How would you improve the Microsoft Health app?

Albatross2 · Aug 22, 2016

I'm trying your new app, and so far I like it very much. Since the live tile is broken on the MS Health app, this may be an opportunity for your app to provide this functionality. I'd love to be able to see my current step count on a live tile.

Thanks for your effort! Love the graphs!

11B1P · Aug 22, 2016

Kram Sacul said:
It's the look and function of it. I know it's an Android and now Windows 10 thing (since MS lost their minds) but placing icons at the top of the screen is just clunky and annoying. It also makes an app look more like a cheap mobile website then something that is polished and made for touch interaction. Putting the icons at the bottom of the screen in the app bar is much more user friendly.

I wish you good luck on your app though.

Eh, all of the apps have the hamburger menu. It actually needs to stay, so as to have a uniform appearance with the other apps. As far as the icons at the bottom, eh, no, they would cover the info you are looking at.

Kram Sacul · Aug 23, 2016

11B1P said:
Eh, all of the apps have the hamburger menu. It actually needs to stay, so as to have a uniform appearance with the other apps. As far as the icons at the bottom, eh, no, they would cover the info you are looking at.

So because all the other apps are badly designed he should copy that? That's pretty sad. The buttons are for the bottom and the info is at the top. Even MS' clueless designers agree with this most of the time.

11B1P · Aug 23, 2016

Kram Sacul said:
So because all the other apps are badly designed he should copy that?

That's your personal opinion. I don't mind the hamburger menu

RoboLam · Aug 23, 2016

Kram Sacul said:
Putting the icons at the bottom of the screen in the app bar is much more user friendly.

Thanks for your feedback. I have considered this, but the bottom app bar is limited to 4 icons on mobile (any more and it gets crowded) and pop-up menus from the bottom seemed very clunky to me. I will keep this idea in reserve and if more users agree with your sentiment I will very seriously consider changing it.

Albatross2 said:
I'm trying your new app, and so far I like it very much. Since the live tile is broken on the MS Health app, this may be an opportunity for your app to provide this functionality. I'd love to be able to see my current step count on a live tile.

Thanks for your feedback and positive thoughts! It really helps to keep me motivated. I'm new to UWP so I don't currently know how to update live tiles however this is definitely on my list of things to implement. I'm currently sorting my todo list in terms of effort/difficulty to implement vs benefit to users. Your comment just bumped it up a few places on that list :smile:

11B1P said:
Eh, all of the apps have the hamburger menu. It actually needs to stay, so as to have a uniform appearance with the other apps. As far as the icons at the bottom, eh, no, they would cover the info you are looking at.

Thanks for your opinion/feedback as well. I didn't think about other apps that aren't mine but that's a very good point as well! I also agree with your comment about covering info since my app is designed for vertical scrolling.

RoboLam · Aug 23, 2016

Has anyone experience an HTTPS warning when logging into either Microsoft or Fitbit via the app?

Someone left a 1 star review stating this but I've been unable to reproduce and it also seems impossible given my understanding of OAuth2.0 (how i'm getting authorized for these services). I'd like to fix any issues if it's not a troll so I don't get any more bad reviews because of it and if it is a troll...well, not much I can do there, but at least I'll know it's not my fault.

Kram Sacul · Aug 23, 2016

11B1P said:
That's your personal opinion. I don't mind the hamburger menu

Good for you but a many who came to WP because of it's user friendly UI don't agree.

Coxy100 · Aug 26, 2016

it's simple - make it like the fitbit app. I love my Band 2 - but damn is the app awful compared to my wife's fitbit app. Their app is quicker, livelier and I love the social integration it has

uselessrobot · Aug 26, 2016

Social integration would be great; that is, if there were anyone else using the Band. MS added Facebook integration but I couldn't find anyone else using the Band.

The funny thing is that the Health website offers more robust data than the app. I can appreciate the challenges in fitting that much content on a mobile screen, but I think it's doable. They don't need to include it all, but the app misses out on some compelling bits of data.

I also don't understand why the desktop version is a clone of the mobile app instead of integrating everything from the site. It's the ideal platform for expanded functionality. Although, I suppose Microsoft may not want to invest the extra effort at this time.

RoboLam · Aug 27, 2016

Coxy100 said:
it's simple - make it like the fitbit app. I love my Band 2 - but damn is the app awful compared to my wife's fitbit app. Their app is quicker, livelier and I love the social integration it has

Thanks I'll download their app and take a look

uselessrobot said:
Social integration would be great; that is, if there were anyone else using the Band. MS added Facebook integration but I couldn't find anyone else using the Band.

Could you be a little more specific regarding "Social integration"? Do you just want to share screenshots of stat/run data to facebook? Or are you thinking of something deeper like to help you connect with other Band owners in your area?

11B1P · Aug 27, 2016

Kram Sacul said:
Good for you but a many who came to WP because of it's user friendly UI don't agree.

It's still user-friendly. There is a slight learning curve whenever new features are introduced.

RoboLam · Sep 6, 2016

Hey guys,

Just updated the app to include detailed charts of any day in the past 90days (for all data types). As far as I know, not even Microsoft's Health app cannot do that :smile:

https://www.microsoft.com/store/apps/9nblggh4vmkn

As always, please let me know what you think and if you find any bugs. I'll do my best to fix them quickly!

Albatross2 · Sep 6, 2016

I like the new feature. Keep up the good work.

RoboLam · Sep 6, 2016

Albatross2 said:
I like the new feature. Keep up the good work.

Thanks for the feedback! Do you find the navigation intuitive? Or is it unclear that you click on the chart to see specific days? I was struggling to find a happy medium between too many UI elements and not enough.

Albatross2 · Sep 7, 2016

My initial reaction was to try pressing on the date on the axis of the graph. It took me a little trial and error to determine that pressing on the bar in the graph would take me to the daily detail plot. Once it's figured out, it's fine.

anon(9895094) · Sep 8, 2016

I'm not sure if Health has it (maybe I can't find it) but I would like to see the ability to change the cutoff time between different days. It shouldn't be at midnight, period. My day for example ends at 3-4 am

RoboLam · Sep 8, 2016

Albatross2 said:
My initial reaction was to try pressing on the date on the axis of the graph. It took me a little trial and error to determine that pressing on the bar in the graph would take me to the daily detail plot. Once it's figured out, it's fine.

That's helpful to know

Thanks!

ichthyosaurus said:
I'm not sure if Health has it (maybe I can't find it) but I would like to see the ability to change the cutoff time between different days. It shouldn't be at midnight, period. My day for example ends at 3-4 am

Thanks for the suggestion! I have put it on my list of possible future updates to investigate.

RoboLam · Sep 8, 2016

New Update! (build 1.2.3.0)

Features:

fixed Microsoft sync error bug for non-USA users
integrated user goals into step and calorie charts
checks last Band sync time and warns you if needed

https://www.microsoft.com/store/apps/9nblggh4vmkn

As usual, please check it out and let me know your thoughts. It's a work in progress and always looking for suggestions.