What you need to know
- The Google Health app is rolling out an update this week that brings a large selection of metrics from the Health tab to the Today tab on Android and iOS.
- Basic sleep session statistics will now include naps (20 minutes or more) along with adjustments for swim data.
- A previous Google Health app update brought Hourly Activity back to the app and enabled Nap Recording for users.
Wearables can help users track their health, but sometimes our focus is narrow. Google is rolling out an update that provides more statistics for better personalization.
Google Health published the patch notes For an early July update to v5.03 on Android and iOS. The Today tab gets a basic selection of metric tiles that users can start browsing as soon as the update arrives. Google says users can add tiles for “heart rate variability, respiratory rate, oxygen saturation (SpO2), resting heart rate, skin temperature changes, blood glucose, mindful days, mindful minutes, stamina, protein intake, fat intake, carb intake, and your friend’s leaderboard.
Android Central’s Take
Quick stats seem to be Google’s MO at a glance, don’t they? The latest update to Google Health fixes the initial issues while bringing back the features that users are used to. Google has juggling responsibilities right now, and I don’t think that’s too bad.
Its essence is comfort. Google reminds users that each new metric tile for the Today tab is also available in the app’s Health tab. Adding them to the first allows users to focus only on the metrics that matter, and to set goals, milestones, etc. serves to track.
Similarly, Google Health solves the problem of seeing incorrect “distances and units” during workouts for swimmers. Sleep tracking welcomes dreams received. Google says, “Sleeping (>20 minutes) will now count towards your total sleep time of 24 hours.” Users can find these statistics in the Sleep tab, which will show trends for the main sleep session.
While Sleeps will find its way into your Total Sleep Tracker, the app’s Today tab will only show your basic sleep session data. The update is completed by fixing elevation discrepancies with Strava.
Getting iOS
With version 5.03 of Google Health, the company says that iOS devices are getting several features that Android got in June. Google on that patch Returns Hourly Activity to the program. Additionally, Android users saw customization tools to “Reorder Key Metrics”. This allowed users to long press and drag their stats to wherever they wanted. In short, it was a rebuild update.
Naps was the other side of this patch. Google introduced Nap Recording capabilities in the Health app, so we’re seeing this major update in July. Google said the dreams will be highlighted in a separate tab in the user’s Daily Sleep Score. These updates, including food search, are coming to iOS with everything else in this July patch.
