Jawbone has today launched a new platform for iOS that allows third-party apps to work with your Up wristband. The API is called the Up Platform, and provides access to all of your fitness data, including steps, calories, and distance traveled.
The Up Platform has already been integrated into ten iOS apps, including IFTTT, LoseIt, Maxwell Health, MapMyFitness, MyFitnessPal, Notch, RunKeeper, Sleepio, Wello, and Withings.
Until now, Jawbone’s Up wristband has only been compatible with its own official app, but thanks to the new Up Platform, that’s no longer the case. Your fitness data can now be accessed by third-party apps, allowing you to use your Up with your favorite services — providing they decide to support it, of course.
It also means that you can use other data to supplement that collected by your Up wristband. For example, Jawbone’s app doesn’t allow you to track your weight, but the Wi-Fi scales compatible with the Withings app do, so you can bring the two together.
The API is available only to a select group of Jawbone partners at the moment, but it’s thought that this won’t always be the case.
Jawbone also announced today that it has acquired BodyMedia, a company that builds fitness trackers that have previously competed with the Up. BodyMedia’s trackers, however, are specifically for users who wish to lose weight, and they currently require a $60 per year subscription.
They do track a lot more data than the up, including skin temperature, sweat, and ambient temperature. It’s believed that Jawbone may incorporate some of this technology into the Up, but the company hasn’t yet disclosed how the acquisition is part of its future plans.
Source: Jawbone