Apple's HealthKit Stumbles Out of the GateApple's HealthKit Stumbles Out of the Gate

Apple's health-tracking app, known as HealthKit, has finally made its debut after months of hype--but it's been a pretty rocky start.

After its release was delayed from the initial rollout of iOS8, the app was bundled into the ill-fated iOS 8.0.1 software update, which included software glitches for touch ID, the Safari Web browser, and even the keyboard and the phone's ability to access cellular reception. The new iOS 8.0.2 update should fix those problems, Apple says, while enabling consumers to access the health-related features the company has extolled since this summer. According to Forbes, however, the iOS 8.0.2 update was said to have erased HealthKit-related data some users had managed to collect with the health app under iOS 8.0.1.

Still, the delayed software launch held back several HealthKit related app releases and upgrades. A number of app developers were miffed when, on the morning of iOS8's release, HealthKit-enabled apps were pulled from the App Store.

The debut of HealthKit also left some women wondering why software billed as a comprehensive health tracker would neglect to include a menstrual cycle tracker. "Apple undoubtedly spoke to a number of physicians when it created its app -- the company has boasted of its partnership with the Mayo Clinic, for instance -- and it still failed to include what is arguably one of the most basic metrics of human existence," reads an article in the Verge.

One of the main potential strengths from HealthKit is its ability to harmonize health data from disparate sources--including from newer Apple gadgets like the iPhone 6, which boasts the M8 motion coprocessor. That coprocessor enables the phone to track a person's movement and activity level--measured in steps as well as actual distance, beaming the data back to HealthKit.  

It remains to be seen if developers retain their enthusiasm for coding for Apple following the botched HealthKit rollout. Google has a similar platform known as Google Fit, which grants software developers access to health data, while Apple retains sole control over that data.

In any event, things haven't been going too well for Apple lately. After months of hype about the company's new iPhones, HealthKit app, and iWatch, a growing number of spectators are beginning to grow cynical. It doesn't help that a YouTube video purportedly showing how easy it is to bend the new iPhone 6 Plus is receiving tens of millions of views. Yesterday, press announcements proclaimed that the company's stock had lost $23 billion in value since the iPhone 6 debut.

A few weeks before that, Apple's iCloud suffered a security breach, casting doubts on the security of the HealthKit health-tracking platform. Apple hoped to allay consumers' concerns by clarifying that it has banned HealthKit apps from using the iCloud.

Brian Buntz is the editor-in-chief of MPMN and Qmed. Follow him on Twitter at @brian_buntz.

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