Cardiogram for Android Pie
A lot has changed since we launched Cardiogram for Android Wear last year:
- Android Wear has been renamed to Wear OS by Google, reflecting that Wear OS watches can be paired with both iPhones and Androids.
- New watches with heart rate sensors have been announced or launched, including the Misfit Vapor; a new line of Fossil watches with heart rate sensors; Ticwatch S, E, and Pro; Emporio Armani Connected, and more.
- Wear OS 2.10 and the upcoming Wear OS 3.0 introduce new restrictions on background processing, such as measuring heart rate. Android Pie (9.0), the foundation of Wear OS 3.0, launched today.
This last one presents a problem, since it means Cardiogram users on Wear 2.10 and 3.0 will see much less consistent heart rate data.
We’ve now re-written the Cardiogram Wear OS app to measure your heart rate once every 5 minutes — or at an interval you set — in a way that works with all current Android versions (Android 7.1.1, 8.x, and 9.0, which correspond to Wear OS 2.x and 3.x.), using the newer Android APIs when available.
We’d love your feedback! You can download Cardiogram 2.0.0 for WearOS from the Play Store here: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.cardiogram.v1
FAQ
What watches will Cardiogram 2.0 work with?
It’s compatible with any watch with a heart rate sensor running WearOS 2.0 or higher. So far, we’ve tested it on Huawei Watch 1, Huawei Watch 2, Ticwatch S&E, LG Watch Sport, New Balance RunIQ, Moto 360 Sport, and Polar M600, running Android OS versions 7.1.1, 8.0, 8.1, and 9.0.
Where do I download Cardiogram 2.0?
At this link: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.cardiogram.v1
What took you so darn long?
Initially, we thought complying with the new background task limitations would be easy — just set up a JobScheduler to turn the heart rate sensor on every 5 minutes, as the Android developer docs recommend. Unfortunately, in testing, that didn’t work across all devices — so we ended up re-writing much of our native Wear OS app.
Does Cardiogram work if my watch is paired with an iPhones?
Partially. You can use the app on the watch itself to view your heart rate. However, it will not sync data to your iPhone — that’s work left for a future release.
What type of feedback are you most looking for?
The most important thing to report back is whether, on the Cardiogram phone app, you see consistent background heart rate readings — at least one every 5 minutes. Beyond that, we’d love to hear about any crashes, bugs, or anything else that was confusing.
