GoKawiilGoogle Health Coach seems to think I’m on the verge of physical collapse. My sleep is not where it needs to be, hence my unimpressive readiness score. My heart rate variability, a measure of how recovered I am, is below baseline. I’m spending too much time in a hot, humid environment, it says, reminding me temperatures are creeping above 90 degrees Fahrenheit. According to Google’s AI coach, I should skip my planned strength workouts. My number one job is to hydrate, stay out of the heat, and try to squeeze in some steps. Also — are my calves feeling any strain? How am I feeling about this assessment?
Mixed, honestly. As it turns out, that’s an accurate summation of how I’ve felt the past month testing the $99 Fitbit Air. If we were only talking about the hardware, I’d have a single complaint — my “lavender” device is actually periwinkle. (I have an unhinged Vergecast clip that proves I’m right, too.) But this isn’t a hardware story. It’s a story about software and how AI is taking over consumer healthcare.
As a basic tracker, the Air is exactly what Fitbit has historically done best. I rarely feel it on my wrist. It lasts a long time and charges quickly. While covering WWDC, I got a notification from the Air that I was down to 20 percent battery. I plopped it on the charger for the 45 minutes or so it took me to get ready, and I was back up to 85 percent. I haven’t had to think about it since. In the month or so since I booted up the Air, I’ve only charged it three times. I wish this didn’t require another proprietary charger, but this has always been an issue with fitness bands.
Are you going to get the most in-depth array of metrics ever? No, but it’s a comprehensive set that will serve all but the most quantified health nut. You get the basics like step count, resting heart rate, and sleep. You also get metrics like heart rate variability, blood oxygen, readiness, sleep stages, and cardio load — which is Fitbit’s way of contextualizing the optimal amount of cardiovascular activity a person should get in a week. There’s nothing by way of push notifications, but the device supports silent alarms that buzz you awake in the morning.
I wish I liked the alternative straps more, but Google has released the specs so hopefully we’ll see some more creative options.
Compared to a Whoop band, the default textile strap is thinner, sleeker, and easier to put on. (The Whoop clasp has been annoying from day one; I’ve gotten used to it, but I still don’t like it.) The sensor is easy to pop in and out of straps if you feel like switching up the vibe. I don’t love the official alternative straps from Google, but hopefully we’ll see more third-party options given that Google shared the specs and guidelines. Even so, the biggest win stylistically for the Air is that it mostly just looks like a nice bracelet. A note for the petite-wristed: The Air fits wrists ranging from 130mm to 210mm, but I feel like my 5.75-inch (146mm) wrists are about as small as you can comfortably get before encountering sizing awkwardness like gaps and excess strap materials.
Like I said, I’ve got next to nothing to complain about as far as hardware. I could kvetch about the fact that there’s a $99 annual Google Health Premium subscription, but even then it’s completely optional. The subscription gets you a video workout library, adaptive fitness plans, some more in-depth metrics, and the AI health coach. But if all you want is basic fitness tracking data, none of that is paywalled anymore. But Google is betting you’ll want more insight than just the numbers. That’s where Google Health and its AI coach come in.
My general stance on consumer-focused AI health and fitness features, as I’ve written several times in Optimizer, is that they’re shitty, stapled-on cash grabs that do little more than regurgitate googleable facts. The promise might be personalized health insights based on your data, but that’s not the reality. That said, of all the ones I’ve tested, Google Health Coach is the closest to not sucking. So long as you’re willing to put a lot of effort in.
Tell me in what world are these lavender. This is blue.
The Google Health Coach isn’t reinventing the AI fitness wheel. It’s a Gemini-powered chatbot that’s now front and center in the rebranded Google Health app. Every morning, it gives you a summary of your sleep and readiness metrics and then suggests what you ought to do for the day. It can answer questions you might have about your health, interpret what your data trends might suggest, and suggest tweaks to your overall fitness plans. For example, when I was about to go on a series of business trips while dealing with medication side effects, it was able to generate a travel-friendly workout routine with a less aggressive step goal and body weight movements for strength. That said, it’ll always defer to consulting healthcare professionals and won’t give any diagnoses.
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