At the recent International CES 2014, it was made clear that wearables have arrived. Fitness buffs who monitor the industry might be delighted to hear that Google is working on an Application Programming Interface (API) that will allow developers to tap the collected data from Android devices.
It might not be known to all that the Android Kitkat came with a functionality that can practically turn devices into a pedometer that can track the number of steps users take. Continuing the evolution of the platform, Google is trying to inject more functionality to allow people make use of data that can help improve their health and lifestyle.
The Android fitness API was first spotted by the tech blog Google System.
"Google now works on a Fitness API for Android which will allow applications to view and edit fitness data. They can "view and edit your fitness tracking, health and activities data, including reading and writing raw and transformed data". This might allow Google to store data obtained from multiple sources to your Google account so that other applications can process it, show charts and other useful information," the post read.
Information about the new API is very limited. How it will be used and when it will be released leaves everyone in the dark for now. There is no clue if it will be used for a new OS or if it will be integrated to Google Play Services as an update. However, Android fans have a good reason to be very optimistic as soon they will see their fitness apps more functional and packed with new features.
The code was earlier spotted at https://www.googleapis.com/auth/fitness but upon checking, the code was apparently taken down.
During the CES 2014, wearable technologies were among the biggest eye catchers. Among them were the Razer Nabu, a smartwatch-slash-fitness tracker and the LG Lifeband Touch, which can be paired with smartphones and heart rate monitors.
Google surely wants to capitalize on the opportunity (and profits) when wearable fitness technologies boom in the near future and it has already started laying out its arsenal to rule the market.
