Google Redesigns Fit, Adds New Features

Google today announced a major redesign of its Google Fit health-tracking app and service. And it’s adding some major new features as well.

“We’ve worked with the American Heart Association and the World Health Organization to understand the science behind physical activity and help you get the amount and intensity needed to improve your health,” Google’s Margaret Hollendoner writes. “The new Google Fit is centered around two simple and smart activity goals based on AHA and WHO’s activity recommendations shown to impact health: Move Minutes and Heart Points.”

Windows Intelligence In Your Inbox

Sign up for our new free newsletter to get three time-saving tips each Friday — and get free copies of Paul Thurrott's Windows 11 and Windows 10 Field Guides (normally $9.99) as a special welcome gift!

"*" indicates required fields

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Google Fit is available as an Android app only, and it’s not included with the platform, so you must first download it from the Google Play Store. It uses your phone or a connected wearable device to track activity like walking, running, biking. and many others. And, yes, it can use location services to save your routes and calculate speed and distance.

In the new version that’s rolling out this week—I’m not seeing it yet on either of my Android phones—Google Fit picks up a nice design refresh that includes a vastly-improved logo. More important, it will now prompt you to move more and sit less, and give you credit for activities that get your heart pumping faster.

The new Google Fit will also let you configure more activities, including gardening, pilates, and rowing or spinning. And it integrates with other fitness apps such as Strava, Runkeeper, Endomondo, and MyFitnessPal so that you can get credit for activities you track elsewhere.

I’m curious to see the changes as the current app is pretty basic. But you can learn more at the Google Fit website.

 

Tagged with

Share post

Please check our Community Guidelines before commenting

Conversation 12 comments

  • jprestig

    21 August, 2018 - 9:53 am

    <p>Available as an Android app only, but the picture shows it on an iPhone X.</p>

    • evequefou

      21 August, 2018 - 8:32 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#303222">In reply to jprestig:</a></em></blockquote><p>What makes you say that's an X rather than an Android with a notch? </p>

      • Saxwulf

        Premium Member
        22 August, 2018 - 8:44 am

        <blockquote><em><a href="#303412">In reply to evequefou:</a></em></blockquote><p><br></p><p>The long swipe line near the bottom of the screen.</p>

  • mrlinux11

    21 August, 2018 - 10:08 am

    <p>It would be nice if the download link went to the play store </p>

  • shameermulji

    21 August, 2018 - 10:28 am

    <p>All Google needs to do is make its own branded wrist-based wearable</p>

  • rmlounsbury

    Premium Member
    21 August, 2018 - 10:37 am

    <p>Finally, I've always liked Google Fit but it has been a bit lacking in many areas. This update plus what I'm hoping is a Pixel Watch in October should finally plug the holes for all my needs in a fitness platform. </p>

  • wolters

    Premium Member
    21 August, 2018 - 11:00 am

    <p>I am one of the few (or it seems) proponents of WearOS. I've used one for since the LG Watch Urbane and currently have a Huawei&nbsp;Watch 2 Classic. I was forced to move from Band 2 when I could no longer get one. I did take a few weeks trip with a Tizen watch but it just felt so less functional. WearOS, despite it's quirks and knee-jerk opinions, just "works." And the HW2 currently is the best you can get if you want good battery life (I get a solid 2.5 days). The Ticwatches aren't bad either but this fall may be interesting with WearOS, Google Fit and CPU upgrades. </p>

    • nicholas_kathrein

      21 August, 2018 - 11:43 am

      <blockquote><em><a href="#303238">In reply to wolters:</a></em></blockquote><p>I really think Google needs to "invest" or spend lots of money getting watch based SOCs built for their WearOS platform. That is what has killed their sales and why Apple been killing it with their watch. SOC's matter as they are the main part the determines how big the watch has to be and Android watches are HUGE. Apple's had a new watch SOC every year and Google had 1 or maybe 2 over the last 3 or 4 years. Qualcom has a new SOC coming out any day now for watches and this will go a long way in catching up with Apple but Apple will always be ahead till Google commits to spending the money to keep new SOCs focused on watches being designed and released yearly.</p>

      • wolters

        Premium Member
        21 August, 2018 - 12:03 pm

        <blockquote><em><a href="#303250">In reply to Nicholas_Kathrein:</a></em></blockquote><p>Agreed. </p><p><br></p><p>My wife seems to bounce between a Fitbit and a WearOS watch because she wants good fitness/health tracking but also very useful notifications and reply options. She is currently on the Versa and the hype over the notifications has let her down. They are hit and miss and since Android Pie on her Pixel 2 XL, all calls on the watch show as UNKNOWN. She really wants notifications with options to reply and a robust health system with a watch that looks feminine. </p><p><br></p><p>Samsung Health has been good and there is a nice woman's Galaxy watch coming out but I just don't trust Tizen. </p>

      • shameermulji

        21 August, 2018 - 8:15 pm

        <blockquote><em><a href="#303250">In reply to Nicholas_Kathrein:</a></em></blockquote><p>I agree with you but the only way I see Google being successful is if they build their own device and all the core technologies that would go into said device.</p>

    • wolters

      Premium Member
      23 August, 2018 - 10:22 am

      <blockquote><em><a href="#303238">In reply to wolters:</a></em></blockquote><p>I have to add…the new Google Fit dropped the widget. That is a head-scratcher…it was my favorite widget…just glance and go. I hope this is either a work in progress or an oversight. </p>

  • nicholas_kathrein

    21 August, 2018 - 11:34 am

    <p>This (to me) is the proof that new Pixel watches are coming. You don't do all this work and work with <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">American Heart Association and the World Health Organization&nbsp;unless you have something cooking like new watches to take advantage of the new health tracking features.</span></p>

Windows Intelligence In Your Inbox

Sign up for our new free newsletter to get three time-saving tips each Friday

"*" indicates required fields

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Thurrott © 2024 Thurrott LLC