Google Health 5.09 is expanding Cardio Load beyond workouts recorded inside Google's own ecosystem, allowing compatible sessions from third-party apps and wearables to count when they include heart-rate data.
9to5Google reports that a workout tracked on an Apple Watch, Garmin device or another connected service can now contribute to Cardio Load after it syncs to Google Health. The metric is intended to show how much cardiovascular demand recent activity places on the body.
Health Guardian reaches more Pixel Watches
The release also adds support for Google's new Health Guardian features on Pixel Watch 3, 4 and 5. Users can set up trends for blood pressure, insulin resistance and sleep breathing quality, with the first monthly summary expected at the beginning of October.
Blood-pressure trends appear in the Heart section after at least five consecutive days of watch wear during September. Insulin-resistance trends require seven days and nights of wear and appear in the Metabolic section. Sleep-breathing information is available as daily and monthly trends in the Sleep tab and the Health tab's Respiratory section.
These features present trend information rather than replacing a clinical diagnosis. Their usefulness will depend on consistent wear and the quality of the underlying sensor data.
Smaller fixes across food and activity tracking
Version 5.09 adds easier controls for serving units and meal times when creating custom foods. Google says it fixed an iOS issue with custom-food creation and a bug that could leave deleted foods visible.
The Fitness tab now offers more options under “Log activity.” Google is also restoring historical step streaks that disappeared for some users. The update is rolling out on Android and iOS, while the Pixel Watch-specific features require one of the three supported watch generations.
