Integrate with iOS Health

[so-rich]

Hi there,

I'm really excited about Apple's announcement of the Health App in iOS 8 to be release this fall.  I'm looking forward to seeing a product announcement by Fitbit for a successor to the recalled Fitbit Force, and I'm really hoping to hear some exciting news about Fitbits intigration with Apple's new Health App to be released alongside iOS 8 this fall.  

This is a huge oportunity to make your devices even smarter and more integrated - Please support these APIs!  Thanks!

Moderator edit: updated subject for clarity and labels.

[gilliam1987]

I would LOVE to have my Fitbit sync with Apple's Health App. 

[DocDave]

I am another vote for integration with the Healthkit in IOS8. I also use other devices to track fitness information I can't get from fitbit, like blood pressure, O2 levels, and more. But I love my fitbit flex and aria devices and use the information they provide. I'd love to be able to have all that information in one place, like HealthKit would provide, but fitbit has to integrate its data for that to happen.

I know it's a competing service to what you would like to provide, but it's a "here and now" opportunity, and as another commenter said, being able to take advantage of that and innovate in other ways is the mark of a champion business, not making alll your customers wait for a similar app sometime down the road that may or may not have the same reach that HealthKit already has.

Please work the HealthKit API into your current schema and let us start using it today, to keep fitbit a major player in the fitness tracking device game. Otherwise, your many loyal customers will be forced to start looking for alternatives. Your silence on the issue has been deafening!

[Trinmar]

Hello Fitbit, it's disheartening to hear that Fitbit has chosen not to support iOS 8 HealthKit integration.  As a consumer I want a product that will evolve with technology.

I feel like I invested in Fitbit because it was great health technology but now that technology is a step below other offerings.  I'm a technology person, people ask me for recomendations who are not tech savvy.  I would passionately recommend Fitbit to my friends and new people whom I meet, unfortunaltey it's difficult to make the case for Fitbit.  The first question people have been asking me now is "can I see my activity on Apple Healthkit"?    

Fitbit strives to make our lives healthier.  If I had the ability to integrat to Healthkit then I would have visibility across all my activities, in one place.  Of course I would still use the Fitbit app.  That's where I keep track of other Fitbit users and will always be my go to for steps, however, when reveiwing total activitiy for a given period of time, the Healthkit app seems the application of choice.

Thanks for listening,

-Marcos

[LydonZA]

One of my mates is so angry by your decision that he bought a Withings fitness band and scale, as well as exported and deleted all of his historical FitBit data. I'm also investigating other options. Ignoring the fact that FitBit can write data to Healthkit...it can read data too. There's so much potential for using that data to your own benefit, but you need an outcry from customers to alert you to that? Silly.

[Markmcd]

Hey @Allison, does Fitbit not integrating with HealthKit have something to do with Fitbit charging 49.99/year premium app for us to export our data? I would really like to know if Fitbit believe that they own my steps or if they are really mine? I feel i have worked for them not you, but if you believe all the steps you are collecting are yours I'm sure you will shrink away to nothing And go away!

[dkommer]

There are billions of IOS users and I am one.  Any decision not to integrate with IOS will cause me to find a replacement for Fitbit, which would be a shame as I like your product.  As a senior citizen who has been tech savvy for decades, I see the future of technology heading toward more and more integration.  This is an opportunity to be on the cutting edge of this movement.  I will be patient for a short time, then will need to re-think my commitment to your organization.  Don't be watchful for too long.  I think you need to get busy.

[gutsma]

As Fitbit no longer has any plans to integrate with HealthKit, I no longer have any plans to maintain my relationship with fitbit.  I prefer working with a company that maintains cutting edge technology and an honest relationship with customers.  

For days, fitbit sent people to this thread for discussion and voting, assuring us they cared what we had to say.  This was a fabrication.  There is NO EVIDENCE powers that be gave a fig about what their customers felt or believed.  This was a delay tactic, nothing more.  From the get go it smacked of dishonesty.

I'll continue using my flex until it dies (it will) or the apple watch becomes available.  At least apple is upfront regarding its proprietory techniques.  

Oh, I've also recommended my last future customer.  I can no longer recommend this company, which seems to relish the dishonest treatment of loyal customers.

[andrewmaj]

No health integration is so many potential lost customers.  No support makes it an easy decision to use Misfit on my pebble and switch to the apple watch when it comes out.  Misfit feeds into Health.  Its unfortunate to see this decision that has been made.  

[dukiebluedoc]

I live in an all-Apple household and I would love to have my FitBit data integrated into the Healthkit.

[WobmlingFree]

I reviewed my requirements and thought I would pass them on to you folks at Fitbit. What you decide to do with it is up to you but I am sure I am not alone in my requirements.

I use an app to track my nutrition that caters to my specific requirements. The rollup in terms of calories and nutrient breakdown is important to ensuring my health. That app is working on supporting Healthkit.

I use Withings blood pressure and scales which both have Healthkit support.

I use a combination of Mio Alpha for heartbeat and a footpod to track my indoor treadmill activity. I may replace this combo at some time but it works very well indoors for now. I use iCardio from Digifit for this and they are planning Healthkit support.

I also use Runkeeper which has Healthkit support for outdoor activities.

I use my Fitbit One to track my daily steps and am looking to replace it because I want a more comprehensive view of my activity and sleep and it isn't as reliable as it used to be. The deciding factor on what I buy - be it Apple watch, Basis, jawbone, fitbit or other will be down to form, function, battery life, ergonomics, lifestyle fit and HealthKit support. I want my data in one place to spot trends and share with my health professionals. As new instrumentation and applications come to market, I will pick and choose according to my needs. One company has no chance of meeting all of those so the centralised repository is essential.

My advice to you at Fitbit is to make the best devices you can and the best apps you can and the market will decide. If you want to not share your data with what will be come MY defacto standard for health data then I won't choose you. Others may choose differently.

Frankly I hope you decide to play nice with others and share data with HealthKit. I hope you will also incorporate data from other apps/devices (via Healthkit) into your app and Web service. If you build the best mobile app and web app for managing my health data (sourced from a Healthkit repository), I will likely continue to subscribe to a SaaS model. 

With many devices and applications coming to market, it is going to be a very interesting few months. Realistically, in a month I will be Christmas shopping so you have until then to decide your market strategy and deliver a HealthKit enabled app.

[SunsetRunner]

It's extremely aggoying having a wireless scale from fitbit that won't populate HealthKit, it rather defeats the object of having a wireless set of scales when you still have to manually enter your weight into apps.

[markjc]

This is a bad move for FitBit. It appears to me that since they've fallen behind the hardware market, they are resorting to collecting user data for revenue, thereby preventing them from integrating with Apple's Health app, which requires health data to remain private. I had recently stopped using my Force and was deciding how to proceed, but now I certainly won't be using it again. Why would I when there are products that not only integrate with Apple Health but also are superior/newer?

[fojoely]

I love my fitbit and I really hope it will link to apple healthkit sometime soon. Though as much as I love fitbit, I am more tied into the apple ecosystem so I will unfortunatly have to make a switch if that doesn't happen.

[nutmac]

Perhaps Fitbit sees HealthKit as a competitor to premium subscription, but I do not.

HealthKit is really about empowering users to (1) own their health data and (2) integration possibilities with third party applications to enhance healthy lifestyle.

Fitbit hestitant to embrace HealthKit demonstrates that (1) it wants to control customer's data and (2) it's not a cutting edge company that is interested in exploiting latest trends (heck, Fitbit app doesn't even support iPhone 6 and 6 Plus screen sizes).

[Bob-O]

Integrating with Apple's Healthkit is something Fitbit needs to do. Given the sheer number of Apple mobile and fixed devices out there, you will start losing even more market share to whichever fitness bracelet manu does so. Nearly overnight. The only thing to consider is how fast can you bring a viable, non-buggy interface to market.

Sorry to have to say this, but it really is a no-brainer.

Bob Schultze

[ValoryM]

Good for you Fitbit. At first I was a little upset but realizing I need 10 or more apps to integrate with is and not all app shre equally. This takes up a lot of real estate on my phone. Honestly MyFitnessPal gather the information from FitBit. They could easily send it to Apple Health

Fitbit has almost all the information I need, and it would be glorious for Fitbit to become in and of itself what Apple Health is offering. I would love to see some of those features integrated with this App.

Let's start with a medical card. 

Improve on challenges
Incorporate Heart Rate monitors and blood pressure.
FitBit has long been the leader in this type of technology even outlasting Nike FuelBand. I've had a fuelband and nothing but problems. I will say I love the concept of FUEL. FitBit could incorporate a similar gauge called Energy.
Final note. Good for you FitBit.

[tox1415]

Still no sign of Fitbit integration with IOS 8 Health App. The flex is going onto eBay and I will look for an alternative that does work.

[avierose]

For me it is vital that fitbit integrates with the new iOS health app. I don't see why fitbit are taking the stance that they are. It is not competing with their product, but making it easier for the end user to access their data from multiple sources. If this isn't done soon I will be switching to a different tracker that does allow integration, and not upgrading to a new fitbit tracker when it eventually gets released.

[rick79]

Because of fitbits lack of support for Health Kit I just took another look at withings and they are doing what fitbit should be doing, focusing on the collection of data not what should be done with it. I got their scale years ago when it first came out and love it but never realized they have so many other products now.

Fitbit might have just lost a loyal customer who has been with them since the beginning.

[gumbee]

I think this is really simple:

1) Integrate with HealthKit and satisfy the ask of many of your customers

2) Don't integrate and see how many of your users choose another product that does

I will choose #2.

[CurtGentry]

If there is no intention to integrate with Apple Health, I will return my week old fitbits to Amazon and purchase a brand moving forward instead of being stagnant. 

[YumanBeing]

Boy, SOME of you apple users sure are a whiny lot.  Demanding that a company support a new app on your new phone.  It's interesting that two months ago before any apple users had even heard the word 'healthkit', folks seemed generally happy with the vast number of apps that Fitbit syncs with.  But now there's a new app on your shiny new toy and Fitbit isn't knocking themselves out to support it so you're going to spend another $100+ on a new tracker that does.  That just reinforces the impression that most folks have of apple users:  more cents than sense. 

[ZacB]

@zapleahy 

A lot of the general frustration is over how Fitbit claims to, but doesn't really play well with others. It lets you bring other data in, but for the most part, it's a one-way street.

It's our health data. We bought a device to measure it, and it should belong to us. This is a pretty fundamental issue I have with Fitbit as a company. Fitbit claims ownership of the data and resists attempts to get it out. What's available via IFTTT is a joke, CSV exporting of data from the website should not be a "pro" feture, and blocking system integration with things like HealthKit is simply not going to be viable moving forward.

Vendor lock-in isn't a workable business strategy because:

1. Future data is more important than the past data.

2. Fitbit doesn't currently provide any sort of analytics beyond showing where you fit on a bell curve (and you only get that if you pay an extra $50/year) so you aren't losing any features by jumping to a new platform.

so there is no compelling reason for any of us to stay with the platform if it doesn't offer the features we expect.

This isn't a new issue with Fitbit, it's just a flaw that is becoming more and more glaringly obvious as new platforms emerge. While this is an Apple issue now, it's not going to stay that way, and Fitbit needs to tread carefully if it wants to avoid alienating its entire userbase.

And @zapleahy I thank you for listening, but I don't think you're the right person for us to be having this discussion with. This is a fitbit policy issue and it's a discussion we should be having with James Park or Tim Roberts. Data ownership is Sort Of A Big Deal(TM).

[Anomoly]

I've been with Fitbit since the beginning, an origional beta tester. Their customer service, response times, and solutions to problems have always been on point... until recently. 

Simply handing the step and sleep info to HealthKit would be enough for now.

I would venture to say that iOS users are the most vocal in the market, and upsetting this group for short term gain doesn't make much sense in the long run. 

Ever heard of the word influencers? 

Fitbit I would urge you to reconsider quickly.

Moderator Edit: Changed font color

[BlazeEBlake]

---

@YumanBeing@  wrote:

Boy, SOME of you apple users sure are a whiny lot.  Demanding that a company support a new app on your new phone.  It's interesting that two months ago before any apple users had even heard the word 'healthkit', folks seemed generally happy with the vast number of apps that Fitbit syncs with.  But now there's a new app on your shiny new toy and Fitbit isn't knocking themselves out to support it so you're going to spend another $100+ on a new tracker that does.  That just reinforces the impression that most folks have of apple users:  more cents than sense. 

---

I don't think that it's just the lack of HealthKit integration that has people upset and/or leaving. Integration is a big part of it, but ultimately it's tons of things that have and are piling up daily:

It's the fact that fitbit was a product featured in HealthKit's introduction but is not actually working with HealthKit.It's the fact that fitbit has been an industry leader and now there are no new software innovations to allow it to expand beyond health and calories and into the field of being availble to be reviewed and advised upon by medical professionals. It's the canned answers that are almost entirely unhelpful and insincere. It's the notion that data does not belong to the people creating it but the company providing the platform to view it.

The list goes on, and when compounded upon existing frustration over, say, not having a new device a year after the release of the last model, which was introduced and subsequently recalled after physically harming cutomers, and things like mistakenly released firmware that is inhibiting proper functionality of existing devices (https://community.fitbit.com/t5/Force/Firmware-V66/td-p/541332), you have an understandably upset customer base whose discord has little to do with simply being fans of Apple