our bodies, disconnected: the future of fitness apis
DESCRIPTION
Google Fit and Apple's HealthKit present two different visions of how fitness apps and wearables should connect with our phones—and ultimately improve our health. Which one will win out, and what are the implications for consumers and developers? For more on ReadWrite's coverage of digital fitness, check out ReadWriteBody: http;//readwrite.com/series/bodyTRANSCRIPT
Our$Bodies,$Disconnected
Owen$Thomas ReadWrite
DataWeek$2014
Fitness$apps$are$exploding$…
…$as$are$Bitness$APIs
There’s$a$glut$of$Bitness$apps
• Most&'itness&apps&provide&broadly&similar&and&
overlapping&capabilities&in&exercise&and&nutrition&
tracking&
• Social&graphs&and&data&history&become&the&main&
reasons&consumers&stick&with&one&app&versus&another&
• Technical&interoperability&exists,&but&it’s&way&too&hard&
for&consumers&to&use
There$are$also$a$lot$of$wearables
• Most&consumers&abandon&wearables&after&six&months&
• Functionality&is&limited—most&only&track&simple&
movement&and&sleep&
• We’re¬&doing&much&with&the&data&wearables&
generate&
• Every&wearable&requires&a&companion&app&to&extract&
value&from&the&data
This$stuff$is$broken
• I&stopped&wearing&my&Jawbone&Up&months&ago,&but&I&didn’t&
disconnect&the&apps.&Sometimes&my&Up&tells&me&I&burned&
3,000&calories&in&a&day.&
• Basic&data&elements&like&time&zones&aren’t&structured&
correctly.&MapMyFitness&will&sometimes&tell&me&I&exercised&
for&21&hours&straight.&
• I&have&10&different&apps&where&I&need&to&update&my&weight.&
• I&don’t&have&one&place&I&can&go&to&get&an&overview&of&my&
health&and&activity.
Are$APIs$the$answer?
Flickr&cofounder&Caterina&FakePhoto&by&Joi&Ito&(www.'lickr.com/photos/joi/2767721641)
In&2006,&Flickr&cofounder&Caterina&Fake&
dubbed&APIs&“biz&dev&2.0”—a&new&way&of&
doing&business&without&the&friction&of&
dealmaking.
Photo&by&Joi&Ito&(www.'lickr.com/photos/joi/2698702648/)
Later&that&year,&Twitter&cofounder&Biz&Stone&
announced&the&Twitter&API.&Developers&created&a&
wide&variety&of&apps,&including&mobile&versions&of&
Twitter&that&Twitter&itself&wasn’t&providing.&
Twitter&later&had&to&clamp&down&on&developers’&
use&of&its&API,&destroying&much&of&the&goodwill&it&
had&generated.
Photo&by&Brian&Solis&(www.'lickr.com/photos/briansolis/2697305792/)
In&2007,&Facebook&unveiled&the&Facebook&Platform,&
setting&off&a&gold&rush&of&socially&connected&apps—
and&of&spammy&apps&that&cluttered&the&News&Feed.&
To&this&day,&Facebook&has&a&contentious&
relationship&with&developers&who&believe&it’s&
limiting&their&apps’&reach.
Open$or$shut?
• An&“open”&or&“public”&API&is&open&to&all&developers.&
Aside&from&a&simple&signaup&process,&there&are&few&
barriers&to&use&it.&
• A&“closed”&or&“private”&API&requires&permission&to&
access.&
• Most&APIs,&even&if&technically&“open,”&have&usage&
limits&and&other&restrictions.
Open$
JawboneMapMyFitness RunKeeper
Closed$
MyFitnessPal Nike
Runtastic
Here$come$Apple$and$Google!
• Apple’s&HealthKit&and&Google&Fit&started&in&different&
places.&HealthKit&was&very&focused&on&gathering&vital&
signs.&Google&Fit&was&geared&around&'itness&tracking.&
• Over&time,&HealthKit&has&added&more&'itness&functions
—in&part&to&support&the&Apple&Watch.&
• Google&stores&data&in&the&cloud.&Apple&stores&data&on&
the&phone.
Pros$and$cons$of$HealthKit
Available&shortly&(September&
2014)&
iOS&updates&roll&out&to&large&
part&of&installed&base—less&
fragmentation
Severe&restrictions&on&data&use&
Rival&apps&and&devices&can&use&
your&data&if&stored&in&HealthKit&
Data&is&siloed&on&the&phone
Pros$and$cons$of$Google$Fit
Android&has&more&market&share&
Crossaplatform&roadmap—
REST&API&for&Web&apps,&
eventually&native&code&for&iOS&
Better&data&structure&based&on&
Android&Intents
Still&in&developer&preview&
Google&always&has&an&agenda&
with&data&
Android&fragmentation&limits&
reach
• Ultimately,&'itness&data&should&live&in&the&cloud&for&
storage,&sharing,&and&analysis.&
• As&long&as&Apple’s&HealthKit&remains&locked&to&the&
phone,&its&usefulness&to&consumers&and&developers&
will&be&limited.&
• Google&Fit&will&have&to&embrace&more&basic&health&
functions&to&compete&with&HealthKit.&
• There’s&still&an&opportunity&for&a&cloudabased&API&
player—possibly&one&that&bridges&HealthKit&and&
Google&Fit&across&devices.
Questions?$@owenthomas&
readwrite.com/series/body