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Health App Questions

S

soamz

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jun 20, 2010
705
8
Orissa, India
Hi, I still using a iPhone 5 and I did not buy the 5S, as I wanted to wait for the bigger screen and now there is 2 nice options.
Im thinking to go for iPhone 6+, but I dont find any definitive guide, how actually the HEALTH app works or wht do we need to know about it.


How will it track the steps or sleep activity when the phone is away from you ?
 
I was reading this,
https://bgr.com/2014/09/29/ios-8-healthkit-apps-for-health/

So what does that mean ?

Earlier the health app on App Store used to depend on the m7 processor ?
And now the health app itself is a processor something, which tracks ?
Isn't the m7 processor no more in 6,6+ ?



Then I read this,
http://blog.laptopmag.com/ios-8-health-caffeine

It says this,
"iOS owners will no longer have to depend on a third-party device, such as fitness trackers made by Fitbit or Jawbone, to monitor their steps taken."

How does that work ?
How will the health app take your body readings, when you are not holding the phone at all ?
Like white sleeping or which doing something without the phone ?

How does it track and record ?
 
I'm with you. Right now my Fitbit and Endomondo app record things in unison. But I've no idea why HealthKit is recording different measures.
 
soamz said:
Hi, I still using a iPhone 5 and I did not buy the 5S, as I wanted to wait for the bigger screen and now there is 2 nice options.
Im thinking to go for iPhone 6+, but I dont find any definitive guide, how actually the HEALTH app works or wht do we need to know about it.


How will it track the steps or sleep activity when the phone is away from you ?
Click to expand...

In both the iPhone 6 and 6+, their is a motion co-processor called the M8. This is the successor to the M7 which was in the 5s.

This chip records motion data, such as steps taken, flights of stairs climbed, etc.

The Health app is a portal for viewing information. There are many dashboards you can enable that will show you information on specific areas of your health, such as steps taken, flights climbed, calories eaten etc.

Some of these dashboards, such as Steps, Distance, Flights Climbed, do not require any outside data from 3rd party apps/devices as the M8 chip logs this data. Other bits of data, such as calories eaten, food nutritional info, sleep analysis, etc., can be pulled into the Health app from 3rd party apps once they are updated to integrate this data.

For the other user posting about differences between FitBit and Health, are you using a FitBit band, or solely the app drawing on data from your phone?
 
I would say the M8 is pretty close. My fitbit says 2,275 steps and Health App on my 6+ shows 2,305. Just waiting for Fitbit to update their app to source data to the Health App.
 
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Biggest question, how is it going to track your sleep ?

NO one sleeps holding an iPhone. I keep by the side of my pillow.

How does it track my sleep now ?

Do I need to buy an external device and keep it attached to me 24x7 to feed sync data to health app on the iPhone ?
 
soamz said:
Biggest question, how is it going to track your sleep ?

NO one sleeps holding an iPhone. I keep by the side of my pillow.

How does it track my sleep now ?

Do I need to buy an external device and keep it attached to me 24x7 to feed sync data to health app on the iPhone ?
Click to expand...

Are trolling or what? 3rd party apps(if and once updated) will provide that data to the Health App.
 
soamz said:
Which app tracks the sleep ?
How does it take the sleep data ?

I want to understand the technology.
Click to expand...

MotionX 24/7. Just bought it last night (99 cents) and stuck the phone under my pillow and it tracked my sleep rather impressively.
 
budselectjr said:
I would say the M8 is pretty close. My fitbit says 2,275 steps and Health App on my 6+ shows 2,305. Just waiting for Fitbit to update their app to source data to the Health App.
Click to expand...

I wore both my 6 and the FitBit for a couple of days the the steps taken were very close.

I have not ridden my bike lately but does the M8 know I am riding my bike? I do not see how.

----------
soamz said:
Biggest question, how is it going to track your sleep ?

NO one sleeps holding an iPhone. I keep by the side of my pillow.

How does it track my sleep now ?

Do I need to buy an external device and keep it attached to me 24x7 to feed sync data to health app on the iPhone ?
Click to expand...

You are right but I bet many here have fallen to sleep holding their new phones!:p
 
Okay, the health app is like pulling data from 3rd party apps and showing then!

Well, how does it track the steps and walk or run or whatever ?

I use a iPhone 5 now and I have medicalID setup too, but nothing shoes, no data found.
 
soamz said:
Okay, the health app is like pulling data from 3rd party apps and showing then!

Well, how does it track the steps and walk or run or whatever ?

I use a iPhone 5 now and I have medicalID setup too, but nothing shoes, no data found.
Click to expand...

It tracks steps with the M8 chip built into the iPhone 6 and 6+. This chip accesses data from the accelerometer, gyroscope and barometer to measure how many steps you have taken, calculate how far you have gone and how many flights of stairs you have climbed.

It does not need a 3rd party app for any of those. The phone just needs to be in your pocket while you move around.

The Medical ID information is used to show your Medical info on the lock screen in case of emergency. Swipe to unlock, click emergency, then click Medical ID. This can be used by paramedics in case you lose consciousness or cannot indicate any medical history that is relevant.

For tracking sleep, third party apps, such as Sleep Cycle, rest on your bed next to your pillow. They track how much you move and when you move to give you a good picture of how restful your sleep is (how much time you spend in deep/light sleep stages).
 
But I dont see any steps statistics or anything on the health app.
It says, no data found.

Im on iOS for 2 weeks now already and no tracking I see.
 
The M8 chip is a Motion Processor.

The new M8 chip can distinguish between sports such as cycling and running. It also can calculate distance and elevation using an onboard barometer to measure air pressure changes.
 
soamz said:
But I dont see any steps statistics or anything on the health app.
It says, no data found.

Im on iOS for 2 weeks now already and no tracking I see.
Click to expand...

Are you reading these posts? People specifically state motion coprocessor M8 that tracks steps is iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. You have an iPhone 5.
 
soamz said:
But I dont see any steps statistics or anything on the health app.
It says, no data found.

Im on iOS for 2 weeks now already and no tracking I see.
Click to expand...

I did not see any data at first either. I then went into the steps chart and the add data and entered one step maually. After that all my data showed up from the day I bought it but it was all on that day. Just erase and it will be fine after that!

You must have a 6 or 6 Plus to do this. If not you will need another device that sends data to you 5 or 5S.
 
Newtons Apple said:
I wore both my 6 and the FitBit for a couple of days the the steps taken were very close.

I have not ridden my bike lately but does the M8 know I am riding my bike? I do not see how.
Click to expand...

I wonder if it uses GPS in conjunction with the M8 to track speed (walking v's cycling pace) and lack of "jolting" that the M8 would sense if you walked or jogged.
 
SLC Flyfishing said:
I wonder if it uses GPS in conjunction with the M8 to track speed (walking v's cycling pace) and lack of "jolting" that the M8 would sense if you walked or jogged.
Click to expand...

Good Questions.

I will ride the bike in about and hours and anxious to see if it will record that?

Wonder how it know I am on the bike and it HAS to use the GPS to tell distance and speed.
 
Biking vs driving? How would it know?

Is there a list somewhere of apps that work with health? Or is it something where you have to check each app you might be interested in?
 
Sparkeze said:
Biking vs driving? How would it know?

Is there a list somewhere of apps that work with health? Or is it something where you have to check each app you might be interested in?
Click to expand...

There is a dedicated section for it on the front page of the app store.
 
Also as a side note, I found it interesting that a treadmill run this past weekend was recorded fairly accurately as well. I run almost every day (outdoors) and it's been pretty accurate on climb and distance.

Curious as to whether my road bike mounted on the trainer would get recognized vs cycling outside.
 
Newtons Apple said:
Good Questions.

I will ride the bike in about and hours and anxious to see if it will record that?

Wonder how it know I am on the bike and it HAS to use the GPS to tell distance and speed.
Click to expand...

My guess is that it takes your speed and the lack of walking feedback in the M8, and assumes you are cycling. If you drive in the car it can probably know you aren't cycling because your speed is too high.

It also doesnt give you stair climbing credit if you go up the elevator or escalator because it can sense a pressure difference, but no walking input.

Most of these things probably require the input of two or more sensors, which is pretty cool when you think about it. Clever stuff!
 
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