Google Fitbit Air Brings AI Health Coaching to Wearables

Google is making a major move back into the wearable market with the launch of the Fitbit Air, a new screenless fitness tracker designed to be lighter, simpler, and more affordable than many smartwatches. Priced at $100 and available for pre-order now, the Fitbit Air will officially go on sale May 26. Unlike traditional fitness watches, it has no screen, no buttons, and no ability to show notifications or tell time. Instead, Google is focusing on comfort, health tracking, and AI-powered coaching as the main selling points.

The Fitbit Air is clearly inspired by screenless wearables like Whoop, but Google is trying to make the idea more accessible. The device weighs only 12 grams with the band and 5.2 grams without it, making it smaller and lighter than many competing wearables. Google says it is 25% smaller than the Fitbit Luxe and 50% smaller than the Inspire 3. Its design is meant for people who find regular wearables too bulky or distracting, allowing users to track their health while still “living in the moment.” It is also water-resistant up to 50 meters and can last up to a week on one charge, with a five-minute fast charge providing a full day of battery life.

Even without a screen, the Fitbit Air offers many of the health and fitness features people expect from modern wearables. It can track 24/7 heart rate, resting heart rate, heart rate variability, blood oxygen levels, sleep stages, sleep duration, and signs of atrial fibrillation through irregular heart rhythm alerts. It can also automatically detect common workouts such as walking, running, biking, rowing, elliptical training, and other high-heart-rate activities. Users can manually log many more workouts through the app, while features like Sleep Score, readiness, cardio load, Smart Wake, and silent vibration alarms help make the device useful for both fitness and recovery.

The bigger story is Google’s new AI-powered health strategy. The Fitbit Air launches alongside the rebranded Google Health app, which replaces the Fitbit app and organizes data into sections like Today, Fitness, Sleep, and Health. The free version includes basic tracking, but Google is also offering Google Health Premium for $10 a month. This subscription includes Google Health Coach, a Gemini-powered assistant that can create personalized workout plans, analyze sleep habits, provide health and wellness suggestions, and review meal photos to estimate calories and macronutrients. Every Fitbit Air purchase includes three free months of Google Health Premium.

This puts Google in direct competition with companies like Whoop and Oura, but at a lower price point. Whoop does not charge upfront for hardware but requires a subscription starting around $200 per year, while Oura’s ring costs much more upfront and also includes subscription-based features. Google’s strategy places Fitbit Air between budget fitness bands and premium health trackers, offering affordable hardware with the option of advanced AI coaching. The device will launch with three band options, including a recycled Performance Loop Band, a waterproof Active Band, and an Elevated Modern Band, along with a Steph Curry Special Edition priced at $130.

At the same time, the launch raises privacy and trust questions. Fitbit users must migrate their data to Google accounts by May 19 or risk losing access to the Fitbit platform, with data deletion beginning July 15. Google says health data will remain separate from advertising and will not be used for ads, but some users may still be concerned about sensitive health information becoming tied more closely to Google’s wider ecosystem. Overall, the Fitbit Air represents more than just a new fitness band. It shows how Google wants to combine lightweight wearable hardware with AI-powered personal health coaching, but its success will depend on whether users see enough value in Google Health Coach to keep paying after the free trial ends.

Works Cited

Malik, Aisha. “Google Unveils Whoop-like Screenless Fitbit Air.” TechCrunch, 7 May 2026, techcrunch.com/2026/05/07/google-unveils-whoop-like-screenless-fitbit-air/. 

“Google’s $100 Fitbit Air Has No Screen. The Product It Is Actually Selling Is a $10-a-Month AI Health Coach.” The Next Web, 7 May 2026, thenextweb.com/news/google-fitbit-air-screenless-whoop-health-coach. 

Low, Cherlynn. “The Google Fitbit Air Is an AI-Infused Take on Whoop Wearables.” Engadget, 7 May 2026, www.engadget.com/2166645/the-google-fitbit-air-is-an-ai-infused-take-on-whoop-wearables/. 

Mashable. “Google Fitbit Air: Price, Specs, Release Date.” Mashable, 7 May 2026, mashable.com/article/google-fitbit-air-price-specs-release-date.