As sensor technology becomes ever more sophisticated, wearables and health related use cases are becoming ever more prevalent for smartphones. With Android 4.4 KitKat, Google introduced support for persistent pedometer data capture to the operating system thereby enabling application that can track the distance that you walk daily. However this isn’t sufficient for avid fitness buffs and it seems that Google might be working on a more robust offering.
Spotted in a code leak, it seems that Google might be working on a full fledged Fitness API that would pull in activity data from built in sensors on Android devices. It is still ambiguous as to whether the new API is tied in with a new flavor of Android or if it will be bundled with a future Google Play Services update. The API will allow applications to view and edit fitness data, health and activities will be available to these apps in raw form allowing them to use it in any way they deem fit.
While some users will raise concerns around privacy and Google having even more data on our personal life, it could lead to some very interesting and useful applications. We remain cautiously optimistic about the new API.
[Via – Google Operating System]