iOS 8 HealthKit app support delayed until “end of the month”

On Wednesday morning, apps designed to connect to the new iOS HealthKit framework were set to launch alongside the brand new iOS 8, but those apps, hungry for your data about calories and fitness progress, apparently hadn't laced their jogging shoes. Shortly after the new version of iOS launched, developers learned that their HealthKit-ready apps and updates had been pulled from the App Store.

A few developers, including the creator of Carrot Fit, soon reported receiving calls and e-mails from Apple confirming that "HealthKit... isn't ready to launch," and later in the day, Apple publicly confirmed that HealthKit support would have to wait until a bug was fixed.

"We discovered a bug that prevents us from making HealthKit apps available on iOS 8 today," an Apple spokesperson told Ars 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."

This is a major obstacle for the introduction of HealthKit, precisely because it's been designed to be exploited by third-party apps and wearables as opposed to relying on a full fitness solution built by Apple. "If a critical mass of apps and hardware integrate support for the feature, it could be a great, comprehensive health, fitness, and nutrition aggregator," our own Andrew Cunningham wrote in his comprehensive iOS 8 review. "If most apps choose to ignore it, it's just going to sit there on your phone, sullenly tracking your steps."