Degree up your apps with the newest options from Android Well being

Posted by Breana Tate – Developer Relations Engineer, Android Well being

Android Well being’s mission is to allow billions of Android customers to be more healthy by means of entry, storage, and management of their well being, health, and security knowledge. To additional this mission, we provide two major APIs for builders, Well being Join and Well being Companies on Put on OS, that are each utilized by a rising variety of apps on Android and Put on OS.

AI capabilities unlock superb and distinctive use circumstances, however to be able to ship essentially the most worth to your customers on the proper time, you want a powerful basis of knowledge. Our updates this 12 months give attention to serving to you construct up this knowledge basis, with assist for extra knowledge varieties, new methods to entry knowledge, and extra strategies of getting well timed knowledge updates whenever you want them.

Modifications to the Google Match APIs

We not too long ago shared that Google Match developer companies can be transitioning to grow to be a core a part of the Android Well being platform. As a part of this, the Google Match APIs, together with the REST API, will stay obtainable till June 30, 2025.

Well being Join is the advisable resolution for storing and sharing well being and health knowledge on Android telephones. Starting with Android 14, it’s obtainable by default in Settings. On pre-Android 14 gadgets, it’s obtainable for obtain from the Play Retailer. Well being Join lets your app join with a whole lot of apps utilizing a single API integration. Thus far, over 500 apps have built-in with Well being Join and have unlocked deeper insights for his or her customers. Try the featured record to see among the apps which have built-in.

We’re excited to proceed supporting the Google Match Android Recording API performance by means of the Recording API on cell, which permits builders to file steps, and shortly distance and energy, in a power-efficient method. In distinction to the Google Match Android Recording API, the Recording API on cell doesn’t retailer knowledge within the cloud by default, and doesn’t require Google Signal-In. The API is designed to make migrating from the Match Recording API easy. Regulate d.android.com/health-and-fitness for upcoming documentation.

Upcoming capabilities from Well being Join

Well being Join will quickly add assist for background reads and historical past reads.

Background reads will allow builders to learn knowledge from Well being Join whereas their app is within the background, that means that you could hold knowledge up-to-date with out counting on the consumer to open your app. This can be a departure from present habits, the place apps can solely learn from Well being Join whereas the app is within the foreground or operating a foreground service.

Historical past reads will give customers the choice to grant apps entry to all historic knowledge in Well being Join, not simply the previous 30 days.

With each background reads and historical past reads, customers are in management. Each capabilities require builders to declare the respective permissions, and customers should approve the permission requests earlier than builders could make use of the info protected by these permissions. Even after granting approval, customers have the choice of revoking entry at any time from inside Well being Join settings.

Each options can be launched later this 12 months, so keep tuned to discover ways to add assist to your apps!

Updates to Well being Companies on Put on OS

Well being Companies on Put on OS is a set of APIs that makes it easy to create power-efficient well being and health experiences on Put on OS.

In Put on OS 5, we’re introducing 2 new options:

• New knowledge varieties for operating
• Help for debounced objectives

New Knowledge Sorts for Operating

Beginning with Put on OS 5, Well being Companies will assist new knowledge varieties for operating. These knowledge varieties can assist present further insights on operating kind and economic system.

The complete record of latest superior operating metrics is:

• Floor Contact Time
• Stride Size
• Vertical Oscillation
• Vertical Ratio

As with all knowledge varieties supported by Well being Companies on Put on OS, you’ll want to examine train capabilities in order that your app solely makes use of metrics which might be supported on the gadgets operating your app, making a smoother expertise for customers. That is particularly essential for Put on OS, as there’s a robust ecosystem of gadgets for customers to select from, they usually don’t at all times assist the identical metrics.

// Checking if the system helps the RUNNING train and confirming the 
// knowledge varieties which might be supported.
droop enjoyable getExerciseCapabilities(): ExerciseTypeCapabilities? {
   val capabilities = exerciseClient.getCapabilitiesAsync().await()
   return if (ExerciseType.RUNNING in capabilities.supportedExerciseTypes) {
       capabilities.getExerciseTypeCapabilities(ExerciseType.RUNNING)
   } else {
       null
   }
}


. . .


// Checking whether or not the info varieties that we wish to use are supported by
// the RUNNING train on this system.
val dataTypes = setOf(
   DataType.HEART_RATE_BPM_STATS,
   DataType.CALORIES_TOTAL,
   DataType.DISTANCE_TOTAL,
   DataType.GROUND_CONTACT_TIME,
   DataType.VERTICAL_OSCILLATION
).intersect(capabilities.supportedDataTypes)

Checking train capabilities with Well being Companies on Put on OS

To make this simple, we’ve launched a sensor panel, obtainable beginning in Android Studio Koala Function Drop, which is presently in Canary. You should utilize the panel to check your app throughout a wide range of system capabilities, experimenting with conditions the place metrics like coronary heart charge or distance aren’t obtainable.

Help for debounced objectives

Second, Well being Companies on Put on OS will quickly assist debounced objectives for instantaneous metrics. These embrace metrics like coronary heart charge, distance, and velocity, for which customers wish to preserve a specified threshold or vary all through an train.

Debounced objectives stop the identical occasion from being emitted a number of occasions—each time the situation is true—over a short while interval. As a substitute, occasions are emitted provided that the brink has been constantly exceeded for a (configurable) variety of seconds. It’s also possible to stop occasions from being emitted instantly after aim registration.

This assist comes from two new methods to higher time aim alerts for instantaneous metrics: length at threshold and preliminary delay:

• Length at threshold is the quantity of uninterrupted time the consumer must cross the required threshold earlier than Well being Companies sends an alert occasion.
• Preliminary delay is the period of time that should go, since aim registration, earlier than your app is notified.

Collectively, these options scale back the variety of false positives and repeated alerts surfaced to customers in case your app lets customers set health objectives or targets.

A standard use case for debounced objectives includes coronary heart charge zones. Coronary heart charge constantly fluctuates all through an train, particularly throughout cardio-intensive actions. With out assist for debouncing, an app may get many alerts in a brief time frame, resembling every time the consumer’s coronary heart charge dips above or under the goal vary.

By introducing an preliminary delay, you may inform Well being Companies to ship a aim alert solely after a specified time interval has handed–consider this like an adjustment interval. And by introducing a length at threshold, you may take this customization additional, by specifying the period of time that should go in (or out) of the required threshold for the aim to be activated. In follow, this is able to be like ready for the consumer to be out of their goal coronary heart charge vary for 15 seconds earlier than your app lets them know to extend or lower their depth.

Try the technical session, “Constructing Adaptable Experiences with Android Well being” to see this in motion!

Your app’s coaching associate

The Well being & Health Developer Middle is your one-stop-shop for constructing well being & health apps on Android! Go to the location for documentation, design inspiration, case research, and extra to discover ways to construct apps on cell and Put on OS.

We’re excited to see the Well being and Health experiences you proceed to construct on Android!