Fitbit Air promises 24/7 health tracking with new AI-powered Google Health Coach
The screen-less wearable ties into Google's revamped approach to tracking your health
đ Google has announced the Fitbit Air, a 24/7 fitness tracker
âď¸ Itâs reminiscent of the popular Whoop tracker with a screen-free design and week-long battery life
â¤ď¸ It has all the same health tracking as a traditional smartwatch
đ¤ It works with Google Health and Google Health Coach, a Gemini-powered feature that gives you proactive steps to improve your health
đ The Fitbit Air costs $99.99 and launches May 26
đ° Google Health Coach will be a part of Google Health Premium for $9.99/month
Google wants to help you track your health all day and all night.
Today, the company announced the Fitbit Air, a screen-less fitness tracker that lasts for a week on a charge and can track your health 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The tracker ties directly into Google Health, Googleâs new health platform that replaces the old Fitbit app and Google Fit, to paint a clear picture of your health over time. It also works with Googleâs new Health Coach, an AI-powered premium tool that can proactively adjust your fitness goals for you.
Fitbit Air tracks your health
The Fitbit Air draws a lot of comparisons to the popular Whoop tracker, primarily since it doesnât have a screen and lasts so long on a charge. Itâs the smallest and lightest Fitbit to date, and it can still track things like â24/7 heart rate, heart rhythm monitoring with Afib alerts, SpO2, resting heart rate, heart rate variability, sleep stages and duration, and more,â according to Google.
Itâll last for up to a week on a full charge, and if you need extra juice in a pinch, quick charging can get you a full day of usage in five minutes.
The Fitbit Air also looks very stylish. Google is offering three different band options at launch: the Performance Loop Band (the standard option made from recycled materials), the Active Band (sweat-proof, waterproof silicone), and the Elevated Modern Band (a more elegant option thatâs reminiscent of a high-end bracelet). Thereâs also a special edition Performance Loop from Stephen Curry, who serves as Googleâs Performance Advisor.
Itâs also worth mentioning that you can wear the Fitbit Air with another smartwatch, like a Pixel Watch. Your health data wonât be tracked twice, and youâll be able to still get notifications on your wrist (plus all the other advantages of a smartwatch) while still relying on the Air for 24/7 health tracking. This might seem ridiculous to some of you, but I know a lot of people who wear an Apple Watch and Whoop all day, every day (myself included), so this is welcome news.
Google Health tells you about it
The Fitbit Air pairs with the new Google Health app where you can start a workout, follow coach-recommended workouts, have your activity tracked automatically, and more. All of your data is then poured into the app where you have a birdâs eye view of your progress, where you can improve, how your health looks over time, and more.
Itâs very similar to how Google Fit and the Fitbit app worked in the past, except a bit more streamlined since you can sync virtually any health data you have with it, including from third-party apps or even Apple Health. You can also upload medical records, track your diet, share your information with medical professionals, and more. The interface has been streamlined as well to make it easier to use, including with Cycle Tracking which is a lot easier to navigate and log.
After youâve tracked your data, Google Health Coach wants to help you act on it and improve. It uses Gemini AI to learn about you, your fitness goals, and tailor its recommendations so that everything is contextual to you. Itâs basically like having your own AI-powered gym instructor⌠for an additional $9.99 a month.
You can train it to know what equipment you have access to, how often you go to the gym or participate in activities, whether youâve suffered any injuries, and more. Itâll then take all of your data and provide tailored guidance and recommendations to help you achieve your fitness goals. The Health Coach is integrated across the Google Health app, including in the Fitness, Sleep, and Health tabs to give you guidance.
Google says that the Health Coach is designed to be adjusted over time, so it also integrated a chatbot interface where you can talk directly to it and ask it to adjust its parameters depending on whatâs going on in your life. You can also upload files, images, and more so that the Health Coach knows everything about your current health status.
Over time, itâll look at things like your fitness and sleep metrics, nutrition, your personal medical records, and more to understand what activities to recommend and when. For example, if you tell it youâre going on vacation, itâll tell you to take it easy or to try exercises you can do in your room, depending on your preferences.
Google says the more you interact with Health Coach, the better it gets. As it learns about you, itâll also become a resource for asking questions about your health and whether any factors are connected. Itâs part of Googleâs more holistic approach to tracking your health. For instance, you can ask the Health Coach how your cycle phase affects your sleep, or how certain workouts affect your readiness the next morning.
Obviously, trusting an AI model to tell you how to live your life in a healthy way can be questionable. Google says it collaborated with its Consumer Health Advisory Panel of leading medical experts and clinicians to build the Health Coach âresponsibly and securely.â The company also promises that none of your health data is ever shared outside of the Google Health app, and itâs committed to never use Fitbit usersâ health and wellness data in Google Ads.
Pricing and availability
The Fitbit Air will cost $99.99, while each additional band will run you $34.99. It launches on May 26, with preorders going live today.
Meanwhile, Google Health is slowly rolling out to all users now. Google Health Coach will roll out to all users by May 26, and itâll cost an additional $9.99 per month. If you subscribe to Google AI Pro or Ultra, though, you get it for free.
Max Buondonno is an editor at The Shortcut and co-host of The Shortcut Live. Heâs been reporting on the latest consumer technology since 2015, with his work featured on CNN Underscored, ZDNET, How-To Geek, XDA, TheStreet, and more. Follow him on X @LegendaryScoop and Instagram @LegendaryScoop.