Nowadays, there are more health-monitoring apps than we can shake a Powerbar at. The Cardiio ($5) uses accurate (and somewhat mind-blowing) MIT innovations to give you a simple, easily obtained BPM heart rate. Just point your iPhone’s front-facing camera at your face, and Cardiio measures the light reflection on your skin (which is directly affected by how much blood you’re pumpin’) to provide a BPM estimate within three pulses of clinical measuring tools. It sounds sci-fi, but the technology is real and award-winning.
Since it’s touch-free, sweaty fingers and wrists won’t douse your phone in unspeakable nastiness. Just like any other fitness app, Cardiio maintains a history to shame you on to the treadmill, but there’s even more in the look-how-unhealthy-you-are category: a fitness rating based just on your ticker’s performance, and even a life expectancy estimator — in case you really want to feel your heart rate jump.
Buy Now: $5
