Google Fitbit tracker
Rumors of a screen-free Fitbit wearable have circulated for weeks, and the device’s name has now been outed. It’s the Google Fitbit Air.
This is according to 9to5mac, a respected publication that cites “sources familiar with the matter.”
For those who have not come across this device so far, it has been teased extensively by Stephen Curry, a famous basketball player, across his social media channels. While still to be officially confirmed by Google, the brand’s own — and Fitbit’s — interactions with Curry’s promotional post mean the wearable is no secret. It just hasn’t been announced yet.
The Fitbit Air name fits what is seen in those images. Its sensor housing appears to be unusually slim, while the style of fabric strap it uses is typically very light.
This may well be the kind of wearable you can entirely forget you are wearing. And that is no doubt part of the goal given screen-free trackers are made for ambient tracking, rather than to be actively engaged with throughout the day, like a smartwatch or runner’s watch.
Perhaps the most interesting part of this fresh Fitbit Air news is the naming changes that come with it.
The sources contend this launch will also see Fitbit Premium rebranded as Google Health. And Fitbit’s health coach feature currently in its testing phase will be called Google Health Coach.
Plus, of course, there’s the assertion the Air’s full title will be the Google Fitbit Air, while on Google’s own website existing Fitbits are still called, for example, the Fitbit Charge 6. No Google name shoehorned in there.
This amounts to a further sidelining of the Fitbit brand, which has gradually happened since Google acquired Fitbit in January 2021.
The dedicated Fitbit website is gone, there’s no sign of a return of its once flagship Versa and Sense watches, seen as competition with the Google Pixel Watch line.
A Fitbit Air style device does arguably represent something of a return to the early years of Fitbit, though. Trackers like the Fitbit Flex introduced many to the idea of regular step-counting, without being wearables that demanded too much attention. The Flex and Flex 2 both used a series of LEDs to show how close you were to meeting your daily steps goal.
Screenless wearables that already exist today include the long-standing Whoop band series, the Polar 360 and Amazfit Helio Strap. Garmin is also expected to release a screenless wearable soon.
According to Droid Life, the Fitbit Air is expected to launch on May 16, and may sell for less than $100.
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