Google is taking a minimalist tack with its latest wearable, launching the screenless Fitbit Air on May 7 and betting the product’s appeal on an AI health coach rather than on on‑device apps or notifications. The slim band houses a removable sensor that quietly collects heart rate, SpO2, temperature variation, sleep and other biometrics, feeding that data into Google’s newly rebranded Google Health ecosystem and the AI‑powered Health Coach built on Gemini.
The Fitbit Air will retail for US$99 at Google.com and in the Google Store app on May 7, with physical retailers stocking the device from May 26. The purchase includes three months of Google Health Premium (formerly Fitbit Premium); the subscription then renews at $10 per month or $100 per year for access to the Health Coach and long‑term insights. Accessory bands start at $35 and are offered in Obsidian, Fog, Berry and Lavender, plus a limited Stephen Curry Special Edition in orange and gray.
Hardware specs emphasize continuous monitoring rather than advanced on‑wrist features. Google says the Air supports 24/7 heart‑rate tracking, heart‑rate variability, SpO2, temperature variation, sleep tracking and analysis, cardio load and training readiness metrics, automatic activity detection, and irregular heart rhythm notifications aimed at spotting atrial fibrillation. The sensor module is removable and interchangeable between wrist bands; the device is water‑resistant to 50 meters. Google advertises up to a week of battery life and a 0–100% charge time of about 90 minutes—considerably longer endurance than Pixel Watch models with displays, though short of some screenless rivals with multi‑week runtimes.
Health Coach is the central selling point. Rolled out from an October 2025 beta, the AI assistant aggregates fitness, sleep, heart‑rate and menstrual cycle data to generate adaptive training plans, recovery recommendations and haptic Smart Wake alarms that aim to wake users at an optimal point in their sleep cycle. Plans and workout suggestions include video guidance, and the coach adjusts recommendations based on real‑time performance and recovery signals. Google is pitching the Air as a low‑distraction device that funnels richer biometric inputs into the company’s cloud AI, rather than as a standalone smart device.
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The Fitbit Air supports both Android and iOS, widening access to Google’s Health Coach beyond Pixel and Android phones and positioning the band as complementary to — rather than competitive with — the Pixel Watch lineup. Google acknowledges the Air uses a more traditional sensor package than the Pixel Watch 4, which features multipath optical heart‑rate and far‑field temperature sensors; that difference could limit accuracy in peak heart‑rate zones and in some advanced metrics, Google concedes.
Privacy and branding shifts accompany the launch. Google is phasing the Fitbit name out of its app in favor of Google Health while keeping Fitbit branding on hardware for now. The company says data collected by Fitbit devices will not be used for advertising; however, the move revives scrutiny over how sensitive health information is stored and used after Google’s 2021 acquisition of Fitbit, when it agreed to keep Fitbit data separate from ad systems for 10 years. Google is also exploring features that would let users import medical records into the app, a capability that privacy experts warn must be watched closely as policies evolve.
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The Fitbit Air arrives in a market that has seen growing interest in screenless wearables focused on continuous wear and long‑term health trends, such as Whoop and Oura. Priced at $99 and bundled with temporary access to Google’s paid Health services, the Air is clearly intended as an entry product to draw users into Google’s AI health ecosystem.
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