What you need to know
- The 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.
- The main sleep session statistics will now include naps (20 minutes or more), along with corrections for swimming data.
- The previous Google Health app update brought time activity back to the app and started recording naps for users.
Wearable devices can help users monitor their health, but sometimes our focus is limited. Google is releasing an update that offers more statistics for better personalization.
Google Health published its patch notes for an early July update for v5.03 on Android and iOS. The Today tab receives a significant selection of metrics tiles that users can start examining once the update arrives. Google says users can add tiles for “heart rate variability, respiratory rate, oxygen saturation (SpO2), resting heart rate, skin temperature variation, blood glucose, conscious days, conscious minutes, resilience, protein intake, fat intake, carbohydrate intake, and your friends’ leaderboard.”
Android Central’s opinion
Quick stats at a glance seem like Google’s modus operandi, don’t they? The recent Google Health update has brought back features that users enjoy while also fixing teething issues. Google is juggling its responsibilities right now, and I don’t think it’s doing too badly.
The point of this is convenience. Google reminds users that each new metrics tile for the Today tab is also available in the Health tab of the app. Adding them to the first only serves to give users a visible view of the metrics that matter and to keep track of goals, milestones, etc.
Similarly, Google Health is fixing an issue that caused swimmers to see incorrect “distances and units” during exercises. Sleep tracking appreciates naps. Google says: “Naps (>20 minutes) will now count toward your total 24-hour sleep duration.” Users can find this statistic in the Sleep tab, which will show trends from their main sleep session.
While naps roll into your Total Sleep Tracker, the app’s Today tab will only show data from your main sleep session. The update concludes with a fix for elevation discrepancies with Strava.
Update iOS
With Google Health version 5.03, the company says iOS devices are updating some features that Android received in June. In that patch, Google Activity per hour returned to the application. What’s more, Android users saw customization tools to “reorder key metrics.” This gave users the ability to hold and drag their stats anywhere they wanted. In short, it was a reorganization update.
Naps were the other side of this patch. Google delivered nap recording capabilities to its Health app, which is why we’ll see 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 foraging, are now coming to iOS with everything else in this July patch.
