The rumor is real: Google just unveiled the Fitbit Air—a $99.99 smart band that could shake up the entire wearables game. No mandatory subscription. A fully revamped app. And if Google’s promises hold up, this might finally give Whoop a serious run for its money.
I haven’t held the Air in my hands yet, but the photos already tell a story of elegant simplicity. The tiny “pebble” slips into the underside of the strap, just like the old Fitbit Flex. Swap bands without showing any hardware. Colors? Black, light gray, a bluish Lavender, and a pinkish Berry.
That special Stephen Curry edition with the orange band and his jersey number stitched in? That’s $129.99. The standard Air goes for $99.99. Replacement bands cost $34.99. Pre-orders are open now, shipping later this month.
So what does the Fitbit Air actually do? It’s a heart rate sensor that pairs with your phone—no display, no indicator lights. You want to see your heart rate mid-workout? Check your phone. Inside: accelerometers, blood oxygen sensor, vibration motor, and a temperature sensor (though Google admits it’s not accurate enough for menstrual cycle tracking). It stores a full day of workout data, so you don’t need your phone for every run.
Here’s the breakthrough on multi-device support: you can now pair a Pixel Watch AND a Fitbit to the same phone. Finally. But only those two. No swapping between two Fitbits. That stings if you own a Charge 6 and want to trade off with an Air—but it’s still a huge step forward for anyone who already wears a Pixel Watch.
The Fitbit app is getting a total overhaul and a new name: Google Health. Sounds great on paper. But my early tests of the Public Preview left me cold. The AI coach hallucinated—kept forgetting my goals, making stuff up. One Reddit user reported the coach insisted they wake up at 5:30 a.m. and had just moved. Neither was true. A Googler replied: “We’ve seen these hallucinations and are making progress.”
Google says fixes are coming: nutrition tracking, less verbose coach, better goal tracking. If they pull it off, this could be the Whoop killer we’ve been waiting for. Whoop’s real strength isn’t the hardware—it’s the app. Its weekly plans and coach are legendary. Google is promising the same: weekly plans, a coach that learns from your conversations, and access to all your data. That’s far more than most fitness chatbots can do.
Let’s compare the Fitbit Air to the competition. Whoop is king, but that $239/year subscription stings. Polar’s Loop is $200 and does almost nothing. Amazfit’s Helio Strap is $99.99 with no subscription, but its app is basic. The Fitbit Air matches that low price, has no subscription, and if the app delivers, it will offer a full-featured experience that can even share data with your Pixel Watch.
I’m genuinely excited. The smart band market has been waiting for a no-subscription device with a powerful app. The Fitbit Air might just be it. I’ll be putting it to the test soon—and I won’t hold back if the app stumbles. But if Google gets this right, the landscape just changed.
