Google is gearing up to launch a health data aggregator at its annual I/O developer conference.
According to Forbes, the service is called Google Fit and will be unveiled on 25 June.
Google Fit will aggregate data from “popular fitness trackers and health-related apps” using open APIs, Forbes claims.
If true, this would make it a direct competitor of Apple’s HealthKit – the framework that underpins its iOS 8 Health app.
One immediately noticeable difference between Google Fit and HealthKit, however, is apparently a deep focus on wearables.
At WWDC, Apple announced partnerships with the Mayo Clinic and Nike, which recently scrapped its Nike+ FuelBand wearable hardware division.
Google, on the other hand, will apparently be revealing partnerships with a number of wearable device makers – a claim that’s bolstered by the fact there are two sessions on wearable computing on the first day of I/O.
One obvious candidate for a partnership of this kind would have been Samsung, with its Galaxy Gear range of smartwatches – particularly the Gear Fit.
However, with the manufacturer moving away from Android to the Linux-based Tizen operating system, this is no longer such a sure bet.
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