What you need to know
- Developers using Google Fit APIs need to switch to Health Connect by June 30, 2025.
- Google has ceased accepting new sign-ups for Google Fit API access, urging developers to transition to Health Connect.
- The deprecation has caused concern among developers, particularly because there's no direct replacement for the Goals API, which is used for setting daily activity targets.
Apps that track your fitness with Google Fit will need an upgrade by next summer, as Google is moving to a new system called Health Connect.
Google effectively began phasing out Fit's developer APIs with the launch of Health Connect in 2022. Google Fit used to be the primary health platform until the company started transitioning to Health Connect, also referred to as the Android Health platform.
Google announced in a blog post that it is giving developers until June 30, 2025, to switch over to Health Connect (via 9to5Google). The Google Fit APIs, including the REST API, will be available until that date, "giving developers ample time to migrate to Android Health."
This means that Google is no longer accepting new sign-ups for API access. Fitness and workout apps that used to rely on Google Fit now need to switch to Health Connect before the deadline.
Google's move to phase out the Fit APIs has sparked concerns among developers. Although Google has provided a transition guide, it hasn't introduced a substitute for the Goals API, which lets users set daily goals for steps and heart points.
Google I/O is just around the corner (it starts May 14), and health is a hot topic. With the company phasing out Google Fit APIs in favor of Health Connect, we can definitely expect to hear more about how it envisions the future of health and fitness within its ecosystem of devices and apps.
That said, it's unclear what's next for the Google Fit app itself on Android, Wear OS, and iOS. For now, the apps seem to keep working as activity trackers and data holders on those platforms.
Interestingly, the Google Fit app hasn't seen any significant updates lately. The last big update was just adding Health Connect support back in 2022. This adds to the mystery surrounding the app's future.
With Google Fit APIs going away and the Fitbit app being the default health app on Google's Pixel Watch, it certainly looks like Google sees Fitbit as its main player for health tracking. A single, unified system through Fitbit would definitely simplify things for the tech giant.
