Google Fit gets all-white redesign, new activity rings [Update]
Enlarge / The new Google Fit. (credit: Google)
Google is revamping its fitness tracking app, Google Fit. It's getting an all-white redesign in line with Google's new Material Design guidelines and new metrics for fitness tracking based on guidelines from the American Heart Association (AHA) and the World Health Organization (WHO).
The main new display is a set of circles that fill in as you reach your goal. Before, Google Fit would only track a single "active" goal, which broke down to doing any kind of movement for a certain number of minutes a day. The new design features two circles that track "Move Minutes"" and "Heart Points." Move Minutes are just the old step counter over time, but now separated Heart Points are earned for more vigorous workouts, as detected by accelerometers, speed, manual logging, and the heart-rate monitor of a Wear OS smart watch. Third-party app integrations will be able to log Heart Points, too. The ring system looks a lot like Apple's activity tracking, but in addition to tracking normal movement and more vigorous workouts, Apple has a third ring that tracks standing.Any minute of moderate activity above normal walking speed will earn a Heart Point, and Google says you'll get double points for "more intense activities like running or kickboxing." Before, Google Fit let you set any goal threshold for your activity, but with the redesign it is now more guided and is based on the US government's physical activity guidelines. The basic guidelines call for 150 minutes of moderate activity a week (more than just walking), and the new Google Fit will explain these guidelines and push users to meet them.
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