Is DataType.RUNNING_STEPS a delta or an aggregate data type?

A delta type: Google's reference declares it as DeltaDataType >. Google describes DeltaDataType as "DataType that represents a granular, non-aggregated point in time."

What value type does DataType.RUNNING_STEPS deliver?

Long, in an IntervalDataPoint, per the declaration DeltaDataType >. Google's description: "Number of steps taken while running since the last update."

Which aggregate constant goes with DataType.RUNNING_STEPS?

By Google's naming on the same reference, RUNNING_STEPS_TOTAL (AggregateDataType >). Google describes it as: "Number of steps taken while running since the start of the current active exercise."

Wear OS reference

DataType.RUNNING_STEPS: Wear OS Health Services data type

Read from Google’s documentation on 2026-10-04 · Google’s DataType reference last updated 2026-08-06

DataType.RUNNING_STEPS is a DeltaDataType constant of Wear OS Health Services (androidx.health.services.client.data.DataType), declared as DeltaDataType<Long, IntervalDataPoint<Long>>: each value is a Long delivered in an IntervalDataPoint. Google describes it as: “Number of steps taken while running since the last update.” Google's Health Services permissions table lists it under ACTIVITY_RECOGNITION. The same reference defines RUNNING_STEPS_TOTAL, an AggregateDataType (AggregateDataType<Long, CumulativeDataPoint<Long>>).

What Google says DataType.RUNNING_STEPS is

Number of steps taken while running since the last update.

Quoted from Google’s DataType reference, last updated 2026-08-06, read 2026-10-04.

Declared type

Read from the constant’s declaration in Google’s reference: the data-type class, then the value type and the data-point class it delivers.

Constant: androidx.health.services.client.data.DataType.RUNNING_STEPS
Declared type: DeltaDataType<Long, IntervalDataPoint<Long>>
Data-type class: DeltaDataTypeGoogle: “DataType that represents a granular, non-aggregated point in time.”
Value type: Long
Data-point class: IntervalDataPoint
Added in: not printed for this constant; Google’s reference prints “Added in 1.0.0” for the DataType class in androidx.health:health-services-client
Deprecated: not marked deprecated in Google's reference

Permission

Google’s Health Services permissions table lists DataType.RUNNING_STEPS under ACTIVITY_RECOGNITION. The row as printed, read 2026-10-04:

CALORIES CALORIES_DAILY DISTANCE_DAILY DECLINE_DISTANCE DISTANCE ELEVATION_GAIN ELEVATION_LOSS FLAT_GROUND_DISTANCE FLOORS FLOORS_DAILY GOLF_SHOT_COUNT INCLINE_DISTANCE PACE REP_COUNT RUNNING_STEPS SPEED STEPS STEPS_DAILY STEPS_PER_MINUTE SWIMMING_LAP_COUNT SWIMMING_STROKES CALORIES_TOTAL WALKING_STEPS UserActivityInfo UserActivityState | ACTIVITY_RECOGNITION

Above the table, the same page lists the permissions Health Services uses, verbatim:

READ_HEART_RATE for reading heart rate information.
ACTIVITY_RECOGNITION
ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION
BODY_SENSORS on Wear OS 5.1 (API level 35) and lower
BODY_SENSORS_BACKGROUND between Wear OS 4 (API level 33) and Wear OS 5.1 (API level 35), inclusive

Its aggregate counterpart

By Google’s naming on the same reference (a delta constant NAME beside an aggregate NAME_TOTAL or NAME_STATS): RUNNING_STEPS_TOTAL, declared AggregateDataType<Long, CumulativeDataPoint<Long>>. Google describes it as:

Number of steps taken while running since the start of the current active exercise.

Health Connect and HealthKit

No one-to-one pairing. This site’s cross-platform matrix pairs HealthKit types with Health Connect records only, so this page names no counterpart. What it does have is a metric guide: Step Counting API: How to Get Step Data lists DataType.RUNNING_STEPS beside the types on the other platforms this site covers whose own descriptions name the same metric, each quoted, so you can see where they differ rather than assume they match.

Questions

What permission does DataType.RUNNING_STEPS need on Wear OS?: ACTIVITY_RECOGNITION. Google's Health Services permissions table (read 2026-10-04) lists RUNNING_STEPS in the row "CALORIES CALORIES_DAILY DISTANCE_DAILY DECLINE_DISTANCE DISTANCE ELEVATION_GAIN ELEVATION_LOSS FLAT_GROUND_DISTANCE FLOORS FLOORS_DAILY GOLF_SHOT_COUNT INCLINE_DISTANCE PACE REP_COUNT RUNNING_STEPS SPEED STEPS STEPS_DAILY STEPS_PER_MINUTE SWIMMING_LAP_COUNT SWIMMING_STROKES CALORIES_TOTAL WALKING_STEPS UserActivityInfo UserActivityState | ACTIVITY_RECOGNITION".
Is DataType.RUNNING_STEPS a delta or an aggregate data type?: A delta type: Google's reference declares it as DeltaDataType<Long, IntervalDataPoint<Long>>. Google describes DeltaDataType as "DataType that represents a granular, non-aggregated point in time."
What value type does DataType.RUNNING_STEPS deliver?: Long, in an IntervalDataPoint, per the declaration DeltaDataType<Long, IntervalDataPoint<Long>>. Google's description: "Number of steps taken while running since the last update."
Which aggregate constant goes with DataType.RUNNING_STEPS?: By Google's naming on the same reference, RUNNING_STEPS_TOTAL (AggregateDataType<Long, CumulativeDataPoint<Long>>). Google describes it as: "Number of steps taken while running since the start of the current active exercise."

Sources checked

Google — DataType.RUNNING_STEPS (Health Services reference) — last updated 2026-08-06 · read 2026-10-04
Google — Health Services permissions — last updated 2026-01-19 · read 2026-10-04

Google’s descriptions are quoted for identification; the page layout and the capsule are AIFitnessAPI’s. Generated by scripts/fetch-health-services-data-types.mjs, not typed by hand — the same data as the full data-type table.

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