Fitbit Air First Impressions: Google’s New Fitness Tracker Has a Built-in Trainer
Google ditches the screen lately wearable and betting hard on its AI health coach. The new Fitbit Air is a small, screenless band with a removable sensor that has the sole function of collecting health data in the background, eliminating the distractions of notifications, apps and statistics.
Read more: Fitbit Air, Redesigned App and AI Trainer: Google Is Reshaping Its Health Ecosystem
This back-to-basics move is similar to The first Fitbit devicesbut with a very different endgame. Where those first bands only counted steps, the Fitbit Air feeds more extensive biometric data into Google’s developing health system that seems to be heavily focused on AI.
For $99, the band is the ticket to get you in the door. The big event was the recent launch of Google Health Coach, which is part of Google Health Premium (formerly Fitbit Premium) service. The premium service will run $10 per month or $100 per year if you purchase an annual subscription.
Health Coach is an AI-powered chatbot built into Gemini that translates raw data into personalized guidance, flexible workout plans and recovery recommendations.
The strategy also extends beyond Android. Because the Fitbit Air and its accompanying app support both iOS and Android, Google is using this device as a Trojan horse to deliver its AI health coach The iPhone.
The launch news comes with extensive redesigns, such as Google is removing the Fitbit name in its app favoring Google Health — part of a push to integrate wearables, services and AI. The Fitbit branding sticks to the hardware for now, but the last line of the Fitbit name is visible.
It is also a strategic bet on where the market is headed. Screenless devices such as The Whoop Club again Oura Ring have charted a growing category of wearables that focuses on continuous wear, sleep tracking and long-term health trends rather than the current functionality of a smartwatch. The fact that Fitbit Air can be paired with a device like Pixel watch and suggests that Google sees the two as complementary, not competitive.
The Fitbit Air has a removable sensor under the band.
What is the sequence?
Fitbit Air includes the basic health metrics you’d expect, including 24/7 heart rate monitoring, heart rate variability, SpO2 (blood oxygen level), temperature variability, sleep tracking and analytics, heart load, training readiness, steps, distance and irregular heart rhythm alerts to detect atrial fibrillation. It also includes automatic activity tracking that you can confirm later in the app. The device is water resistant up to 50 meters.
One caveat: The Fitbit Air uses an older sensor setup than the current Pixel Watch 4, which includes a wide-angle heart rate sensor and a remote temperature sensor. The Air sticks with conventional sensors, which can limit accuracy, especially in areas of high heart rate and more advanced data, such as menstrual cycle tracking.
The great power of Google training
Google Health Coach, along with long-term health information, is the main reason you should buy this group. The trainer integrates fitness, sleep, heart rate and menstrual cycle data to create training programs that adapt to real-time performance and programming. It sets weekly goals and can suggest workouts (including video examples), adjust recommendations based on recovery and can use your data to show when to push and when to rest. These include Haptic Smart Wake alarms that dynamically use your sleep data to wake you up at the appropriate time in your sleep cycle.
The Health Coach has been in beta since October of 2025 and is making a surprise launch alongside the Fitbit Air.
Three phone screens showing Google Health Coach nutrition and fitness logging.
Battery life
One of the clear benefits of not having a screen is battery life. Google says the Fitbit Air lasts up to a week on a single charge. (We’ll have to test to see how this holds up in our real-world testing.) And it can charge from zero to 100% in 90 minutes.
That’s not quite the two-week battery life of the Whoop band, but it’s a serious step up from the roughly 36-hour battery cap you’ll find on its display siblings, like the 41mm Pixel Watch 4 model.
The Pixel Watch 4 (pictured) can be used alongside the Fitbit Air.
iOS and Android
Unlike the Android-only Pixel Watch, the Fitbit Air works with both Android and iOS, making it highly compatible with other Fitbit devices. That means you can get Google Health Coach even if you have an iPhone, although it’s unclear if there are any benefits to using Air on Android and iOS.
Design and fit
I haven’t seen the Fitbit Air in person, but based on the specs, it follows a standard screenless design. Like the Whoop band, the sensor module can be removed and swapped between different bands. Unlike Whoop, which offers other mounts like a sports bra and even a Whoop thong, Fitbit sticks to wrist-based accessories. That may change later based on feedback.
Air supports a wide range of switchable bands on a variety of devices. Options include the Performance Loop for everyday wear, the Active Band for workouts and the Elevated Modern Band for a more polished look. The bands start at $35 and come in four colors: Obsidian, Mist, Berry and Lavender. The Stephen Curry Special Edition in orange and gray will also be available in limited quantities.
Fitbit Air Performance band in: Lavender, Obsidian, Berry and Fog.
Privacy problem
The switch to Google Health’s product integration is now causing a rethink, especially as the company is exploring allowing users to import medical records into the app. As part of it 2020 Fitbit acquisitionGoogle agreed to keep Fitbit’s health data separate from its advertising business for 10 years.
Google says that the data collected by Fitbit Air and other Fitbit devices will not be used for advertising, but experts note that even anonymous health data can be traced back to individuals, and that once the data is collected, how it is used for years down the line depends entirely on policies that can change. For anyone considering giving away their health data, it’s worth reading the fine print and keeping an eye on how those policies change over time.
Fitbit Air automatically detects workouts and saves them in the Google Health App.
Fitbit Air price and availability
Fitbit Air launches May 7 for $100 on Google.com and the Google Store app, with in-store availability at physical retail locations starting May 26. Accessory bands start at $35.
Three months of Google Health Premium is included with purchase, after which the subscription automatically renews at $10 per month.
CNET will be testing the Google Fitbit Air in the coming weeks, so check back for our full review.
