Two months ago, MobiHealthNews looked at the fitness apps that Apple recommends to consumers in its app store, pointing out that, at the time, standalone fitness apps were doing better than the apps for connected devices like Fitbit and Jawbone UP.
It's important to remember, however, that iOS isn't the only game in town. In the world of fitness apps and devices in particular, we've recently seen Jawbone and Fitbit announce Android support for their devices. Most recently, Basis Science launched the first app for their device on Android, although the company does intend to follow up with iOS support.
As a follow-up to our look at Apple's list of iPhone fitness apps, we're presenting Google's top 20 paid health and fitness apps for Android, as the company lists them on the Google Play store.
Unlike the iPhone list, this is a list of paid apps only, as Google lists paid and free apps separately. This de facto eliminates most of the companion apps for devices like Fitbit or Nike+, which are usually free to download. Google also has a separate category for medical apps, which includes most provider-focused offerings.
Read on for Google's top 20 health and fitness apps, including quite a few names familiar to MobiHealthNews readers. And don't forget to take a listen to our recent podcast on fitness apps and devices.
20. GymRat -- $2.50
GymRat is a workout tracker app from GYMR. The app allows users to track and log their exercises, routines and body metrics such as BMI, weight, body fat, pulse, blood pressure, and blood glucose. It also includes instructions for more than 500 weightlifting and cardio exercises and 17 workout routines. The app also includes a suite of "gym tools" -- a stopwatch, countdown timer, repetition calculator, BMI calculator and tools for calculating barbell plates. MORE
19. MapMyRide+ -- $0.99
Interestingly, MapMyFitness's cycling app, not its popular running app MapMyRun, is the only one to make Google's top 20 paid apps. MapMyRide "turns your phone into the ultimate cycling computer," according to the app's description in the Google Play store. With it, users can map their cycling route, track it with GPS, and track their speed, distance, calories burned and elevation. The app also includes nutrition and weight tracking, as well as a social component, ranking users on leaderboards when they bike popular routes. The app runs in the background of the user's phone.
MapMyFitness raised $9 million from Austin Ventures last year, and has partnerships with Aetna CarePass and NetPulseOne. MORE
18. WomanLog Pro -- $2.99
WomanLogPro is a tool from developer Pro Active App to help women track their menstrual cycle. Women can track menstruation, moods, weight and symptoms. The app also provides a three-month summary and an ovulation and fertility forecast. Users can track adherence to different birth control methods and set reminders on the app's calendar to take pills or even to do breast cancer self-examinations. MORE
17. Period Tracker Pro (Pink Pad) -- $1.99
Pink Pad is another period tracker with similar functionality to WomanLog. In addition, the app from Alt12 Apps includes a social component designed to connect women who are trying to conceive with one another via an online community. The app also totes its custom discreet reminders. It tracks temperature in addition to mood, weight, and menstruation. MORE
16. SleepStats -- $1.49
This app is an add-on to Sleep as Android, an app that bills itself as a smart alarm clock. Sleep as Android tracks sleep cycles and promises to wake the user more gently in the morning by waking them at the optimal time in a sleep cycle. The paid add-on includes more statistics than the free app, showing the user's "sleep length, debt, wake-up and fall asleep hours, smart early wake-ups and ratings in week, 14-days, month, quarter, half year and yearly view." MORE
