Skip to main content

Google’s redesigned Fit activity tracker is now an iOS app

Google Fit finally landed for iOS on Wednesday, a full five years after the fitness app launched for Android and a year after the software received a major overhaul.

“Tracking your progress throughout the day should be simple and easy,” Google’s Defne Gurel said in a post announcing the news. “Regardless of which apps or devices you use to monitor fitness, sleep, and general wellbeing, Google Fit has you covered.”

Recommended Videos

In other words, apps that you might already connect with Apple Health — for example, Sleep Cycle, Nike Run Club, and Headspace — sync with Google Fit to help you gain a broad picture of your health, with all activities, including those tracked by your Apple Watch, counting toward your Google Fit goals. The iOS version also tracks data from Wear OS devices.

Google Fit for iOS is similar in many ways to the Android version that last year received a significant redesign, which gave it a cleaner look and improved usability.

Fit includes so-called Move Minutes and Heart Points activity goals, which the company created in consultation with the World Health Organization and the American Heart Association.

Move Minutes encourages you to haul yourself off the couch and get active, hopefully prompting little changes to your daily routine like taking the stairs instead of the elevator. Heart Points, meanwhile, tries to coax you into doing moderate activity like walking the dog, or, if you’re feeling particularly energetic, more intense activities such as running.

Other features include the use of rings to offer a visual representation of you how close you are to reaching your goals, and a journal tab that offers quick access to a snapshot of your activity history,

As many iPhone have long been using Apple’s Health app to gather their movement data, only time will tell just how many folks turn to Google Fit for the same purpose, though the incorporated activity goals may be a draw. If Google Fit fails to win you over, there are a slew of alternatives you can try out. iOS users should check out this Digital Trends piece highlighting some great offerings that include MyFitnessPal and the clever Carrot Fit, while Android users have some equally awesome fitness apps to choose from, among them Argus and Runkeeper. You want more? Then explore this Digital Trends list packed with ideas for more great health apps.

Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
EU iPhone users are getting another exclusive perk with iOS 18.4
Installing iOS 18.3 update on an iPhone 16 Pro.

The iOS 18.4 update is in beta right now, and it introduces a new option for users in the EU to set a default navigation app. This means no more pesky links opening in Apple Maps when you only use Google Maps -- but it won't be available for people in the U.S.

The EU's Digital Markets Act is forcing Apple to make various changes to its services, but unfortunately not all of these perks make it over to the U.S. Apple has made it clear that it doesn't agree with a lot of the rules the EU is setting, so a lot of the time, it only makes the changes when and where it absolutely has to.

Read more
Dropbox iOS app finally updated to support Live Photos
Dropbox app on the App Store

Dropbox has updated the iOS version of the app to do something users thought they would never see in their lifetime: support Live Photos.

The file sharing company released the latest app update, version 416.2, on Monday to support viewing Live Photos uploaded straight from the iPhone photo album. As soon as you share a Live Photo to Dropbox, you and other users who have access to your files will interact with it the same way you would with a Live Photo baked into your iPhone: long-pressing the image to get a glimpse of the first two seconds before the final shot was taken.

Read more
The next iOS update might force you to upgrade Apple Home
Apple HomeKit app on smartphone.

If you're still using the old Home app to manage HomeKit, the upcoming iOS 18.4 update might force you to shift to its latest version. In most cases, upgrades are a good thing, but the latest Home app architecture isn't compatible with older versions of iOS, iPadOS, and macOS.

The news comes via a line of code found in iOS 18.4 that reads, "Support for your current version of Apple Home will end soon. Update now to avoid interruptions with your accessories and automations." The code was discovered by X user @aaronp613, an analyst for MacRumors.

Read more