A quietly powerful fitness tracker finally helped me get back in tune with my body

Amanda Kondolojy is the managing editor for all things entertainment and streaming at Pocket-lint. She is based in central Florida and is a film fanatic, binge TV enthusiast and video game junkie. She is proud to have covered the entertainment industry as a writer and editor for a number of outlets in the past, including the Orlando Sentinel, Tom's Guide, TV by the Numbers, and more. She holds dual Bachelor of Arts degrees in Communication and Government from George Mason University. Want to reach out? Contact Amanda.K -at- valnetinc -dot- com

When Fitbit first made its way on the scene in the early 2010s I couldn't get enough of the company's iconic wearables. My Fitbit Charge and Fitbit Flex helped me reach my daily exercise goals easily, serving as an important motivator on my fitness journey. However, that all changed when the Fitbit Alta was introduced. No longer was my fitness buddy just something that kept me accountable for reaching my activity goals, but it also let me know when I had an email, a text message, a phone call, or even an Instagram notification.

In theory, this sounded great as my single-use wearable suddenly did a thousand different things. However, in practice, it ended up being more of a nuisance, as its constant notification beeps and buzzes took my focus off my workouts, and I would frequently find myself pausing the treadmill or ending a stretch early just so I could look at my Fitbit's notification screen, effectively killing my momentum for something as pointless as a like on my story. From there, I shifted my wearable focus to gadgets like the Apple Watch which, while still providing some fitness benefits, functioned more (at least for me) as a second screen for my phone than a dedicated activity tracker.

I suspect I'm not alone in this trajectory, and while I thought my Fitbit days were over, I recently found myself intrigued by the Google Fitbit Air, a screen-less fitness tracker that hearkens back to the good old days of dedicated fitness devices. However, don't let this device's minimalist form factor deceive you. While its unassuming fabric bracelet style may look very simple, the sophisticated fitness tech inside it is anything but.

Price, availability, and specs

Everything you need with nothing extra

The Google Fitbit Air weighs 12 grams, making it the lightest fitness wearable you can get for your wrist, weighing less than half of the comparable Whoop 5.0, which weighs just over 26 grams. The adjustable strap uses a Velcro closure and fits comfortably on any size wrist. I've seen some folks on Reddit suggest putting it on your bicep if you have another smart device on your wrist and while it did fit on my relatively small bicep, your mileage may vary if you have a larger arm.

The Google Fitbit Air's tiny pebble sits nicely in the wristband's pocket, and features a 3-axis accelerometer + gyroscope, temperature sensor, optical heart rate monitor, and red and infrared sensors for oxygen saturation (SpO2) monitoring. The pebble is also water-resistant up to 50 meters, which is great for swimmers, though Google still recommends taking it off to shower, as soap can cause damage.

Despite its tiny size, the Google Fitbit Air has a massive onboard battery that lasts seven full days (and nights) before it needs to charge. Charging here is also fairly quick, taking less than an hour to go from depleted to fully charged.

The Google Fitbit Air retails for $100 and is available at all major electronics retailers, including Amazon, Walmart and Google's own online store.

What I liked about the Google Fitbit Air

A wearable designed to disappear

One of the first things I noticed about the Google Fitbit Air is how little I actually noticed the device. Its lightweight band virtually disappeared on my arm, making it extremely comfortable to wear not only when I was exercising, but also when I was sleeping, which was one of the big issues I've had with fitness trackers in the past. While the Apple Watch has plenty of sleep tracking features, its bulky design made it tough to keep on when trying to get a restful night of sleep.

And getting enough rest has been quite the challenge for me recently, as I'm in the throes of haunt season, which means I'm visiting Halloween-themed attractions nearly every night, staying up late and amassing hundreds of thousands of steps per week. The Google Fitbit Air has been instrumental for me during this time, helping me not only track how many steps/miles I've walked in a given night, but helping me also plan breaks, keep an eye on my heart rate, and ensure that I'm setting myself up to balance both my hobby and rest schedule accordingly.

A big part of Google Fitbit Air's success is the connected Google Health app, which is a huge step up from the former Fitbit app, and helps me easily see my heart rate, steps, exercise routine, sleep performance, and more. One of the best features is a readiness score, which helps compile data from your exercise the day before and your sleep performance into a digestible number that can help you figure out whether your body is ready for a full aerobic workout that day or if it's better to take it easy.

And speaking of sleep, thanks to the Google Fitbit Air I've never been more in tune with how/when I rest. I was skeptical at first that the Google Fitbit Air and the Google Health app could help me get a more restful night of sleep, due to the aforementioned late-night haunt activities but as the app measured things like wakeups, restlessness, and time in various sleep zones I was able to get a more complete picture of how I slept, and have been able to take actionable steps to make my sleep more efficient.

The only time I really thought about the Google Fitbit Air was when it needed to recharge, which was about once a week. The pebble gave me a little vibration when there was less than a day's charge left, and after a quick 30 minutes on the charger, I was ready to go again for another week.

What I didn't like about the Google Fitbit Air

Google Health can feel a little invasive

For the most part, I like the Google Health app. Its pill-shaped modules make everything easy to find, and looking at my steps, heart, rate, sleep score, etc. every day felt like a useful addition to my routine. However, there are a lot of AI features baked into this app that can feel a little invasive, and the app asks you some pretty personal questions and has features that allow you to upload medical documents. Of course anything can be opted out of, but if you're the type of person who is a little nervous about their data privacy (as well as the integration of AI) I can see how the presence of these questions and features might make you a little nervous.

Unfortunately, there's no way to opt out of Google Health when you're using a Fitbit, so if you would rather steer clear of Google and Gemini, you might be better off going with a Whoop band or Oura Ring.

In addition, while this fitness tracker is great for tracking light-to-moderate activity like walks, jogging, swimming, or aerobics, if you need a companion for serious, high-intensity workouts like crossfit or strength training, you might find its more simplistic features and reporting lacking. The Google Fitbit Air is definitely a device targeted towards those of us looking to improve everyday fitness, so if you're wanting something more powerful to help you train for your next triathlon, you'll likely need something with more advanced features.

Should you buy a Google Fitbit Air?

A no-nonsense tracker perfect for when your focus is fitness

Though I was skeptical at first about how much a screen-less wearable could feasibly help me with my exercise and sleep routines, the Google Fitbit Air actually made a big difference in my everyday life. The way it is designed to literally disappear on your wrist is great if you are looking for activity tracking without any distractions and its $100 price point is perfect for a single-use device that does everything you need it to. It doesn't have any of the bells and whistles of the higher-end Fitbit models, but I really appreciated its stripped-down approach to fitness tech and will be keeping it on my wrist for the foreseeable future.