With Health Connect, Google is making fitness and other related data more interoperable on Android. Ahead of the expected fall launch, an update to Health Connect today curiously removes the app icon from the launcher.
Since I/O 2022, “Health Connect by Android” has been in open beta/early access in the Google Play. Version 0.1.937.470007551.1 of Health Connect today (versus 0.1.847.466013036.3) removes the icon from the app launcher on Pixel and Samsung devices we checked. As such, the only way to open it is from the Play Store listing or by going to its App info page.
Update: Per the changelog, this was an intentional change. A Quick Settings tile is now the other way you open this application. It’s a rather peculiar use of QS, which are inherently shortcuts rather than the primary way you launch an app.
Home screen icon removed. You can open Health Connect from Settings > Apps > Health Connect, or from your Quick Settings menu.
The application will let you see “Connected apps” with the ability to toggle on/off complete or granular access, as well as browse “data and recent app activity.” This is broken up into categories like Vitals, Sleep, and Nutrition, with a “Delete all data” offered.
It’s not clear whether this is an intentional change to get ready for the public launch or just a bug. The former would make sense if Google considered Health Connect to be more of a back-end service that’s part of Android. If so, it could be linked to somewhere in Settings, like the Apps menu or by the third-party fitness application that’s syncing data. This scenario could be somewhat similar to how the Pixel Buds app is only accessible through the Bluetooth menu on Pixel phones, while all other devices get the launcher icon/shortcut.
Back in May, Google said Health Connect would exit beta in fall 2022 and become “available to everyone from Google Play” as a partner integrations launch. This includes Fitbit, Google Fit, Samsung Health, and other early access partners (like Withings and MyFitnessPal) that Google has been working with.
More on health:
- Sleep as Android adding support for Google’s Health Connect app
- Fitbit or Google Fit stats card can now appear on 2nd-gen Nest Hub homescreen
- New Fitbit device hits FCC with NFC payments, possibly Charge 6
- Fitbit Sense 2 and Versa 4 go official with new Wear OS-like UI from $229, Google Wallet coming
Thanks Jondan!
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