Google to launch Apple HealthKit competitor for Android at I/O conference - report
Sam OliverGoogle's previous health effort, which was shuttered in 2012.
Apple's new HealthKit health and fitness tracking platform looks set to gain a fresh challenger in the form of Android developer Google, which will reportedly launch a similar service dubbed Google Fit at its annual developer conference in San Francisco later this month.
Google will attempt to upstage Apple's HealthKit reveal by announcing immediate partnerships with companies that make wearable devices, according to Forbes. Those agreements are likely to be similar to the ones struck with LG and Fossil for Google's Android Wear wearable software stack.
If true, Google would be the third major technology company to push into the field. Samsung pre-announced its own Sami platform, complete with a $50 million innovation fund and hardware reference designs, in late May.
Little else is known about Google's plans, though information revealed by Forbes points to a system very much like those shown off by Apple and Samsung, including a centralized repository for data tracking. In any case, it would not be Google's first foray into the medical field.
The company launched Google Health, a short-lived collation service for personal medical records, in 2008 and shuttered it in 2012. Google has also been seen dabbling in glucose-monitoring contact lenses and recently announced the formation of Calico, a medical research company focusing on age-related issues and headed by Apple chairman Art Levinson.
Malcolm Owen
Christine McKee
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