The screenless health and fitness band returns with a light yet powerful tracker, that offers smart data without distraction
Our Google Fitbit Air Health And Fitness Tracker review
After three years, Fitbit is back with a brand-new screenless wearable – the Google Fitbit Air. As an avid runner, I was really excited to test it out and be able to access all my stats in one place. Plus, as I have an irregular heart rate, I was interested to track it through the app and see if I can manage it better. The new health and fitness tracker is available in three colours – including Lavender and Berry – but as my wardrobe is 80 per cent black, I chose Obsidian to blend in. Here’s how my trial with the wearable went.
What does the Fitbit Air do?
The question is more what doesn’t this brilliant band do? It tracks sleep, steps and daily activity, and has an automatic workout detection. It lets you know your ‘Daily Readiness’ after sleep, as well as your heart rate. And it’s water resistant to 50 metres (so you can keep it on in the shower).
What makes the Fitbit Air special?
As far as comfort goes, this band is unmatched. It only weighs 12 grams, and I love how slim it is – especially when compared to other bands and watch trackers. You really do put it on and forget about it. The price (£84.99) is fantastic, and there is no subscription required (though there’s an optional Premium subscription you can pay for). The health and fitness data is incredibly accurate, and I love having the option of swappable bands if I want to mix it up.
What is the battery life on the Fitbit Air?
Once fully charged, the battery on the Google Fitbit Air lasts seven days (yes, really, a whole week). Just a five-minute quick charge is one day’s usage, while a full charge takes 90 minutes. Full marks for this one, Google.
How easy is it to use the Fitbit Air?
As a technophobe, I worried that setup would take ages and I’d regret signing up to be a tester. But since this is a Google product, it just linked to my Google account – I didn’t have to create new usernames or passwords, so it was probably ready to use in under five minutes. It also comes charged, which rarely happens with tech products, and meant I could get out straight away and test my new toy on a run.
When it comes to fitting the Google Fitbit Air for wear, you simply open up the Velcro band, slip it on to your wrist then hold down the pod/pebble so it’s snug to your skin before refastening the Velcro band.
Because the Google Fitbit Air has no screen, you’ll need the Google Health app to track your fitness and health data – I promise you, the app is very intuitive and easy to grasp quickly. I’ve loved it for managing my sleep; it can tell you how long you were in deep, REM and light sleep over the course of the night, and how you can improve your sleep too. There are so many features on the app that I wasn’t expecting, such as the mindfulness and sleep stories. I found the head-to-toe body scan really helpful at night – I was asleep before it even finished.
What is Google’s new AI Health Coach?
You can connect the Google Fitbit Air to the Google Health app completely free of charge, without any subscriptions, but a subscription to Google Health Premium (for £8/month or £80/year) unlocks Gemini-powered personalised guidance in the app. Using AI technology, Google Health Coach works like a regular chatbot, using your health data to personalise its responses, offering personalised sleep summaries, weekly fitness plans, and proactive insights – all of which is super impressive.
Is the Fitbit Air actually worth it?
Honestly, I wish I had got one of the Fitbit health and fitness trackers sooner. It really does make you want to move more as you can see your progress throughout the day. I also love using it to set my alarms – it picks the optimum time within your sleep cycle to wake you up, delivering a subtle vibration to your wrist (so much nicer than waking up to an aggressive alarm clock). All of this at a brilliantly accessible price point. I’m pretty sure you’ll love this too.
★★★★★
