Health and fitness tracking could be one of the biggest features of the next major iOS update.
Time and again it has been rumored that Apple is going to jump on this bandwagon. There are already quite a few devices and services out there that offer similar functionality, but Apple could simply use the scalability it has with iOS to not only plant a massive footprint almost immediately, but to bring crucial functions related to health and fitness tracking under one proverbial roof.
iOS 8 is due to be unveiled in a few months at WWDC 2014. The conference traditionally takes place in Summer every year. The next major iOS update is expected to focus on simplicity and on improving existing features. It has been rumored multiple times in the past that there’s going to be a new native app in iOS 8 called Healthbook. That app has now been extensively detailed, though bear in mind that its possible for Apple to make changes because there’s still a lot of time before it has to be unveiled to the public.
As per reports, Healthbook will effectively be the nerve center of all health and fitness tracking functions. It would be able to monitor things like heart rate, blood pressure, blood sugar, oxygen saturation as well as respiratory rate. The app would allow provide information about nutrition, bloodwork, sleep and hydration.*People on weight loss programs would get help from Healthbook as well. Its said to have a Weight feature that les users track Body Mass Index and body fat. Couple that with the Nutrition feature to keep an eye on daily food intake and making sure that there’s no cheating on the diet.*This goes far beyond what any similar product is capable of doing right now, and it’s quite possible that these functions might actually be dependant upon a new type of device.
Healthbook would have to get all this data from somewhere, since its job is simply to compile it and offer it in a user friendly way. Which is why its possible that even if Healthbook app is ready by the time iOS 8 has to go public, its release might be put off till a later major update. Apple’s rumored iWatch is believed to be fitness focused, and Healthbook may rely upon it to provide data. So far there’s no official word on the smartwatch, only rumors, so its unclear when its going to be launched.
It is also possible that Apple may modify Healthbook so that it doesn’t need the iWatch. In that case the app would certainly not be able to perform all of the tasks that are mentioned here, it would exist as a much more simple app with only a few functions. But then, it really won’t stand out from the crowd at all.
Source: TechCrunch