Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Mobile
  3. News

New HealthKit apps get their own section on iTunes

By

new healthkit apps get section itunes health
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Now that iOS 8.0.2 is finally out in the wild (and apparently bug-free) those HealthKit-compatible apps that have been waiting in the wings can now go live. Apple’s helping them to find their feet too, with a special promotional section within the iTunes App Store called Apps for Health.

Due to a few last-minute compatibility issues, HealthKit was disabled in the original iOS 8 roll-out, which meant apps that plugged into it had to play a waiting game. Now those apps can go live: WebMD, Human and FitStar Personal Tracker are three of the 14 apps that have so far shown up. Some of the bigger apps are waiting for confirmation that all the HealthKit bugs really have been ironed out, but you can expect to see them trickle into the App Store in the coming days.

Recommended Videos

HealthKit, if you’ve just arrived from a planet with very little coverage of the iOS news cycle, is the health and fitness platform that Apple wants developers to adopt as a back-end — third-party apps and devices can put data in and get data out, giving you (in theory) one framework to store all of your data. Google Fit aims to do a similar job, albeit in a slightly different way.

Related

“Experience an entirely new approach to wellness where your fitness app can talk to your calorie tracker, your doctor can be automatically notified of updates to your health data, and great apps work together for a healthier you,” runs the introduction to the new Apps for Health section in iTunes. “This handpicked collection highlights the best fitness, nutrition, and medical apps customized for iOS 8.”

Health apps aren’t the only new releases to get their own section on iTunes. There are also dedicated ‘storefronts’ for iOS 8-optimized games and photo apps as Apple tries to encourage iDevice owners to make the most of their new mobile operating system. Tim Cook and his team will no doubt be relieved that iOS 8 now features all of the new functionality that was promised, some ten days after its original launch.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
David Nield
David Nield
Contributor
Dave is a freelance journalist from Manchester in the north-west of England. He's been writing about technology since the…
Apple’s new iPad Air could be in trouble
iPad Air 5 seen from the back and held in hand.

If everything goes according to plan, Apple is set to unveil new iPads on Tuesday, May 7. It's been a while since the last iPad release in October 2022, so expectations are incredibly high for those eagerly waiting to buy a new Apple tablet.

I typically purchase the iPad Pro and own the current 11-inch model, and I am curious about Apple's plans for this product line. However, most people are probably more interested in the upcoming iPad Air lineup in 2024. Both lineups are getting a refresh next week. In recent years, the iPad Air has been positioned between the budget-priced iPad and the top-of-the-line iPad Pro, making it a popular choice for many.

Read more
Are you having iPhone alarm problems? A fix is coming soon
A person holding the Apple iPhone 15 Plus.

If you’ve slept through an important meeting or missed your alarm lately, it may not be entirely your fault if you’re an iPhone user. For weeks now, iPhone users have been reporting on social media that their devices are no longer ringing.

Today, The Wall Street Journal’s Joanna Stern finally confirmed this. According to Stern, Apple has confirmed that it’s aware of the issue causing some alarms not to play a sound and is working on a fix.
iPhone alarm issues explained
The iPhone alarm problem seems to be tied to Apple’s Attention Aware features. For those unfamiliar, it’s a feature that lowers the volume sound of your alerts and alarms if you’re looking at your device and avoids dimming the screen, similar to how Samsung phones keep the screen on if they see you looking at your screen.

Read more
How to turn off call forwarding on iPhone and Android
A person holding the Apple iPhone 15 Plus, showing the camera.

If you’re mysteriously missing calls on your iPhone or Android smartphone, it may be because call forwarding is activated on your line. In that case, all your incoming calls could be going somewhere else.

Call forwarding shouldn’t typically be active unless you’ve specifically turned it on, but another person or app may have done so without your knowledge. And since call forwarding is a carrier feature, it could still be enabled on a line you inherited from someone else, even if you’ve swapped their SIM card into your phone or transferred it to a new account.

Read more