Over the years, the healthcare industry has witnessed the mobility revolution, with wearable devices and wellness apps scaling heights of popularity. While these apps empower patients with real-time health metrics, they also enable providers to enhance the quality of their services to a significant extent. Owing to the unmatched benefits these apps offer to the patients and providers, the demand for healthcare app development has seen a phenomenal boom in the recent years. Correspondingly, developers have been looking for advanced technologies to create outstanding mobility solutions. Google Fit and Apple’s HealthKit are the two technologies that have gained traction in this space and are expected to bring ground-breaking changes to the industry. Let us learn more about them.
Google Fit And Apple HealthKit: The Innovators For Healthcare Apps
Google Fit and Apple HealthKit are the platforms which accumulate health and fitness-related data. While Google focuses on fitness metrics, Apple is more into medical data. With the standardized format and storage mechanism that they are likely to provide, these platforms will facilitate the development of apps that are capable of sharing health data mutually. With this, users will be able to switch between various apps without the concern of transferring their data from one app to the other. Even though the basic purpose and concept of Google Fit and Apple HealthKit are the same, there are some differences between the two. Let’s try and understand these differences so that the choice of platform becomes easier.
Design
Google Fit is known for offering a user-friendly design although the user needs to swipe the screen repeatedly for accessing any new piece of information. The platform enables the provision of detailed information so that the user is able to track every parameter separately. The information such as that related to active minutes and steps is shown in the form of easily readable charts.
HealthKit, on the other hand, has a comparatively complex design but allows the users to compare the data right within a single screen. A complete range of health metrics including weight, height, blood type, personal details, and emergency contacts can be tracked on the health dashboard in the platform. This enhances their experience to a considerable extent as they are able to access more information without much effort.
Types of Data
Google Fit covers data metrics such as the type of physical activity that a user engages in, the time consumed for the activity, distance covered, calories burnt, pedaling rate, wheel speed, number of steps taken, power generated in a workout, heart rate, weight, and height of the user. The notable fact about Google Fit is that it enables the apps to create customized data types.
With HealthKit, the list only gets longer, with the addition of fitness metrics such as blood glucose, alcohol level, sleep analysis, diet, and more. On the downside, it does not permit the developers to customize the data types as Google Fit does.
Security
It is possible to share the data stored in an app created with Google Fit with other third-party applications, although user permission is required before doing.
HealthKit-based apps take a similar stand as data can be shared with other applications only by user’s permission. However, it is one step ahead in terms of data security as the data is stored in an encrypted format.
Partnerships
Google Fit has an impressive partnership portfolio, with big brands such as Adidas, Asus, Intel, LG, HTC, Basis, and Fatsecret on the list.
Apple HealthKit has an equally remarkable partner list including Mayo Clinic, EPIC Software, Fitbit, Nike, Runkeeper, and Withings.
Conclusion
Even though there are some key differences between the two platforms, it does not mean that one is lesser than the other in any way. Undoubtedly, both are offering a better landscape for developers to take healthcare mobility to the next level. Healthcare providers looking for advanced mobility solutions, thus, need to ensure that they avail either of these platforms as a part of Mobile app design services. Here, it becomes significant to connect with an expert application development partner. Mobibiz is a leading mobile app development company that caters advanced mobile apps for businesses from diverse verticals. We specialize in healthcare apps and have delivered several mobility solutions for some leading names in the industry.
