Google is trying to turn Health Connect into more than a data pipe. On-device step tracking is being introduced, enabling the app to count the steps using your phone’s sensors and deliver that information to authorized apps in Android.
The change, which has appeared in the latest platform beta, represents a change in strategy: Health Connect is growing up from a passive hub into an active fitness layer on top of Android.
What’s changing in Health Connect step tracking
Open Health Connect and you will see a new banner explaining that your phone will start tracking steps with all connected apps. A “Devices” page provides a ledger of contributors (in your case, your handset is the contributor; it’s granted permission to write step data).
Google notes that the step counts are “originating from the Android platform,” and show up to apps as being generated by the ‘android’ package. This data can be queried by any application with the READ_STEPS permission—there’s no need to integrate multiple vendor APIs or manage the details of device-specific pedometer algorithms.
Under the hood, Android leverages low-power motion sensors and hardware step counters to detect steps with minimal battery draw vs. frequent high-frequency sampling.
The approach is reminiscent of Google’s long-haul Activity Recognition stack; this time, however, it funnels out a clean and well-standardized output into Health Connect.
Why users should care about Android step tracking
Consistency is the headline win. Instead of receiving three different totals from three disparate apps, have your step count come from one, system-level source that all participating apps can read. That means less disparity when you compare a calorie tracker with a fitness app or coaching service.
Battery life should also benefit. Phones that have dedicated step-counter hardware can batch and process movement effectively, without the power drain of DIY solutions consistently waking up the CPU. Even without a smartwatch, your phone is effectively a pedometer you can stick in your pocket and forget.
There is health value in simple step counts. For adults, a minimum of 8,000–10,000 daily steps—based on large cohort studies published in JAMA—has been correlated with reductions in all-cause mortality risk. Full benefits are observed well before that. Having a frictionless, always-on baseline helps make it closer to impossible not to track progress.
Developers and ecosystem implications of step data
For the developers, this simplifies code complexity and edge cases. Apps don’t have to provide fall detection, as they do with their own code and ML models with Core Motion, by connecting to Health Connect using Scala and informed Kotlin (intersecting the lists of steps detected on phone and watch).
Since the data shows up in the Android framework, apps that are already using Health Connect’s permissions model can add step support with a minimal tweak or two.
That’s a win for services such as nutrition trackers, run loggers, and coaching apps that don’t require millisecond-level gait data but do need reliable totals.
“It also builds on top of the consistent baseline the health stack in Android and makes it stronger.” Google can then layer on top of that a graphically rich ecosystem experience from partners and owned brands—think wearables, advanced analytics, etc.—while providing a consistent, system-calculated step count that works for everyone out of the box.
How it stacks up against rivals in step tracking
Apple’s Health app, for its part, has for a while counted steps with the iPhone’s motion coprocessor as a fallback when no watch is being worn. It fills in the sort of baseline we get with Android and closes a gap in parity—which would hopefully lead to less fragmentation that has plagued step totals across third-party apps.
The initiative also ties in with work that is ongoing with ecosystem partners. Health Connect started as a partnership to make it easier to share data between apps and services. Native step tracking just solidifies that backing for platforms like Samsung Health and Strava (as well as others) which already sync through it.
Privacy and control for Health Connect step data
Health Connect is based on explicit, detailed consent. Users select which apps have permission to read steps, and they can rescind access at any time. Data is on-device only by default, and an app has to ask for read access if it wants to see the system’s tallies.
The change is obvious thanks to the new banner and notification, and when you check in on your numbers at the Devices page, there’s an explanation of where those numbers come from. That visibility is important when several wearables and phones are contributing to a single health graph.
The bigger picture for Android’s Health Connect shift
Step counting is a minor feature on the surface, but it’s also a toehold: Health Connect is becoming an ability layer rather than just a pipe. Power-efficient building blocks today could lead to standardized floors climbed, distance, or activity minutes tomorrow.
Most importantly, it brings the barrier for fitness tracking on a daily basis down a notch. Your phone is in your pocket and it counts your steps—once and correctly—with the numbers available to the apps that you have chosen to trust.