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Google to Take on Apple in Health and Fitness Tracking with 'Google Fit'
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yeah but the difference is not that Apple copied its that it didn't seem like ohhh well Google announced one so now we have to also in the way this seems. It's just like when touch id came out. The next day Samsung was like me too. It's not oh here is our spin on the old idea.
Samsung did announce this. Long before apple as well. Can't remember if it was with S4 or S5 but Samsung baked it in first.
Looks like we're all caught up with people copying others. Everyone needs to take a breather and realize everyone is copying everyone. We've already had health related tools to use and now Samsung, Apple and Google are catching up. This is good as it inspires competition. As consumers, this is what we want. If Apple copies Google, so be it. If Google copies Apple, so be it. We need to realize that this pushes development and is better for us consumers. Don't follow sheep blindly, think about what kind of impact each company has on the other and you'll see advancements in tech being made because of competition.
So many Apple fanboys declaring Google to be a copycat.
Do you honestly think they suddenly decided to make a health app less than 2 weeks after Apple showed theirs off?
Pretty sure this has been in development for many months and it's simply a coincidence that they may announce it after Apple.
I didn't happen to see any of the decries of copying when Apple introduced iOS 7 with control centre, a big lock screen with a digital clock, or 3D tabs in Safari, or notification centre in iOS 5, which Android had for many months prior, for instance.
It gets quite annoying when the attitude of most people here is that only Apple can innovate and other companies simply copy.
Do you honestly think they suddenly decided to make a health app less than 2 weeks after Apple showed theirs off?
Pretty sure this has been in development for many months and it's simply a coincidence that they may announce it after Apple.
I didn't happen to see any of the decries of copying when Apple introduced iOS 7 with control centre, a big lock screen with a digital clock, or 3D tabs in Safari, or notification centre in iOS 5, which Android had for many months prior, for instance.
It gets quite annoying when the attitude of most people here is that only Apple can innovate and other companies simply copy.
You're right the iOS notification shade is laughably bad when compared to Android.
Just curious: Do you honestly think they've had enough time to create this just after WWDC? Or, realistically, both have been working on it for a long time and Apple booked Moscone first?
Probably, but only because I wouldn't use Google Fit so Google would then assume I have health issues.
Guessing you don't give a rats @ss if Google compiles your fitness data and then sells it to companies so they can barrage you with their wares. Personally, I like to be in control of who I share that info with. I mean, hey, I have a really bad run one day -- happens more than I like -- I don't want AARP to star cluttering up my browsers, ya know.
It amazes me that people are willing to believe that a company whose product is completely closed is guarding their personal data at all costs... just because they say so. Google is an advertising company, yes. But the OS you use on the majority of the phones called "Android phones" has it's guts fully available for inspection (and I say this with some experience in the matter). Google tends to put their money where their mouth is when it comes to matters of a user's personal data.
Keep in mind that all companies are bound by law to help law enforcement until they get the balls to say no. All companies are going to do whatever it takes to make their investors happy. All companies are, by nature, a bit evil.
As for the health and copying of ideas thing: as a person who has had ideas and has worked to develop applications for people that have ideas AND money all at the same time, know this... ideas are like [use favorite body part here], everybody has one. A collection of API's for collecting health data? WOW! REVOLUTIONARY! NO ONE HAS EVER THOUGHT OF THAT BEFORE!!! (Hint: people have thought about these things before).
As a developer I can tell you that development cycles usually go on far longer than the rumors about the products they affect exist.
A final bit of fuel for this fire. The difference between Apple and Google is all about development style. Google has a very "try anything" approach with a short attention span. As much as I am an Android fanboy, this irks me to no end. Their projects, once they lose that cool factor, simply fall to the wayside. Apple is far more methodical. They seem to pick their markets, go full force, and expect (rightly, usually) that their reputation will mean sales regardless of whether the products are good, useful, or otherwise.
I have no doubts that many of all ideas have been proposed and at least reached early proof of concepts in both companies. The thing that has always pissed me off most is that Apple will have these ideas and then run to patent them so that no one can ever use them again. There were rumors or talks about Apple buying Tesla that I remember hearing some months (years?) back. Had that happened, Tesla would never have released the patents they hold for the quick charging technology. They did this to spur industry innovation. They did it as part of the open source philosophy, which makes the choice of Linux for their car's OS all the more understandable. This would've never happened at Apple.
Keep in mind that all companies are bound by law to help law enforcement until they get the balls to say no. All companies are going to do whatever it takes to make their investors happy. All companies are, by nature, a bit evil.
As for the health and copying of ideas thing: as a person who has had ideas and has worked to develop applications for people that have ideas AND money all at the same time, know this... ideas are like [use favorite body part here], everybody has one. A collection of API's for collecting health data? WOW! REVOLUTIONARY! NO ONE HAS EVER THOUGHT OF THAT BEFORE!!! (Hint: people have thought about these things before).
As a developer I can tell you that development cycles usually go on far longer than the rumors about the products they affect exist.
A final bit of fuel for this fire. The difference between Apple and Google is all about development style. Google has a very "try anything" approach with a short attention span. As much as I am an Android fanboy, this irks me to no end. Their projects, once they lose that cool factor, simply fall to the wayside. Apple is far more methodical. They seem to pick their markets, go full force, and expect (rightly, usually) that their reputation will mean sales regardless of whether the products are good, useful, or otherwise.
I have no doubts that many of all ideas have been proposed and at least reached early proof of concepts in both companies. The thing that has always pissed me off most is that Apple will have these ideas and then run to patent them so that no one can ever use them again. There were rumors or talks about Apple buying Tesla that I remember hearing some months (years?) back. Had that happened, Tesla would never have released the patents they hold for the quick charging technology. They did this to spur industry innovation. They did it as part of the open source philosophy, which makes the choice of Linux for their car's OS all the more understandable. This would've never happened at Apple.
MS did it first, Samsung launched before Apple, Apple announced it (we have to see it) and Google is playing catch up.
There, hopefully it'll help you put some things in perspective.
Am I the only one who finds this entire area (health apps, fitness wearables) silly and pointless beyond belief?
This, it's the new fad, marketers and product people are totally out of ideas so they're busy recycling old things. Black is the new.. black. Or something.
Google doesn't come up with anything original? Hrmm...so I guess the first massive storage free email system, the first truly performant web-based mapping app, the first wearable consumer-class HUD device (aka Google Glass), the first well-implemented notification system in a smart phone...all of those don't count eh?
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Not really sure what apple apps are so much better than Google's at this point. Of the apps I actually use Google maps is still better, Hangouts and iMessage are pretty much a draw I actually kinda like the look of hangouts more plus its multi platform. Google drive gives you 10 more gigs for free. I'll give credit to apple for iTunes ability to create smart list, song popularity meters, being able to sort by release date but then google has subscription music and is multi platform so I'm now using that now. iPhoto is also better than the mess that is Google plus but again Google plus is multi platform so I don't know seems to me the google model is better at this time.
And to think I have never had a gmail account, or google account.
Wonder why. I do have 2 nest's however, time to Craigslist perhaps.
Wonder why. I do have 2 nest's however, time to Craigslist perhaps.
What really annoys me is how Apple came out with the bigger iPhone first and THEN everyone copied them!..... Oh wait a minute.....
(Truly a huge Apple supporter here....but all these guys copy each other.)
(Truly a huge Apple supporter here....but all these guys copy each other.)
Right...and Apple never shares the data it collects on you with its partners right?
Yes
There is absolutely a practical application for fitness and wearables.
Since using my fitbit for motivation and realtime feedback of my activity, I have lost 30lbs. 6"s off my waistline and have turned my health and life around a complete 180 degrees.
they are not the be-all end-all. But they are absolutely not useless.
I would love to have some sort of real time heart rate monitor in a small electronic device that is both discreet, and complex enough to keep hours worth of realtime heart rate data.
the more companies focus on the health side of things, the better we all are.
This sort of attitude reminds me of this:
http://imgur.com/gallery/qRCAzsk
edit: ack, that image was too long for inline. Sorry folks!
For real! Apple not only tried to copy it but did an inferior job at it. Guess we'll find out if they fix it up in ios 8. The way Android handles notification is top notch. Clean, simple, actionable and efficient. In my mind a good notification drop down is the most important feature of a mobile os. Get me in and out quickly and keep me organized.
Hell no. I don't trust Google further than I can throw 'em.
Google went from "Don't be Evil" to Big Brother extraordinaire.