them the flexibility to choose different products for different activities.
(Download: Google Fit for Android on the Play Store)
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