Heart rate and weather as fixed complication providers

Watch Face Studio
1

Hi @r.liechty_SDR, I have a two-part question / feature request for WFS…

1: Currently (with WFS 1.5.7) you can add a new complication to your watch face, and on the Properties panel you can select Type = Fixed. This gives you a list of Default Providers like so:

default providers
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This list includes Step count, but not Heart rate.

It also includes Sunrise sunset, but not Weather.

I find the exclusion of Heart rate and Weather to be a little illogical, given that their respective “sister” complications – Step count and Sunrise sunset – are both available here, which come from the same data source.

As you explained in your comment here, “Wear 4 uses an intermediate app Health Services that take data from the hosted Health App, be it Samsung or Google.”

And this data includes both Heart rate and Step count. That’s also the reason why we can add a text field that uses [HR] or [SC], and the heart rate or step count data is displayed, regardless of whether the watch is Samsung or Pixel or whatever, because the data comes via the Health Services app.

Therefore it makes sense that if Step count is available as a Default Provider, then Heart rate should be too. Right? :wink:

Likewise for Weather. If we can show Sunrise/Sunset as a Default Provider, whose data comes from whatever app is the default weather app on the watch, then we should also be able to have Weather as well, as this data also comes from whatever is the default weather app. Right?

2: Secondly – related to this are the list of apps that are provided under “Open App” in the Actions section:

actions
actions470×731 21 KB

In this list we have Heart rate, but not Step count! This also seems illogical – why one and not the other, given that both come from the same data source?

I know it’s possible to select “Custom” and enter health://steps there, but this is not obvious to most users – as you know, the solution of using health://steps was only just discovered/provided to us a few weeks ago via this post.

It would be much more helpful if Step count could be added to this list of apps too.

Could you kindly forward both of these feature requests to the dev team please?

Thanks! :slight_smile:

3 Likes
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Hi. I’ll try to give really quick answer to your post. Please see this list of SystemDefaultProviders:
SystemProviders | Android Developers

Only these can be set in the Watch Face Studio. Heart Rate is not included. Maybe this will change in the future.

There is some new Weather permission in the latest Wear OS 4 so maybe there is a plan to provide system Weather Complication in the future.

Tomas

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In addition to what @amoledwatchfaces said.

The complication slot and even the type in it has different different default providers.
So If you have the circle slot complication you can get Heart Rate (it is an Icon only that launches the heart rate)

I think the reason sunrise and sunset is there is because it is essential to some religions.

Ron
Samsung Developer Relations

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Hi Ron, you’re correct that there are some (very small) differences to the list of available default providers depending on which complication slot type is being used.

For example, “App shortcut” is available as a default provider for Circle slots, but not for Line slots.

However, Heart Rate is not available as a default provider for ANY slot type at all, not even the Circle slot type, as you can see from my screenshot in my post above.

And can you please address my 2nd feature request, regarding the list of available apps under “Open App” in the Actions section?

Thanks!

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Please check this link again, HR is not available in any slot type because it is not implemented as system provider by Google: Documentation

About your second request, Hard to say if this will be implemented because health://steps currently does not work on Pixel Watches. I initially though that health://steps is Wear OS wide but maybe it is only related to Galaxy Watches.

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I understand that. I’m simply replying to the info provided by Ron above. :slight_smile:

That’s why I’ve addressed this question to Ron, and asking this to be sent to the devs as a feature request, as they alone can provide a definitive answer.

If it’s true that both HR and Steps are provided by the Health Services intermediary app, then my expectation is that both HR and Steps should/could be available as “Open App” actions. Hopefully the devs can answer this.

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If it’s true that both HR and Steps are provided by the Health Services intermediary app, then my expectation is that both HR and Steps should/could be available as “Open App” actions. Hopefully the devs can answer this.

Default providers and tap actions are very different things. The Default provider is a complication that is assigned when you first install your watch. They are very useful otherwise the end user may not know they have the options the space would appear blank.

Open App is just that it opens the app on a tap so it is usually associated with a icon or with a text box say Step Count to open the step count app. Samsung Health app IDs are notorious for changing IDs and should only be used for personal use.

In older version of WFS you had set the HR report interval in your project’s settings otherwise is used the last read which might be hours old. So you would use a tap action to tap to get a new reading/report. I have an older watch face built with an older version of WFS and it only updates the BPM it does not open the Heart Rate App. Someone can test it on a 1.5.7 build watch face.

I think this may be a bug that it is there.

Bottom line… With Default provider there is a list that Wear OS guarantees will work as they are part of the Wear OS. But WFS does not include all of them… some for very obvious reasons.

For Open apps the choices are only system apps except Heart Rate and I am not sure what it does.

Ron
Samsung Developer Relations

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Heart Rate Complication from Samsung Health now finally works. GWC6 - AWK4 firmware update.

It just took 2 years… :smiley:

Tomas

4 Likes
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Hi @r.liechty_SDR,

I think there is still some confusion over exactly what I’ve been asking here! :slight_smile:

Firstly, I do know that default providers and tap actions are completely different things. That’s why I separated them into 2 different requests in my original post here.

My first request was “why can’t WFS include heart rate and weather as default providers”. And @amoledwatchfaces has provided the answer: the default providers come from Google via their list of SystemProviders, which does not include heart rate or weather. Therefore WFS is unable to provide them.

My second request was “why can’t the Open App list (tap actions) include step count, when it already includes heart rate”. Because if both step count and heart rate come from the same app - the default health app - then it should be possible to have a tap action for both of them, which would open the default health app on the watch.

The answer that “Samsung Health app IDs are notorious for changing IDs” shouldn’t matter here - if that were the reason, then the Open App list wouldn’t already include heart rate either.

You also talked about the HR report interval being hours old with older versions of WFS. But this is no longer an issue with WFS 1.5.7. If I use a text field containing [HR], or if I add the heart rate complication to one of my complication slots (since this week’s new watch firmware), then it shows the live BPM on my watch, updating every second. This works really well.

So the bottom line for me is: with the Open App list, it seems to make no sense that heart rate is included there, but not step count. Both should be possible, and both should open the respective default health app on the phone. I don’t understand why only one is there but not the other.

Are you able to ask the devs about this please?

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If I use a text field containing [HR], or if I add the heart rate complication to one of my complication slots (since this week’s new watch firmware), then it shows the live BPM on my watch, updating every second. This works really well.

This changed in a recent update to the Watch Software and now the interval is what you set in Samsung Health. (But I agree with you who wants to know your BPM from 10 minutes ago).

So the bottom line for me is: with the Open App list, it seems to make no sense that heart rate is included there, but not step count. Both should be possible, and both should open the respective default health app on the phone. I don’t understand why only one is there but not the other.

Can you tell me if open app Heart Rates opens the Samsung Health monitor app or the EKG app which is a separate app in the app table. I can test it later if you don’t know.

If that is the case I don’t see any of the Health apps listed and that solves the mystery. In the Wear 3 watches there was an open app Heart Rate and that just was for measuring the heart rate and not Samsung Health Heart Rate.

By the Way,
There is a app shortcut complication that you should use. The end user double click on it and then select the app and from then on a single click will open the app. That is what you should use people that don’t have health app won’t be confused.

For your personal use there is an option to have a custom ID you can use that if you know it, use this adb command

adb connect 192.168.xxx.xxx:5555 (your watch IP address & enable debugging)
adb shell
pm list packages

You will get an output list like this
package:com.android.cts.priv.ctsshim
package:com.google.android.ext.services
package:com.android.providers.telephony
etc.

The app ID is the text after package:

com.samsung.android.wear.shealth/com.samsung.android.wear.shealth.app.heartrate.view.HeartRateActivity

Ron
Samsung Developer Relations

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The “Open App > Heart rate” action opens the Samsung Health app on the watch, showing the Heart Rate sub-page of that app.

The Samsung Health Monitor app (ie. the EKG app) only monitors blood pressure and EKG, but not heart rate.

So the issue still remains - let’s look at it in the form of a logic statement:

  1. IF the “Open App > heart rate” action opens the default health app on its Heart Rate sub-page;
  2. AND IF the default health app also has a Step Count sub-page;
  3. THEN it stands to reason that it should be possible for WFS to also have a “Open App > step count” action too.

Regarding statement #2 above - does the default health app on Wear OS always have a Step Count sub-page? The answer must be “yes”, because Step Count is one of the SystemProviders that all WearOS devices must support. And this is proven by the fact that WFS supports Step Count as a default provider, which wouldn’t be possible if Step Count wasn’t available on all Wear OS devices.

Again, can you please ask the devs about this? I want to know if they can add Step Count to the Open App actions list, and if not, then why not.

I know there’s an app shortcut complication, but that’s not what I’m asking for here. :slight_smile: I’m just asking for an Open App action that can be used to open the Steps page of the default health app.

But every Wear OS watch has a default health app!

I remember you giving me this info in another post, and I replied and told you that this app ID doesn’t work: Action for tap STEPS - what App ID? - #37 by GermanKiwi

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Hi,

For galaxy watches health = health://heartrate
Steps = health//Steps

As showned via @amoledwatchfaces.

Also as he said steps only works on galaxy watches
So as wfs is surpose to be universal. Puting steps in the list means that not all watches can use it.

But for heart rate its universally support.

That why u only see standard apps allowed
For watch specific apps use custom id

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To add where does heart rate link to. Without samsung health install?

Such as in pixel?

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Hi, yeah I’m already aware of all of those points :wink:

However, although the health://steps custom app ID apparently only works on Galaxy watches, the Step Count feature itself is supported by all Wear OS watches, because it is one of Google’s SystemProviders that is built into Wear OS. It should be part of the default health app on all Wear OS devices.

This is further proven by the fact that Step Count is available as a default provider in WFS, which wouldn’t be possible if it was only available on Galaxy watches.

Therefore: if Step Count works as a default provider (and presumably opens the default health app on its “Step Count” sub-page), then it stands to reason that Step Count can be included as one of the “Open App” tap actions too.

It should open the heart rate sub-page of the default health app. On a Pixel, that would be the Google Health app.

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@GermanKiwi What i am saying step and health maybe drawn from different providers.

Health = system provider
Steps = watch specifice app

Sorry complication and shortcuts works differently.
If u have a step complication it will go to watch specific step counters etc. The link is provided by the complication provider via a api

Whereelse the tap action is a “hardcoded” link in the watch face

Having a step complication does not meant its data source is from the same source.

Its means there is a comunication api between the watch face and the datasouce.

So its has nothing to do with having the same shorcut to the app

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@r.liechty_SDR correct me if i am wrong.
If i am wrong i stand corrected, and reply accordingly

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No, I believe both heartrate and steps data are provided by the default health app. @r.liechty_SDR has also confirmed this previously.

Please note that I’m not comparing the Open Apps actions with the watch-dependent complications on your watch, but rather with the Default Providers list, which is based on Google’s SystemProviders that are built into Wear OS.

If you set the Default Provider of a complication slot to “Step count”, and you then tap your finger on that complication slot on your watch, it will open the default health app on its Step Count sub-page. All watches should have this, because it’s part of the operating system.

It therefore stands to reason that it should be possible to have an Open Apps action that also opens the Step Count sub-page of the default health app. Because again, all watches should have this.

At the end of the day: I’m not really interested in further guessing and speculation - I’ve asked @r.liechty_SDR several times if he can kindly get a definitive answer on this from the devs. I’m submitting this as an official feature request for the devs, and I’d like a response from them about it.

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Ok

Thats was

My Final statement anyways. Lets @r.liechty_SDR reply u.

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@GermanKiwi @Knightwing

I understand what GermanKiwi’s wants and his rationale.

When WFS was introduced health apps were not required on all Wear devices but Heart Rate was (it tells the watch if it is being worn or not; among other things) Therefore the list of open app actions did not include any Health options.

I’ve asked the WFS development team about adding more Open App actions a year ago but they were busy with the Watch Face Format change in Wear4 and were not planning on any additional features until that was released.

The next major release is next spring so there is a chance that they may add more open app content.

Having said that there are some reports from the mobile developers saying that Samsung Health is not sharing step count data to the Health Connect app so there may be another reason why the open app health://steps is not working.

I will ask the WFS team to add more Open App tap actions. Until then you should use the App Shortcut complication.

Ron
Samsung Developer Relations

2 Likes
21

Thanks Ron for the helpful explanation, and for asking the WFS team again! Much appreciated! :blush: