Digital Health products like mobile fitness apps played a significant role in the digital transformations of healthcare. According to Statista research, the estimated global digital market is projected to $38 Billion by 2025.
Wearable sales across the world are projected to reach $60 billion by 2025.
As per the Intelligence insider report, Apple has shipped 34.1%, Samsung 9% followed by Fitbit by 2.9% worldwide in 2021. Consumers started using wearable devices as a convenient means to monitor and track their health and seek medical treatment.
This projected growth for wearable devices provides opportunities for wearable app development.
Consumers want mobility and businesses need efficiency.The wearables market is poised to deliver but engineering these apps is not as easy as it may seem.
From different user interfaces to security concerns the challenges arise but can be overcome by understanding the unique perspective and benefit of wearables solutions
Data integrity and privacy
Challenge
A typical fitness app stores data from various sensors that are attached to a person’s wrist or they carry around in their pocket. In addition, a user can manually add data to the app, for example, what he ate at dinner or at a Subway.
Typically, the data is stored in a user’s device in addition to cloud. If an intruder gains access to the device, he will learn enough about the user to target a social engineering attack on him and gain access to even confidential information like his Credit Card Number or the ATM pin.
The intruder can sell the data to a third party who may target him with phishing attacks.
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Takeaway
A single vulnerability in a data warehouse may compromise data of thousands of such users, which is in huge demand on the dark web.
Monetary transactions are done over a blockchain in virtual currency, making the sender and recipient untraceable.
Solution
For easy access to the app data while keeping the data unreadable to an unauthorized user, app developers must start encrypting any data the app generates.
The decryption key can be attached to the app lock code and can only be assessed when the right password is entered.
Hardware Integration
Challenge
Due to lack of common standards, it is hard for a mobile app to gain integration by adding a single line of code in its codebase.
A fitness app must be compatible with as many wearable devices as possible to gain a mass appeal.
The integration with Fitbit and Jawbone is something users expect out of every wellness app development.
Takeaway
There are more than 200 fitness hardware vendors in the market. An app just can’t have integration with every of those.
Solution
Most wearable vendors provide a set of APIs and SDKs to let 3rd party developers integrate their hardware into their apps.
You also develop an app with WatchKit for Apple Watch and Android Wear for smartwatches running Android.
Rapid application development
Challenge
With so many applications in the app stores, every fitness app developer wants to be on the app stores in the shortest duration.
They often must rush the development cycle and end up releasing half-baked fitness apps in the way, which kills the whole purpose. The market is hypercompetitive.
Takeaway
Compuware says that 62% of users have experienced a crash, freeze or error with an app or apps. Another 47% are the victim of slow launch times. 40% said they’ve tried an app that refused to launch.
Solution
The practices of agile development not only simplify mobile app development but also results in faster time to market.
Rather than putting too many features in the first release, in agile, the first release has a singular functionality. Newer functionalities are added with software updates based on feedbacks received.
Application updates
Challenge
With so many features to add, so many bugs and vulnerabilities to fix and meanwhile, working on users’ feedback, it’s easy to get lost as a developer to decide in which direction to steer the fitness mobile application.
In case of fitness apps, the possibilities are endless so are the number of decisions app strategists have to go through that extends the update cycle considerably and app abandonment
Read More: Building Fitness apps for a Better Future
Takeaway
According to a blog post, 87% of Android devices are insecure due to lack of security updates.
Solution
Major developers around the world, including Jawbone, Fitbit, and Google Fit, have a fix update cycle during which the concerned team must update the app no matter what other developers are proposing.
The update could be a single bug fix that blurs backlight, but an update is an update. Those who are using the app must feel like first-class citizens.
Fitness app by peerbits
‘REPD’ is the ultimate app for cross-fit gym communities that empowers gymgoers to socialize within the community.
Meant to solve the persistent dilemma of fitness fanatics, the REPD app for fitness lets them use any gym around them so that no matter where they are, they don’t miss out on their workout regime.
Conclusion
In this article, we saw how the usage of fitness services apps has increased by a big margin. In the coming years, we may see a further increase in the usage of health & fitness mobile apps.
Moreover, we discussed various challenges that you may face while Fitness app development. We also provided you with suitable solutions to overcome those challenges. Along with it we provided you with our own solution “REPD”.
I hope this blog might have provided you with some clarity regarding fitness tracking app development. So, what are you waiting for? Find a suitable mobile development company and discuss the cost of app development.
