The Google Fitbit Air finally breaks cover, and it heralds a new era of screenless fitness tracking to take on Whoop and Garmin | Tech Radar
Overview
News, deals, reviews, guides and more on the newest computing gadgets
Start exploring exclusive deals, expert advice and more
Details
Unlock and manage exclusive Techradar member rewards.
Unlock instant access to exclusive member features.
Get full access to premium articles, exclusive features and a growing list of member rewards.
The Google Fitbit Air finally breaks cover, and it heralds a new era of screenless fitness tracking to take on Whoop and Garmin
A renewed focus on invisible 'set and forget' fitness tracking
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.
Google has revealed the new Google Fitbit Air, and as expected, it's a screenless fitness tracker similar to a Whoop band
Designed as a 'set and forget' wearable just like the original Fit Bit, it weighs just 12g with the fabric band
The wearable arrives at the same time as a big Fitbit redesign, with the app rebranded as 'Google Health'
After weeks of rumors and teases by Google (via NBA all-star Stephen Curry's Instagram account) Google has revealed the Google Fitbit Air, the next evolution of the best Fitbits, and it's exactly what we were expecting: a budget screenless 'set and forget' fitness tracker to undercut the likes of Whoop.
Priced at
It boasts a seven-day battery life, fast charging, and all the usual smartwatch sensor arrays for heart rate, step counting, calorie burn estimation, skin temperature and blood oxygen monitoring.
Why Fitbit's Whoop-style tracker is a better fit for the brand than a smartwatch
Fitbit Air: The latest Whoop rival rumors say that's the name of the mystery Fitbit — and your Fitbit Premium subscription could also change
Steph Curry teases Fitbit's latest tracker, and it looks screenless
The device doesn't have GPS, differentiating it from the Fitbit Charge 6. It includes a subscription with three free months of Google Health Premium (formerly known as Fitbit Premium, but more on that in a minute), usually costing
So far, so expected. The Google Fitbit Air saves seven days of detailed motion data, minute by minute, and one day of workout data, syncing to the new Google Health app.
The Fitbit app and Fitbit Premium subscription service are being rebranded as the Google Health app in a mandatory rollout, which includes a sweeping redesign. It's not going to be a popular move for long-time Fitbit users, but we've known this was coming ever since Google made it mandatory to have a Google account to continue using Fitbit devices.
As part of this, Google Health's premium subscription is now based around the Google Health Coach, an AI health assistant based on Google Gemini. The Coach accesses all the data you allow it, from sleep and heart rate from a fitness tracker, to nutrition logging by uploading photos of your meals. It can even take into account your medical records.
Using this corpus of information, the Google Health Coach becomes a personal assistant of sorts, recommending you workout plans, sleep optimization tips, recipes, injury advice and more based on your goals and health.
The Google Fitbit Air was apparently 'designed for Google Health Coach', but unlike Whoop, you can use the fitness tracker with a free version of the app if you don't want to subscribe. You just don't get all the AI-powered advice, instead simply getting readouts, scores and graphs based on your data as you do with most fitness trackers.
Up to 7 days, 90 mins charge (5 mins fast charge for 1 day's battery)
Up to 7 days, 90 mins charge (5 mins fast charge for 1 day's battery)
The bands come in several styles: a woven Performance Loop Band designed for 'a flexible fit' built from recycled materials; a silicon Active Band; and the more stylish Elevated Modern Band. The Google Fitbit Air Special Edition comes with a Stephen Curry branded band designed for "peak performance and elevated style".
The latest Fitbit Air leak gives us colors, a launch date, and a price
Fitbit’s upcoming Whoop rival has been repeatedly leaked by Steph Curry
Amazfit Helio Strap vs Polar Loop vs Whoop 5.0: Which should you buy?
Analysis: undercutting Whoop and returning to classic Fitbit
When news first broke about the upcoming Fitbit Air, I wrote that Fitbit's new screenless Whoop-style tracker is a better fit for the brand than a smartwatch, because it's a return to the 'almost invisible' pedometer of 2008.
I stand by that assessment. Fitbit's always been best as an unobtrusive, reliable fitness tracker and pedometer, and despite the new app's AI smarts and Google's heavy hints that you need the Health Coach subscription to get the most from this band, this is exactly where the Google Fitbit Air sits.
Other screenless options, such as Whoop 5.0, the Polar Loop and even smart rings like the Oura Ring 4 are more expensive, making the Google Fitbit Air a cheap option for 'focus wearable' fanciers.
Follow Tech Radar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds.
Matt is Tech Radar's expert on all things fitness, wellness and wearable tech.
A former staffer at Men's Health, he holds a Master's Degree in journalism from Cardiff and has written for brands like Runner's World, Women's Health, Men's Fitness, Live Science and Fit&Well on everything fitness tech, exercise, nutrition and mental wellbeing.
Matt's a keen runner, ex-kickboxer, not averse to the odd yoga flow, and insists everyone should stretch every morning. When he’s not training or writing about health and fitness, he can be found reading doorstop-thick fantasy books with lots of fictional maps in them.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
1 Apple's going all-in with the Mac Book Neo — but Microsoft is fighting back
2 The Google Fitbit Air finally breaks cover, and it heralds a new era of screenless fitness tracking
3 Amazon’s limited-time 3D printer sale is huge — I picked 8 standout Elegoo, Anycubic, and Creality deals for everyone from beginners to business workhorses
4 Trailer for Legally Blonde prequel Elle sets up continuity clash with original movie
54 gaming laptop deals that feature 32GB of RAM for (relatively) cheap
Tech Radar is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.
© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.
Key Takeaways
- News, deals, reviews, guides and more on the newest computing gadgets
- Start exploring exclusive deals, expert advice and more
- Unlock and manage exclusive Techradar member rewards
- Unlock instant access to exclusive member features
- Get full access to premium articles, exclusive features and a growing list of member rewards
