Filip Novotny iOS 8 will include a special health app called Healthbook. The next version of the operating system for mobile devices will be able to measure distance traveled and calories burned, but also pressure, heart rate or blood sugar level.
Server & Hosting 9to5Mac brought first closer look to fitness features that have only been speculated about to date. An unnamed but allegedly well-informed source has revealed that Apple is preparing a new app called Healthbook for iOS 8. This integral part of the system will collect information from many sensors, both inside the phone and in fitness accessories. Among these facilities would be according to 9to5Mac they should also have included the expected iWatch.
Healthbook will be able to monitor not only steps taken, kilometers walked or calories burned, but also health data such as blood pressure, heart rate, hydration and other important indicators such as blood sugar level. Of course, these values cannot be measured only from the phone, so the Healthbook will have to rely on data from external accessories.
This points to the possibility that Apple is developing this app to work closely with the expected iWatch. A second, less likely possibility suggests that Healthbook would initially only integrate fitness bands and third-party smartwatches. In that case, Apple would introduce its own hardware solution only in the coming months.
The Healthbook app will also give users the option to enter information about their medications. It will then remind them at the right time to take the prescribed pill. This feature will likely be bundled with the existing Reminders app.
The gradually (albeit slowly) revealed information about Apple's fitness project points to an interesting problem. If Apple is indeed preparing a built-in Healthbook app as well as an iWatch smartwatch, it will have to deal with its competition in some way. At the moment, it sells fitness equipment from other manufacturers through its online e-shop, but it is not certain whether it will continue to do so after this year.
In addition, Apple has very good relations with Nike, which has been preparing a special fitness application and hardware from the Nike+ series for iPods and iPhones for many years. Tim Cook is even a member of Nike's board of directors, which puts him in a similar position as Eric Schmidt once was. In 2007, he was a member of Apple's innermost management, which was preparing for the introduction of the iPhone, but at the same time oversaw the development of the Android operating system. Likewise, Tim Cook is now apparently preparing the iWatch and the Healthbook app, but he is one of the leading figures at Nike, which makes, among other things FuelBand fitness bracelet.
Last year, Apple hired several experts in the field of health and fitness. Among others, it is former Nike consultant Jay Blahnik or several employees of companies producing various health sensors. Among them we can find, for example, the vice president of the manufacturer of glucometers Senseonics, Todd Whitehurst. Everything indicates that Apple is really interested in this segment.
