Google Fit allows you to measure breathing and heart rate with the smartphone app

Google comes with new improvements for Google Fit. The application can measure your breathing and heart rate using the cameras on a smartphone.

Google Fit with breathing and heart rate measurement

Two new features are coming to the Google Fit app. With the new version of the application, users will be able to measure heart rate. In addition, it must also be possible to start the heart rate measurement. Surprisingly, all of this is not done via sensors, but via the camera that can be found on the front and back of the Android device.

To use the functionality you need to portray yourself in a certain way. This includes the top half of your upper body and your face. Chest movements are looked at to measure breathing. It can be useful to lean the phone against something or to rest it in for more stability.

Measuring the heart rate is also done via the cameras. By placing your finger on the camera at the back of your device, a heart rate measurement can be started. According to Google, small color differences in the finger can be used to determine the heart rate.

The measurements are purely for tracking your own well-being and health, and not for medical diagnoses, according to Google. You can choose to save the data in your Google Fit app. First of all, the functionality is available for Pixel devices. Later, other Android devices will be next, but it is not known when this is about to happen.