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.

[LeSash]

Honestly - I can't see what's happening here.

Fitbit releases a brand new tracker (Charge 2) and I bought it, because it is advertised as "compatible with iPhone". Sorry but no, it is not. If someone releases a gadget that says it's compatible, then I expect that it supports all features that have been around for a few years. I don't expect it to support all features that came with iOS10, but honestly - HealthKit and app notifications have been around for years?!

[cTan]

It's not a duplicate, as I am requesting it for iOS10.

And yes, I know about that thread. I posted that I was going to open his one. My hope is we can have one for every version of iOS that comes out until FitBit gets the picture. He iOS thread already has 3000+ votes. Now imagine if there was a second request that had as many as well!

[ozmian]

Bought a charge 2 yesterday, will be returning it today.. lack of health greatly reduces usefulness because you can use Streaks and other apps to do automation based on steps but without Apple Health it's completely useless.. under consideration for over 2 years clearly shows no intention.

should have used Google to check first, just made an assumption that the one of the pioneers in health tracking would integrate with .. Apple Health? absolutely disgraceful.

[HumblePie]

I have been with FitBit since mid-2011 and have owned several of their trackers and the Aria scale. Unfortunately, I've recently updated to the Nike+ version of the Apple Watch as I wanted more of a smartwatch with apps linked to my phone. As part of that purchase I stumbled on this thread and am more than a little surprised. I really expected that the fitness tracker leader would have better 3rd party support. I get that there are likely strong business reasons for not doing so but do they dramatically outweigh any financial upswing you may recoup from app sales or a sync subscription service? How about customer loyalty and brand support? This thread, alone, has more than 3500 comments, not to mention the several other Apple Watch threads floating around. I would think that would indicate folks are pretty passionate about this feature request. Heck, from what I recall there have been plenty of other feature requests that have rolled out with fewer votes.

At this point I'll be sitting on the sidelines until I can hear an official comment on this feature or find another service (paid or otherwise) that does a good job of integrating with the iOS Health APIs. I'll be honest, I'm a bit sad at this thought as I had considered myself a big FitBit advocate. Hopefully folks are listening and I won't be putting my trackers/scale up for sale.

[luurrch]

Come on fitbit.  I bought a change 2, best in class.  I can't use it with Apple's premier health app?  I really like the hardware, but the app choices you guys are locking me into are "meh".  The moment I get a viable option I will bail on you if you don't make this right.  I feel about as loyal as you guys are open.  

[PKDaba]

@cTan, new iOS users who purchased a Fitbit recently may land on this thread not realizing that the same request (for Apple iOS HealthKit Integration regardless of iOS version #) has been around for 2+ years (since iOS 8).

You can count on folks only reading the headline and not the details. This new request essentially helps Fitbit give new unsuspecting users a sense of false hope like it's been doing for the last 2+ years with the original thread. I'm sure Fitbit will be thanking you for this as it has no intention of integrating with anyone as shown by its recent withdrawal of Microsoft Health Vault support.

It'll be interesting to see what the moderators will do with your thread. My guess is that they'll leave its status as 'New Suggestion' or 'Under Consideration' for who knows how long, to keep duping its unsuspecting iOS clients.

[Rich_Laue]

@cTan you do realize that Fitbit can not send data to your ios10 device, it will be going to the apple server? 

[Rich_Laue]

Fitbits data does not need to be shown in the iOS or androids ecosystem, since it shows just fine in Fitbits ecosystem. 

Now if all the data does reside in the phone, how will Fitbit know when to send it without a request. 

[joedet]

Health kit integration please

[Sherri0]

I will replace my fitbit with a brand that integrates with Apple HealthKit.

Fitbit ignores its customer base.

[helorc]

Really looking forward that someday FitBit will develop this integration with Apple Health...

[PeachyH]

Forgive me if this has already been mentioned, I haven't trawled through all the comments. But My Fitness Pal syncs with Apple health and FitBit. So all my steps, flights climbed and distance pull from FitBit to Health app that way.

[PKDaba]

@PeachyH, yes your topic has been commented on ad nausem in the original thread for the last 2+ years. Yes, iOS is at version 10 now. The request for integration started at version 8.

You'll need to check how complete the data is going from MyFitnessPal to Apple HealthKit. I'm guessing that it'll only transfer a daily (i.e. totals) summary of Fitbit's data and not the complete set that tells you your whole fitness picture (e.g. average heart rate vs. time point heart rate to show when your rate is peaking at various points of your workout). Not only that, you probably have to manually sync your MFP data back to HealthKit on a daily basis, a huge inconvenience.

There are third party apps (at extra cost) that will try to transfer Fitbit's data back to Apple HealthKit (which you have to run manually). They have all failed miserably because the quantity and quality of the data is ultimately controlled by Fitbit. Even the Fitbit App running in your iPhone will selectively determine where your fitness data goes (e.g. the Fitbit App is able to read data from HealthKit and send it to Fitbit. It won't however, write data collected by Fitbit trackers to HealthKit against iOS users expectations). The irony here is that Fitbit can only sync its data with its servers only when its app is running on your iPhone (i.e. no iPhone [or intermediary device with internet connectivity] = no data for Fitbit). It's very sad that Fitbit continues to dupe and inconvenience its iOS users on so many different levels.

So, the bottomline, as evidenced by the last 2+ years of iOS users begging and pleading for this feature, is that Fitbit will not listen to you and respect your needs. You can anticipate the begging and pleading to continue on for the years to come.

[SleepyMommy]

This, please.

[sekanitembo]

Now, please. Thinking about switching to a different tracker without this.

[bidbod]

Please make compatible with the iOS health app!

[Krahnin]

153 pages of complaints, just in this post. Several other posts with numerous pages of complaints. Moderators posting on each page encouraging a vote for this idea (from two complete versions of iOS prior). Honestly, Fitbit, this is insulting. I had a charge HR; I loved it. However, it died numerous times and needed warranty replacement multiple times within a year. I then got a Blaze; also enjoyed it. It too, has already been replaced once due to a defective heart rate monitor.

To recap, you ignore a cacophony of customer complaints and pleas for full iOS and HealthKit integration; worse than that, leading people on literally for years by referring them to this idea that has been "under consideration" for far too long. Anything that has been requested this vehemently and has not been delivered for years is not "under consideration", telling people otherwise is unacceptable. You are falling behind competitors who easily offer this feature right out of the box (yes, this means you can't rely on the hefty price tag of an Apple Watch solely to keep customers), and I seem to have no end of hardware issues, which just lead to infuriating "customer support" interactions (when the heart rate monitor died on my Blaze, it was demanded I send it back immediately when a replacement would not be shipped for over 2 weeks; clearly I didn't need it for time, alarms, notifications, or anything else).

Team Fitbit, I, and many other loyal customers, have tried to give you the benefit of the doubt. But those two weeks where I was forced to go without a tracker, I was forced to look elsewhere. You are literally driving your customers away. The hundreds of online complaints are just a fraction of the ones who care enough to let you know that enough is enough. Make the change, or keep driving off customers. The further you fall behind, the more you exacerbate the issue. End of rant. I wanted to share my thoughts before you lose more customers. I, however, am moving on.

[jonastruggvi]

ok - this means Im selling my Aria and Fitbit HR

[scatteredthings]

Just tweeted FitBit to ask whether third party notification support would come to Alta like it just has to Blaze. They tweeted back that they don't know and pointed me to a forum thread (started in 2014) asking for notification functionality. I asked them 'surely you have a product road map - you must know what the engineers are working on for Alta'. They responded again they just don't know. Honestly, this company is a joke and I'm putting my Alta in a drawer and walking away...

[Daveyboyeee]

I agree, I had a withings pulse but dropped it down the toilet, thought I'd get a Fitbit instead, had I know it didn't integrate with the health app (like the withings did) I'd have never bought it.

[SunsetRunner]

I just recently bought a Fitbit product, and as it said it integrates with the Apple iOS I assumed it would support HealthKit like literally all others.

I'm extremely, extremely disappointed.

[Tinkertots]

I'm disappointed this still has not need added. I will be leaving the FitBit community with my next tracker. It's a real shame you aren't willing to provide even dumb data-dump integration.

[SunsetRunner]

I just want HealthKit integration. How hard can it be? Every. Other. Product. Has. It.

So annoyed about this, you can not believe it. 😞

[Thespone]

As one of your competitors says ........... Just Do It ................

[SunsetRunner]

It's clear they've invested in partnerships that are valuable to them us and kept access on a short leash so they could sell out to app manufacturers. 'We'll make our product work with your fitness app seamlessly for a sizeable kickback.' Along that line.

I wish I never bought this. Not only am I disappointed with it, now its business model even completely revolts me.