A lot of fitness watches today feel like second phones, buzzing every five minutes with notifications from apps, emails, and messages from family members, friends, and even co-workers. Some people just want to track their sleep and fitness goals without all those distractions.
Google is now launching a device that could address those issues, called the Fitbit Air. Priced at $100, this screenless “pebble” targets people who want health data with less screen time.
It looks a lot like Whoop, the wearable fitness tracker built around the same minimalist idea as the Fitbit Air. The device has remarkably minimal hardware, weighing 12 grams with the band on and 5.2 grams without it, with the sensor tucked underneath the band. Unlike Whoop, users pay for the Fitbit Air upfront, with an optional $10 monthly subscription for Google Health.
Apart from Whoop, there are several other products built around the same selling point of reducing screen time while still providing health data, such as the Oura Ring, which starts at $349, almost $250 more expensive than the Fitbit Air. As for traditional smartwatches, Apple’s cheapest smartwatch, the SE 3, starts at $249, while Samsung’s Galaxy Watch FE starts at around $200.
According to Google, the Fitbit Air can track “24/7 heart rate, heart rhythm monitoring with Afib alerts, SpO2, resting heart rate, heart rate variability, sleep stages and duration, and more.” The battery can also last up to a week, the company claimed.
But with the Fitbit Air, Google’s plans seem to go beyond simply providing health data. “We want every hardware product we’re building to really optimize around this Health Coach,” said Rishi Chandra, Google’s GM for Health.
Google’s plan appears to work like this: users pay $10 a month and get access to a Gemini-powered coach that analyzes their data and provides personalized suggestions. Upload a photo of your meal, and it estimates calories. Share your fitness goal, and it builds a plan around it.
The broader idea is to provide users with something close to a digital health team, and Chandra summed it up this way: “When you look at pro athletes, they have an army helping them. They have a nutritionist, a sleep coach, and a fitness trainer, all looking out for that individual. That’s what the Health Coach is trying to provide.”
The Fitbit Air went on pre-order yesterday and ships on May 26, while the Health Coach launches on May 19.
Henry Chikwem
