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For a few months now, we’ve been hearing a lot of rumors about Apple coming out with a rumored Healthbook app. Originally, it was assumed that this was to be part of the rumored iWatch that we still haven’t seen the light of. However, Apple put one of those rumors to rest at this year’s Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) when they unveiled the upcoming Health app and HealthKit software development kit (SDK).
For developers, HealthKit will allow companies to create apps that will be able to communicate with each other and share data with the new Health app. For example, your calorie counter app could send data on your day’s consumed calories to your fitness app, which will add the information to the weight loss goal you hope to achieve. This SDK will open up a lot of abilities for inter-app communication that has not been available previously. For example, you may be able to automatically share your blood pressure data with your doctor, who will notice if it is high and be able to contact you directly with advice.
The upcoming Health app is sort of like Passbook for your body. It features a simple-to-use dashboard with all your health and fitness data. By combining the Health app with other third-party fitness tracking apps, users will be able to access all of their information on one screen, complete with graphs and charts. You can even create an emergency card with important health information, like your allergies or medications, right on your lock screen.
Users will be able to view the most recent health and fitness data at a glance on one dashboard screen. See a list of the different types of data being managed by Health and tap one to see the details. You have control over what data can be shared between third-party apps.
Important information can be added to your emergency medical ID card, which can then be set to your lock screen in case something happens to you. When I was a kid, I had to wear a metal ID bracelet that I hated because it smelled funny and always pinched my wrist. This is a much better option.
Thanks to the new Health app and HealthKit coming to iOS 8, we’ll all be able to track our well being much easier. Maybe I’ll finally get around to shedding those last few winter pounds.
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