Developers Can Now Build Apps for Google Fit

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Developers Can Now Build Apps for Google Fit

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Image: Mashable

Developers can now get an early look at the all the tools that will come with Google Fit for Android software and start building apps for the fitness and health tracking platform.

The Google Fit software development kit (SDK), announced this week, comes a little more than a month after the company unveiled the platform at its Google I/O conference in San Francisco.

By using sensors on mobile devices and wearables — like Google’s smartwatch collection — Google Fit will work with third-party apps like Nike+, LF, Adidas, Basis, Runtastic, RunKeeper, Polar, HTC and Motorola to enhance how users take advantage of the data these apps collect.

Similarly, Apple is also working on its service called HealthKit for iOS 8 that will pull in data from other third-party apps such as Nike to keep all your health-related information in one hub.

According to an official blog post, Google’s preview SDK will grant developers access to app users’ fitness history, so they can build features into apps for personalized coaching, recommendations and fitness insights.

The preview comes with three sets: first, one connects sensors from the device and wearables to apps (for example, you could program a running app to get heart rate monitor updates every few seconds during a run).

Second, the SDK features a recording API that allows apps to store data, so in theory, a running app could record your location and map out a run later. Finally, the ability to look at history so a user can go back and see all the locations hit during the run.

You can download the preview SDK here.

Developers will be able to launch their apps later this year when Google Fit goes live in the Google Play store for smartphones, tablets, Android Wear and the web.

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