Just shortly after Apple officially launched its new iOS 8 mobile platform, the iPhone maker had to pull out apps running on HealthKit from the Apple App Store because HealthKit caught a bug.
Apple did not specify the problem but said its engineers are working on the problem to launch HealthKit within the next couple of weeks.
"We discovered a bug that prevents us from making HealthKit apps available on iOS 8 today," says Apple spokesperson Trudy Muller in a statement. "We're working quickly to have the bug fixed in a software update and have HealthKit apps available by the end of the month."
Among the affected apps include Carrot Fit, MyFitnessPal and WebMD. Brian Mueller, developer of Carrot Fit told Cult of Mac that Apple contacted him to inform him that his app was removed from the App Store because HealthKit was experiencing last-minute technical problems.
"The rep couldn't clarify what was wrong," Mueller says. "[T]hough users of the app who had already downloaded the update were able to use the HealthKit features without any issue."
HealthKit is Apple's ambitious new platform for collecting health and fitness data, such as calories burned, weight and heart rate, into a simple interface that lets users send their information to their physician without privacy snags. In Apple's World Wide Developer Conference this year, the company has touted HealthKit as one of the major highlights of iOS 8.
"This is yet another way to being [able] to build a comprehensive view of your life which should empower you to take care of yourself over time," Apple CEO Tim Cook said at that time. "And when you need help, it empowers you to take certain data to your doctor to get help from them. All while guarding your privacy so that nobody is getting the data if you don't want them to have the data. And no, we're not keeping it."
HealthKit relies on third-party apps that are synced to Apple's own Health app, which displays the user's health stats all in one place. Carrot Fit, for instance, measures the user's weight and steps taken and delivers the data to Health via HealthKit. Health, in turn, displays this information with other data aggregated from other fitness tracking apps to give the user a big-picture view of the state of his health and fitness.
The Health app itself is available on iOS 8 and seems to be working properly. However, the "Sources" section of the app, where data from other apps is collected, will remain unusable until Apple fixes up HealthKit or unless users have no complaints about entering their health information manually.
HealthKit isn't the only feature on iOS 8 that have been delayed, though. SMS Continuity, which allows users to send text messages on their Macs and iPads, also had its launch put off until the release OS X Yosemite later in the year.
