Test Google Fitbit Air – Health bracelet with impressive AI

It’s been quiet from Fitbit for a long time. Google released a couple of watches and bracelets from Fitbit after the purchase but since then it has been quiet while Google released Pixel Watch after Pixel Watch with Fitbit as the activity app. Besides the Fitbit Ace 2 children’s watch, the Charge 6 was the latest product, arriving in 2023. It was easy to believe that Google was discontinuing the Fitbit product line, when they announced at the beginning of the year that new products were in the works.

Now the Fitbit Air is here, and it might not be what Fitbit fans were expecting. The Google Fitbit Air, as the full name is, is not a replacement for any existing Fitbit product, but according to Google takes its place in the product portfolio alongside the Pixel 4, Fitbit Inspire 3, Fitbit Charge 6, Fitbit Versa 4 and Fitbit Sense 2. I am particularly surprised that Google considers the two watches Versa 4 and Sense 2 as in production. But enough about that.

Not for the fans but many others

Fitbit Air is, according to Google, the basic model, the cheapest for those who don’t want another technical gadget. At least not as it appears, because Fitbit Air is outwardly just a wristband, it lacks a display.

Since it’s the simplest product in the family, it should also be the cheapest, but since the Inspire 3 has been around for so long and we’ve had inflation since then, it’s cheaper than the Fitbit Air, which costs SEK 1,200.

Instead, Google boasts that it is their lightest and most flexible pedometer. The weight is only 12 grams with the bracelet. Google claims that you hardly feel you have it on, and that’s right. I can’t say I’ve ever been bothered by a watch or bracelet being too heavy, but I really don’t feel the Fitbit Air at all. It’s different from other bands I’ve tried. That the band could rub is probably not on the map.

A small, small box without a screen

Fitbit Air consists of a box that resembles most other pedometers in that it is unusually small and lacks a screen, and a replaceable bracelet. The bracelet is attached to one end of the box and wrapped around it so that the bracelet is the only thing you see. The box is completely hidden as a slight rise in the band. Of course, Google sells a whole range of bracelets in different models and colors for those who want to vary.

The only form of “display” the band has is an LED that shows if the battery needs charging. It also has vibrator feedback that is used for quiet wake-up. So-called smart wake-up is used here, so you can set a time, but the band will wake you up earlier if it notices that you are a light sleeper or half-awake. This is to avoid being painfully awakened when you are sleeping deeply.

As a budget alternative to smart ring

It cannot be emphasized enough how much the Fitbit Air is defined by its lack of a screen. Unlike other similar products, you can’t use it as a watch, you can’t see notifications, you can’t start logging training sessions on it and you can’t see how your health values ​​are doing. The best way to think of the Fitbit Air is probably as a budget alternative to a smart ring.

The interaction with the band thus takes place almost exclusively via the app, which has been renamed from Fitbit to Google Health. The features you get are in no way unique to the Fitbit Air but are pretty much the same if you have another Fitbit or a Pixel watch.

The app has received a drastic makeover and I find it cluttered at first before I manage to tame it by choosing which widget blocks to appear where. Here you will find the health metrics the band measures, such as pulse, heart rate, sleep, number of steps, active minutes and more. Among the missing items are a barometer (you can’t measure how many stairs you’ve walked), and built-in GPS (it uses your phone’s location, but you can’t log a run without having your phone with you). The band also lacks any kind of reminders not to sit still for too long, a feature that I otherwise appreciate both in Fitbit and other manufacturers’ watches.

If you want to log something, you do it in the app. Here you can start training sessions of various kinds, and when you do so, you get clear but somewhat sparse information about pulse level and other things while you train, and detailed information when the session is over. The band is also able to automatically identify walks and runs, but then without GPS coordinates.

Three month trial

If you buy Fitbit Air, you also get three months of Google Health Premium included. In the past, I have found that Fitbit’s/Google’s premium service, which otherwise costs a little over a hundred per month, is quite diffuse and it is difficult to get a handle on what you get for the money. Now it’s very concrete, you get Google Health Coach.

Google Health Coach is an AI assistant based on Gemini. It starts by interviewing you about your health and fitness goals, then comes up with a suggested exercise program and helps to motivate and coach you.

I have to say that Google Health Coach is one of the most impressive applications of a chatbot I’ve tried. The friendly and peppy tone really makes a difference and you can give very specific requests like you have problems with your lower back and need light strength training and get well adapted exercises. The coach constantly asks for feedback, how did it feel, was it just right or too heavy, and more. It keeps track of how much you exercise during the week and makes suggestions that also take the weather forecast into account. If anything, it can be a bit too pushy, it never stops asking for more feedback for example, but basically you’re only contacted by the coach morning, evening and after logged workouts (including auto-detected walks). This is what a morning report might look like:

“Bet on mobility to help the thighs today. The night’s deep sleep was just what your body needed after yesterday’s 17,000 steps. Despite the good rest, your Readiness lands at 67, indicating that the muscles are still working on recovery.”

To alleviate the radiating pain in the outer thighs you mentioned, I suggest we make mobility a priority today: Do the mobility session: It will help you release tension in your hips without further straining your back.

Keep the pace down: Continue with your controlled walks in the nice weather, but avoid heavy lifting until the thighs feel completely calm.

Does it feel like mobility is the way to go right now?”

Ai for the most part

For other functions, I think Google relies a little too much on AI. For example, if you keep track of your weight by logging calories, Google has drastically reduced the possibilities of adding food manually with the redesign of the app. Instead, Google thinks you should ask the coach to enter the meals for you (which works, but writing “Log a 500-calorie dinner for me” to the AI ​​instead of doing it yourself really feels like a waste of both my time and processing power), or that you should take a photo of the meal and let the AI ​​identify the calorie amount for you. That can never work, I think and bake a cinnamon bun and ask the coach to sign it for me. To my surprise, it even correctly identifies which bakery the bun is from, and estimates its calories based on their information. I blame the bun on the bakery bag. I can’t imagine it being able to identify the calorie content of, say, a tuna sauce I made myself.

As I said, Google Health Coach is a premium service, and apart from the three months of trial included with the band, it’s something you have to pay extra for.

Seven days of battery life

The battery life of the Fitbit Air is just over seven days. Honestly, I would have expected more for a device without a screen, but battery life has never been Fitbit’s strong suit. Compared to the Pixel Watch, which needs to be charged basically daily, it is of course an improvement, and Google has even created a function to be able to use the Fitbit Air as a complement to the Pixel Watch. You can have both connected to your Fitbit account at the same time and switch between which is active. In this way, you can measure sleep and have the watch charging overnight. Still, I think this is more of an understatement for the Pixel Watch that you need another activity tracker to enjoy its full potential.

I still feel unsure about who the target audience is for the Fitbit Air. During the test period, I appreciated it but never stopped looking at my wrist to see what time it was. But if you’re keen on a health monitor, but you absolutely don’t want it to look like a pedometer or be able to function as a watch and you’ve been thinking about a smart ring, the Fitbit Air is clearly an interesting alternative at a fraction of the price. The possibilities are limited but are well utilized.