New Tech Review
Google is making a bold play in the burgeoning market of screenless wearables, directly challenging established players like Whoop and Amazfit. Their latest offering, the Google Fitbit Air, aims to capture a segment of users seeking deep health insights without the constant distractions of a smartwatch. While we appreciate the ambition, the Fitbit Air, in its first generation, isn’t without its notable flaws. We’ve put it through its paces to uncover where it shines, where it stumbles, and how it truly stacks up against its rivals.
The Rise of Screenless Wearables
The concept of a screenless fitness tracker has become synonymous with Whoop, and for good reason. They were pioneers in this market, adopted by many athletes and even becoming a status symbol. However, Whoop’s subscription model, costing $200 to $300 annually, isn’t for everyone. Critics often argue that Whoop caters primarily to amateur athletes, suggesting that casual users might be better served by a standard smartwatch. We strongly disagree. While Whoop excels in providing deep data insights for performance improvement, it lacks real-time information due to its screenless design, which isn’t ideal for athletes needing immediate feedback during a run. Companies like Bevel are now directly competing with Whoop, offering similar powerful health insights but integrating with existing devices like the Apple Watch and Garmin. This has even led to legal disputes, but the biggest player in the data game, Google, is now entering the fray, poised to potentially redefine the landscape.
Fitbit Air: The Good
Design & Comfort
- The Fitbit Air is remarkably small and comfortable, making it ideal for continuous wear, especially during sleep. Its compact design means it doesn’t protrude like a bulky smartwatch, allowing for easy integration under shirt cuffs and comfortable sleep tracking.
- The screenless design eliminates distractions from notifications, a common issue with smartwatches.
- The neutral gray color of our test unit, along with the availability of four total colors and various band options (including an active band and the textile band we tested), allows for easy accessorizing.
Battery & Charging
- We observed approximately 6.5 days of battery life, slightly under Google’s claim of 7 days, which is still excellent for a wearable.
- Charging is impressively fast, reaching 0 to 100% in just 60 minutes, surpassing the advertised 90 minutes. A quick 20-minute charge can boost the battery to 80%, providing a day’s worth of use in just 5 minutes.
Ecosystem & Compatibility
- The Fitbit Air is both iOS and Android compatible, with its accompanying Google Health app working seamlessly across both platforms. Android users benefit from quick pairing via the fast pair window.
- Google Health is positioned as a central hub for all health data. It can import data from third-party apps like Apple Health and Garmin, leveraging the best sensors from various devices (e.g., Garmin’s GPS) to provide comprehensive insights.
- In the US, Google Health is expanding to allow users to upload medical reports for insights via Health Coach, integrating real-time wearable data with medical history.
- The device supports auto-workout detection for activities like walks, runs, cycle rides, and rowing, storing data locally even without a phone present.
Health Tracking Accuracy
- Heart rate accuracy is excellent, closely matching the gold standard Polar H10 chest strap during our test runs.
- The Fitbit Air can share heart rate data with other devices, such as gym machines.
- It includes an SPO2 sensor, APIB detection, and heart rate variability. It also estimates V2 max based on running pace and heart rate, though this requires carrying your phone for GPS data.
Fitbit Air: The Bad
Missing Features & Proprietary Charging
- The device lacks a built-in GPS, requiring users to carry their phone for accurate location tracking during outdoor activities.
- There is no blood pressure monitoring or ECG functionality in this version.
- The Fitbit Air uses a proprietary charger with an attached cable, which is less convenient than a standard USB-C port and differs from the Pixel Watch charger, adding to cable clutter within the Google ecosystem.
Connectivity & Water Resistance
- We found it inconvenient that voice logging for food or water intake must be done directly within the Google Health app’s AI coach, rather than through a general Gemini assistant on the smartphone.
- While water-resistant up to 50 meters (suitable for swimming), there is no official IP rating. The textile strap is not ideal for water activities as it takes a long time to dry.
- Google recommends removing other accessories from the wrist where the Fitbit Air is worn, which can be impractical for users who wear bracelets or other jewelry.
Fitbit Air: The Ugly
Workout Tracking Glitches
- The workout tracking system exhibited significant bugs. For instance, when attempting to rename a “tennis” workout to “squash,” the app retained the original “tennis” label.
- More critically, recorded workout data was inconsistent. A vigorous squash workout initially showed high heart rates, but the data later changed, displaying a much lower, “normal” heart rate, effectively distorting the actual effort.
- The AI coach’s personalized workout plans were rigid. Despite completing four workouts in a week, the coach insisted on a Sunday squash session, even when the activity was performed on a different day due to venue closure.
Smart Alarm & Notifications
- The “smart wake-up” alarm, designed to wake users at an optimal sleep stage within a 30-minute window, often woke us up mid-sleep cycle, leading to grogginess.
- On one occasion, after waking up earlier than the alarm, the Google Health app provided a morning brief acknowledging wakefulness, yet the alarm still sounded 20 minutes later, indicating a lack of true “smart” integration.
- The two-tap gesture to dismiss the alarm was unreliable, often requiring multiple attempts.
- The device failed to provide low battery alerts via vibration, which is a significant oversight for a screenless device.
Tech Specs
- Battery Life: Up to 7 days (claimed), 6.5 days (tested)
- Charging Time (0-100%): 90 minutes (claimed), 60 minutes (tested)
- Water Resistance: Up to 50 meters
- Heart Rate Monitoring: Yes
- SPO2 Sensor: Yes
- APIB Detection: Yes
- Heart Rate Variability: Yes
- V2 Max Estimation: Yes (requires phone for GPS)
- GPS: No (connected GPS only)
- Blood Pressure Monitor: No
- ECG: No
- Compatibility: iOS & Android
The Competition: Whoop vs. Amazfit Helio Strap
Whoop
- Cost: Starts at $240 per year (includes device)
- Battery Life: 14 days
- Charging: On-wrist charging available (extra cost)
- Advanced Features: Blood pressure monitor and ECG available with higher-tier plans (extra cost)
- Insights: Pro-level insights in the app
Amazfit Helio Strap
- Cost: Similar to Fitbit Air ($99), with an optional Zep Aura subscription ($70/year, or $14 on deal)
- Battery Life: 10 days
- Charging: USB-C puck charger
- Design: Slightly thicker than Fitbit Air
- Advanced Features (with Zep Aura): Detailed sleep health assessment (e.g., sleep apnea), breathing exercises, meditation, relaxing sounds, AI coach (less advanced than Google’s)
Final Verdict
The Google Fitbit Air, priced at $99, offers basic fitness, sleep, and health tracking, which is sufficient for many users. However, its true power, and arguably its raison d’être, lies within the Google Health app and its AI Health Coach, which comes with a premium subscription of $9.99 per month or $100 per year. Without this premium, the Fitbit Air feels like a well-designed but ultimately basic tracker, lacking the actionable insights that differentiate it from countless other devices on the market.
The AI Health Coach is where Google truly aims to disrupt. It provides personalized workout plans, proactive sleep insights, and keeps you accountable with regular messages and advice. This level of personalized guidance is typically expensive to obtain from human coaches, making Google’s offering a compelling value proposition for those seeking to improve their health and fitness. However, the numerous bugs and inconsistencies we encountered, particularly with workout tracking and smart alarms, indicate that the software experience needs significant refinement.
Compared to its rivals, the Fitbit Air sits in an interesting position. Whoop offers superior battery life and advanced health features, but at a higher recurring cost. The Amazfit Helio Strap provides a longer battery life and a more convenient charging solution, with its own subscription for deeper sleep insights, though its AI isn’t as sophisticated as Google’s. Ultimately, Google’s strength lies in its vast data capabilities and AI, but the Fitbit Air needs to iron out its software kinks to fully realize its potential as a seamless, insightful health companion. We will be conducting a follow-up review after the Google Health Premium trial expires to assess its long-term value.
===DISCLOSURES===
✅ We bought the AmazFit Helio Strap with our own money.
✅ Google sent us these products for free for review purposes.
✅ No one got input at any stage in the creation of this content. All opinions and bad jokes are strictly our own.
✅ Affiliate shopping and merchandise links above earn us commission.
