GoKawiilIn its latest health push, Google is ditching screens and betting hard on the AI coaching features in its newest wearable. The new Fitbit Air is a slim, screenless band with a removable sensor with the sole job of collecting health data in the background, removing the distractions of notifications, apps and stats.
Read more: Fitbit Air, Redesigned App and an AI Coach: Google Is Overhauling Its Health Ecosystem
This back-to-basics move echoes the earliest Fitbit devices, but with a very different end game. Where those first bands only counted steps, the Fitbit Air feeds a much broader stream of biometric data into Google's evolving health ecosystem that seems to be increasingly centered on AI.
At $99, the band is just the ticket to get you in the door. The main event is Google's recently launched Health Coach, part of the Google Health Premium (formerly Fitbit Premium) service. Google includes three months free with every Fitbit Air purchase, clearly banking on users getting hooked on the coaching, training plans and deeper sleep analysis exclusive to the premium tier, which runs $10 a month or $100 a year. What Google seems less eager to advertise: You can use the band without a subscription and still get the core health-tracking experience.
Health Coach is an AI-powered chatbot built on Gemini that translates raw data into personalized guidance, adaptive workout plans and recovery recommendations.
The strategy also extends beyond Android. Because the Fitbit Air and its companion app support both iOS and Android, Google is using the device as a Trojan horse of sorts to bring its AI health coach to iPhone.
News of the launch comes alongside a broader rebrand, as Google phases out the Fitbit name in its app in favor of Google Health -- part of a push to unify its wearables, services and AI. The Fitbit branding sticks around on hardware for now, but the finish line for the Fitbit name is in sight.
It's also a strategic bet on where the market is headed. Screenless devices like the Whoop band and Oura Ring have carved out a growing category of wearables focused on continuous wear, sleep tracking and long-term health trends rather than the in-the-moment functionality of a smartwatch. The fact that the Fitbit Air can be paired with a device like the Pixel Watch further suggests Google sees the two as complementary, not competitive.
The Fitbit Air has a removable sensor below the band. Google
What does it track?
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