Google Fit and Apple's HealthKit present two different visions of how fitness apps and wearables should connect with our phones—and ultimately improve our health. Which one will win out, and what are the implications for consumers and developers? For more on ReadWrite's coverage of digital fitness, check out ReadWriteBody: http;//readwrite.com/series/body

1. Our$Bodies,$Disconnected
Owen$Thomas
ReadWrite
DataWeek$2014

2. Fitness$apps$are$exploding$…

3. …$as$are$Bitness$APIs

5. There’s$a$glut$of$Bitness$apps
• Most&'itness&apps&provide&broadly&similar&and&
overlapping&capabilities&in&exercise&and&nutrition&
tracking&
• Social&graphs&and&data&history&become&the&main&
reasons&consumers&stick&with&one&app&versus&another&
• Technical&interoperability&exists,&but&it’s&way&too&hard&
for&consumers&to&use

6. There$are$also$a$lot$of$wearables
• Most&consumers&abandon&wearables&after&six&months&
• Functionality&is&limited—most&only&track&simple&
movement&and&sleep&
• We’re&not&doing&much&with&the&data&wearables&
generate&
• Every&wearable&requires&a&companion&app&to&extract&
value&from&the&data

7. This$stuff$is$broken
• I&stopped&wearing&my&Jawbone&Up&months&ago,&but&I&didn’t&
disconnect&the&apps.&Sometimes&my&Up&tells&me&I&burned&
3,000&calories&in&a&day.&
• Basic&data&elements&like&time&zones&aren’t&structured&
correctly.&MapMyFitness&will&sometimes&tell&me&I&exercised&
for&21&hours&straight.&
• I&have&10&different&apps&where&I&need&to&update&my&weight.&
• I&don’t&have&one&place&I&can&go&to&get&an&overview&of&my&
health&and&activity.

8. Are$APIs$the$answer?

9. Flickr&cofounder&Caterina&Fake
Photo&by&Joi&Ito&(www.'lickr.com/photos/joi/2767721641)

10. In&2006,&Flickr&cofounder&Caterina&Fake&
dubbed&APIs&“biz&dev&2.0”—a&new&way&of&
doing&business&without&the&friction&of&
dealmaking.

11. Photo&by&Joi&Ito&(www.'lickr.com/photos/joi/2698702648/)

12. Later&that&year,&Twitter&cofounder&Biz&Stone&
announced&the&Twitter&API.&Developers&created&a&
wide&variety&of&apps,&including&mobile&versions&of&
Twitter&that&Twitter&itself&wasn’t&providing.&
Twitter&later&had&to&clamp&down&on&developers’&
use&of&its&API,&destroying&much&of&the&goodwill&it&
had&generated.

13. Photo&by&Brian&Solis&(www.'lickr.com/photos/briansolis/2697305792/)

14. In&2007,&Facebook&unveiled&the&Facebook&Platform,&
setting&off&a&gold&rush&of&socially&connected&apps—
and&of&spammy&apps&that&cluttered&the&News&Feed.&
To&this&day,&Facebook&has&a&contentious&
relationship&with&developers&who&believe&it’s&
limiting&their&apps’&reach.

15. Open$or$shut?
• An&“open”&or&“public”&API&is&open&to&all&developers.&
Aside&from&a&simple&signaup&process,&there&are&few&
barriers&to&use&it.&
• A&“closed”&or&“private”&API&requires&permission&to&
access.&
• Most&APIs,&even&if&technically&“open,”&have&usage&
limits&and&other&restrictions.

19. Open$
Jawbone
MapMyFitness
RunKeeper
Closed$
MyFitnessPal
Nike
Runtastic

20. Here$come$Apple$and$Google!

23. • Apple’s&HealthKit&and&Google&Fit&started&in&different&
places.&HealthKit&was&very&focused&on&gathering&vital&
signs.&Google&Fit&was&geared&around&'itness&tracking.&
• Over&time,&HealthKit&has&added&more&'itness&functions
—in&part&to&support&the&Apple&Watch.&
• Google&stores&data&in&the&cloud.&Apple&stores&data&on&
the&phone.

24. Pros$and$cons$of$HealthKit
Available&shortly&(September&
2014)&
iOS&updates&roll&out&to&large&
part&of&installed&base—less&
fragmentation
Severe&restrictions&on&data&use&
Rival&apps&and&devices&can&use&
your&data&if&stored&in&HealthKit&
Data&is&siloed&on&the&phone

25. Pros$and$cons$of$Google$Fit
Android&has&more&market&share&
Crossaplatform&roadmap—
REST&API&for&Web&apps,&
eventually&native&code&for&iOS&
Better&data&structure&based&on&
Android&Intents
Still&in&developer&preview&
Google&always&has&an&agenda&
with&data&
Android&fragmentation&limits&
reach

26. • Ultimately,&'itness&data&should&live&in&the&cloud&for&
storage,&sharing,&and&analysis.&
• As&long&as&Apple’s&HealthKit&remains&locked&to&the&
phone,&its&usefulness&to&consumers&and&developers&
will&be&limited.&
• Google&Fit&will&have&to&embrace&more&basic&health&
functions&to&compete&with&HealthKit.&
• There’s&still&an&opportunity&for&a&cloudabased&API&
player—possibly&one&that&bridges&HealthKit&and&
Google&Fit&across&devices.

27. Questions?$
@owenthomas&
owen@readwrite.com&
readwrite.com/series/body