There’s a New Version of Pedometer++ Available – Will You Use It?

If you’ve used Pedometer++ to track your daily steps, you will be happy to know there is a new version available.  Pedometer++ 3.0 is designed to motivate you to get you moving, and view your step counts.  The app has been in the App Store since 2013.  Since then, the creators of the app have been continuously refining the app by enhancing visualizations of your step counts, adopting new technologies and adding more ways to motivate users.  But was that enough for you?  With other step counting apps out there, is this one that you’re likely to use?  How does this compare next to, say FitBit?

A big addition to this app are the achievements.  Achievements can be accessed by tapping the ribbon icon in the top left-hand corner of the screen.  When a new achievement is unlocked, the icon shimmers with an eye-catching, but subtle animation.  Is this too much like the achievements in the Apple Watch Activity app though?  It kind of appears that way.  But I guess imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, isn’t it?

The achievements page includes badges for daily step totals, streaks, lifetime steps and floors and special awards like “Perfect Month” when you hit your step goal every day in a month.  Which, does sound a bit like the Activity App.  New achievements shimmer like the ribbon icon, and tapping on them flips the badge over to reveal details about when you met the goal and how many times you’ve accomplished it.  Each section of achievements also lists your personal best for that category.  And there are plans to add more achievements over time, based on feedback from users.

The app itself got a make over too.  If you remember the previous version of the app, it was pretty plain.  Which isn’t always a bad thing.  But to me, it signaled that there weren’t a lot of features available.  And there weren’t.  The collapsed view shows the number of steps you’ve taken, the distance you’ve walked and how many floors you’ve climbed.  You can now see an hour by hour bar graph that breaks down your steps for the current day.  Stats that weren’t available in the previous app.

I was using Pedometer++ for a short time.  And I liked it for what it was.  A way to track my steps.  But with things like FitBit challenges, it wasn’t really cutting it.  It worked well on my Apple Watch, and with my iPhone.  So I really have no complaints about the app, in general. I do wonder, however, what the new app will be like.  More specifically, how it will stack up against other apps.  Fitbit also announced, recently, that they have released a smartwatch.  How will that factor into all of this?  And Apple is supposed to be releasing a new version of their Apple Watch this fall.

I’m not trying to rag on Pedometer++.  Like I said, I like the app.  But with so many companies trying to make you a healthier person, it’s hard to know which one is right for you.  Where do you draw the line?  Which apps are actually working?  I like the updates to Pedometer++, but I’m not sure that I would use it as I get a lot of those features from the Activity App.  And perhaps these features are available for Fitbit users as well.  I’m curious to see where this goes, and how it will integrate with smartwatches.  But I’m also curious to see what people think of the app itself.