iOS 8 Release Date, Features & Download: Healthbook App to Come with 'Emergency Card'?
Apple is rumored to be launching its very own Healthbook app which not only monitors user health and fitness, but also features an alleged Emergency Card.
Mark Gurman of 9to5mac has detailed Apple's Healthbook app from features down to user interface. The app's user interface borrows concept from Apple's Passbook app, with different cards in different colors depending on the feature.
According to Gurman, the Healthbook app will come with activity, weight and nutrition tracking to serve as its fitness features. Activity "tracks steps taken, calories burned, and miles walked," notes Gurman. The weight tracker, on the other hand, concentrates on the user's BMI and body fat percentage. Nutrition tracking allows users to watch what they eat by monitoring food intake, thereby maintaining a diet.
Health-related measurement and tracking will also be offered by the Healthbook app, says Gurman. "Healthbook will be able to store and track heart rate/pulse data in BPM (beats per minute) as well as blood pressure data," he writes.
Blood-tracking functionality might also possibly come with the Healthbook app, Gurman claims. And with the tech giant allegedly hiring Dr. Michael O'Reilly, who specializes in pulse oximeters, oxygen saturation might be on the horizon too.
Gurman says that the Healthbook app can also track blood sugar or glucose levels, positively affecting users who are diabetic. Gurman notes that diabetics turn to blood checkers multiple times in 24 hours, an "unfortunate hassle" that he says might be addressed with Apple's Healthbook app should it come with the aforementioned feature.
The Healthbook app may also come with hydration and respiratory rate measuring; allowing users to keep watch on how much water their body has and addressing fluid needs as well as measuring the number of breaths per minute, writes Gurman.
"Besides tracking fitness and blood-related information, Healthbook will have the ability to track sleep cycles," Gurman adds.
Finally, the Healthbook app is expected to come with an Emergency Card which holds vital information about the iPhone user, including emergency contact information to notify significant others, if ever.
"The Emergency Card will store the customer's name, birthdate, medication information, weight, eye color, blood type, organ donor status, and location. This information is critical for an emergency technician, doctor, or hospital staffer to identify and treat a user if they fall ill or become injured and are unable to speak for themselves," says Gurman.
The 9to5mac contributor says that it is not clear if the app will be requiring third party applications and devices to deliver. It would also be possible that the Healthbook app be sourced from the iPhone itself alone or even the rumored Galaxy Gear competitor, the iWatch.
Release date for the Healthbook app is rumored to be in June at the Worldwide Developers Conference, as Apple is reportedly testing the app with the iOS 8, Gurman adds.