Google Fitbit Air gets blood pressure and insulin resistance tracking, but there’s a catch

Google seems to be focusing more on its screenless fitness wearable approach by adding new features. In a blog post, the company has now confirmed that it will be bringing health-tracking capabilities to the screenless Fitbit Air including the improved automatic workout detection to the wearable. The latest update introduces Health Guardian, a collection of tools designed to identify changes in health metrics over time. Google says these features will begin rolling out to Fitbit Air users with a Google Health Premium subscription later this month.

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Fitbit Air gets Health Guardian features

Google’s Health Guardian suite is designed to monitor changes in biometric signals and help users identify patterns that may warrant attention. Fitbit Air users with a Google Health Premium subscription will gain access to blood pressure trends and insulin resistance trends.

Users who meet the monthly wear requirements will receive reports at the beginning of each month. Google Health Coach can use these insights to provide personalised wellness guidance and recommend adjustments to users’ fitness plans.

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The features are intended to highlight changes over time rather than diagnose medical conditions. Blood pressure trends, for instance, do not provide conventional blood pressure readings in mmHg. Similarly, insulin resistance trends should not be treated as a substitute for clinical testing.

Google has also confirmed that sleep breathing quality tracking is coming to Fitbit Air. The feature was initially missing from the device, but is expected to arrive through a software update. A specific rollout date has not been announced.

Automatic workout tracking now supports over 100 activities

Google is also improving automatic activity detection across Fitbit Air and Pixel Watch 3, Pixel Watch 4 and Pixel Watch 5. The updated feature is scheduled to roll out later this month. According to Google, compatible devices will be able to identify more than 100 activities, compared with 10 previously. The expanded list includes strength training, swimming, racket sports and team sports.

The system considers additional context, including workout history, previous activity records, manual corrections and location data when users grant permission. Google claims these changes make activity detection nearly twice as accurate and reduce missed workouts by more than half.

Workouts that meet the minimum duration threshold, set to 15 minutes by default, and involve a sustained increase in heart rate can be logged automatically. A summary typically reaches the Google Health app within 30 minutes. The system also learns from users’ corrections to improve future activity detection.

What this means for Pixel Watch users

The expansion brings more advanced health tracking to Google’s screenless wearable, but it also means some capabilities are no longer limited to its smartwatches. Pixel Watch users reportedly get access to corresponding Health Guardian insights without an additional subscription, while Fitbit Air owners need Google Health Premium to unlock the new features.

Although Pixel Watch devices offer a display, apps and other smartwatch functions, the expanded feature overlap could lead some buyers to reconsider which Google wearable best suits their needs.