What you need to know
- Google Health app is rolling out an update this week on Android and iOS that brings a massive selection of metrics to the Today tab from the Health tab.
- Main sleep session stats will now include naps (20 mins or more), alongside fixes for swimming data.
- The previous Google Health app update returned Hourly Activity to the app and kicked off Nap Recording for users.
Wearables can help users keep tabs on their health, but sometimes, our focus is narrow. Google's rolling out an update that delivers more stats for better customization.
Google Health posted its patch notes for an early July update for v5.03 on Android and iOS. The Today tab is receiving a major selection of metric tiles that users can begin sifting through once the update arrives. Google says users can add tiles for "heart rate variability, breathing rate, oxygen saturation (SpO2), resting heart rate, skin temperature variation, blood glucose, mindful days, mindful minutes, resilience, protein intake, fat intake, carbohydrate intake, and your friend leaderboard.
Quick stats at a glance seem like Google's M.O., don't they? Recent update for Google Health have been returning features users enjoy, while also fixing early problems. Google's juggling responsibilities right now, and I don't think it's doing too bad.
The point of this is convenience. Google reminds users that every new metric tile for the Today tab is also available in the app's Health tab. Adding them to the former only serves to give users a glanceable spotlight into the metrics that matter and to track goals, milestones, etc.
In a similar vein, Google Health is fixing an issue for swimmers seeing incorrect "distances and units" during exercises. Sleep tracking welcomes naps taken. Google says, "Naps (>20 mins) will now count toward your 24-hour total sleep duration." Users can find this statistic in the Sleep tab, which will display trends for their main sleep session.
While naps find their way into your Total Sleep Tracking, the app's Today tab will only display your main sleep session data. The update wraps up with a fix for elevation discrepancies with Strava.
Getting iOS caught up
With v5.03 of Google Health, the company says iOS devices are catching up to a few features Android received in June. In that patch, Google returned Hourly Activity to the app. What's more, Android users saw customization tools to "re-order Key Metrics." This gave users the ability to long-press and drag their stats anywhere they wanted to. In short, it was a reorganization update.
Naps were the other side of this patch. Google delivered Nap Recording capabilities in its Health app, which is why we're seeing this key update in July. Google said naps would be highlighted in a separate tab in the user's Daily Sleep Score. These updates, including food search, are now arriving on iOS with everything else in this July patch.
