Sleep Tracking

Google Health 5.02 is starting to look less like a replacement and more like a platform that is listening to longtime Fitbit users. The latest update restores several features that were widely missed after the old app was shut down, while also making daily health data easier to reach. The most noticeable changes are arriving first on Android. Google has released the same version for iOS, but some of the headline additions are still scheduled to roll out later there. More control over the main dashboard One of the biggest updates is the ability to reorganize key health metrics in the Health tab. Android users can now drag and drop the graphs in Key Metrics to place the most important data at the top of their view. That matters because one of the main complaints about Google Health has been that core data felt buried. With this change, the app gives users a faster way to prioritize what they check most often. The Today tab also gets a more flexible dashboard. Focus metrics can now be expanded to show more information without constant scrolling or switching between screens. Google has also simplified how users swap metrics on the Today tab. The edit mode is accessed through the pencil icon, after which users can choose the metric they want to replace. The Fitbit feature many users wanted is back Hourly Activity has returned to both the Today and Health tabs, bringing back the familiar hourly step-progress chart. For many Fitbit users, this is one of the most useful tools for tracking movement throughout the day rather than only checking the final step count. The feature can be added through the pencil icon in Today or through the Customize menu in Health. Its return is one of the clearest signs that Google is restoring functions that were missed when the older Fitbit experience was retired. Search results for food logging are also more informative on Android. They now show serving units and calorie counts directly in the results, which makes food tracking easier from the start. Google says food search is also faster on both Android and iOS, although the serving-unit and calorie display is currently limited to Android in this release. Nutritional logging is becoming easier to read Estimated macronutrients now appear directly on the food logging page before a user finishes saving a meal. That gives a clearer picture of what is being recorded without requiring extra taps. The Nutrition tile in the Today tab has also been redesigned. It now shows calorie intake as the primary number and remaining calories as the secondary figure, replacing the older net-calories-focused presentation. Taken together, these changes make the nutrition section easier to scan and more in line with how users typically review daily intake. Sleep tracking gets cleaner and more practical Google Health 5.02 also brings several improvements to sleep tracking. The Restlessness bar now sits closer to the sleep-stage graph, making restless periods and awake moments easier to read in one place. Google says detection of short wake moments has also improved, though the company says more refinements are still on the way. On Android, naps now have their own tab inside the daily Sleep Score view, which makes them easier to review over time. The app also now fully supports deleting sleep sessions, and Google says it has fixed an issue that prevented some users from editing sleep sessions. Bug fixes and data management round out the update Beyond new features, the update includes accuracy fixes in exercise tracking. Google says workout summaries are now more reliable after correcting cases where steps and distance could appear as zero in certain manually logged activities. Automatic cycling detection has also been adjusted after some users saw distance reported too low. Google adds, however, that distance reporting for automatically detected bike trips is still not supported. Data management has become more convenient as well. Users can now delete synced workout sessions, food logs, and weight logs from partner apps directly in Google Health without opening the Privacy Center. If that data comes from Health Connect or Apple Health, users will be sent to the relevant platform to complete deletion. Google says that process will also remove the record from the original platform, while directly integrated data can be removed entirely inside Google Health. The company says it plans to make imported sessions and logs from Health Connect or Apple Health deletable in Google Health in the future without requiring removal from the source platform. The update arrives as Google continues working through criticism of the Fitbit-to-Google Health transition. Google’s publicly posted Known Issues list from late last month also suggests that many bugs and requested fixes have already been addressed or are still in progress. Source: www.androidpolice.com

Fitbit’s Most Missed Feature Is Back, and Google Health Changes Feel More Complete