Report: Google to unveil new ‘Google Fit’ health tracking service at I/O 2014

Photo: Associated Press

According to a report out of Forbes, Google is planning on launching its own health platform at Google I/O later this month, similar to Apple’s new HealthKit service. The service will reportedly be called Google Fit and be capable of collecting and aggregating data from a variety of wearable devices and apps. Sound familiar? It should, because that’s exactly how Apple’s HealthKit service, announced last week, works.

Google Fit will aggregate its data through open APIs. These will allow apps and devices to share information between one another. Google will also reportedly partner with select wearable device manufactures for its Fit program, and announce those partnerships at I/O, as well. The basis of Google Fit will be around tracking information from wearable devices and interfacing them with the new Fit ecosystem.

One source with knowledge of Google’s plans said Google Fit would allow a wearable device that measures data like steps or heart rate to interface with Google’s cloud-based services, and become part of the Google Fit ecosystem.

We already knew that wearables were going to be a huge focus for Google I/O this, as evident by the new Android Wear program. Google has several sessions scheduled for I/O during which it could talk about Google Fit. On Day 1 there is a “wearable computing with Google” session, while on Day 2 there’s a session on “designing for wearables.” Google Fit will undoubtedly have some integration into Android Wear.

Google offered its own Health service up until 2012 when it shut it down. The company had intended on it being something similar to Google Fit, but it never quite took off.

Google is expected to announce Fit at I/O on June 25th and 26th, though it’s unclear when it will go live to the public. The company could not be reached for comment.