The latest version of the Android OS offers two new features intended to encourage more development of fitness and monitoring apps.

Android 4.4, also known as KitKat, offers support for hardware sensor batching, a technique designed to reduce the power consumed by sensors commonly used in fitness, location tracking and monitoring services.

The new feature enables device hardware to collect and deliver sensor-related data more efficiently in batches, rather than individually.

Sensor batching is available on the new Nexus 5 and Google said it is working with chipset partners to put it into more devices as soon as possible.

The latest version of Android also adds support for two new composite sensors – step detector and step counter – that lets apps track the user walking, running or climbing stairs.

The new sensors are implemented in the hardware, as well as Android itself, so developers do not need to maintain detection algorithms in their apps.

Similar to sensor batching, step detector and counter are available with the Nexus 5 and will be on other devices as soon as possible.