Google Health 5.02 finally brings back Fitbit features users have been asking for — here is a clear breakdown of what happened and why it matters right now.
The details below put the news in context: the key points first, the background after.
The Google Health app has been a flashpoint for those who are not happy that it’s taken the place of the discontinued Fitbit app. But today brings some good news for users, particularly those with Android devices.
Google just released Google Health version 5.02 for both Android and iOS, with several Android-specific updates.
Google Health on Android now allows for dragging and dropping of metrics in the Key Metrics section of the Health tab. This level of customization lets users see what’s most important to them without having to scan. This addresses one of the major complaints of Google Health burying the data that users rely on seeing at a glance.
In the same vein, food search now surfaces more relevant information, with results showing both serving units and calories. It’s a very welcome return of a feature for former Fitbit app users who could look up food items and see both the estimated calories and serving sizes.
And Android users can also count their midday ZZZs better. Naps now appear in a separate tab in the daily Sleep Score view.
The updated version of Google Health has a host of other improvements and, in some cases, the return of features.
One of the latter is hourly activity charts in both the Today and Health tabs. This lets you see if you’re meeting hourly step goals throughout the day.
For anyone who tosses and turns at night, sleep data is now more easy to discern, with the restlessness bar moved closer to the sleep stages graph. It’s also more accurate, with improved minor awake moments detection.
The update should ease some of the concerns users had with Google Health.
Google’s Known Issues post for Google Health from the end of last month also shows that many bugs and requested improvements have been handled or are in progress.
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