Rita El Khoury / Android Authority
Hundreds of millions of people live with diabetes or other chronic conditions that require continuous monitoring. Fortunately, modern medical devices make it significantly easier for people to track their glucose levels, blood pressure, and other key vitals. Some even connect directly with smartphones, sending crucial data and alerts via Bluetooth to the mobile devices we carry every day.
Despite the importance of these medical devices in many people’s lives, Android doesn’t treat them any differently than other Bluetooth peripherals. The operating system is designed to maximize privacy and battery life, which forces medical device makers to jump through hoops to ensure their apps operate reliably. These apps must request a host of permissions during setup and then hope the OS doesn’t terminate their background processes — a dangerous possibility, since any lapse in reporting can become a life-or-death situation for users.
Fortunately, Android may finally treat medical device apps with the importance they deserve. Next year’s Android 17 release may bring a new companion device profile for medical device apps. This profile will not only streamline the setup process for new medical devices but also help their companion apps stay active in the background. Here’s how. You’re reading the Authority Insights Newsletter, a weekly newsletter that reveals some new facet of Android that hasn’t been reported on anywhere else. If you’re looking for the latest scoops, the hottest leaks, and breaking news on Google’s Android operating system and other mobile tech topics, then we’ve got you covered. Subscribe here to get this post delivered to your email inbox every Saturday. In 2021, Google introduced companion device profiles with Android 12 to simplify the setup process for apps that connect to accessories like smartwatches. Instead of requesting permissions one by one, these apps can use a device profile to show a single, bundled permission prompt.
Google Sample dialog for an app requesting to hold the COMPANION_DEVICE_WATCH role.
When a user taps “Allow,” the system associates the device with the app and grants it a predefined set of permissions for that profile. Furthermore, Android elevates the app’s process priority whenever the companion device is nearby or connected. This makes it much less likely for the OS to kill the app’s background service when memory is low.
Android currently offers two companion device profiles for third-party applications: the Watch profile and the Glasses profile. As their names suggest, these are for smartwatch and smart glass companion apps, respectively, and grant permissions necessary for posting notifications, accessing phone calls, reading SMS, and more.
While digging through Android 16 QPR2 Beta 2, I found code for a third companion device profile for third-party apps. The new “Medical” profile is intended for companion apps to medical devices and grants permissions for posting notifications, managing Bluetooth connections, and sending alerts at precise times.
Here is the code for the new Medical profile role, followed by an explanation of each element:
Mishaal Rahman / Android Authority
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