Google just unveiled its new screenless wearable, the $100 Fitbit Air, which is poised to be a competitor to the Whoop fitness band. Also, the Fitbit app and the Personal Health Coach feature are now the Google Health app and Google Health Coach. It appears the previous reports were spot on. Pre-orders kick off today and include three months of Google Health Premium; they go on sale on May 26.
Powering the Fitbit Air is a small, pebble-sized tracker that weighs only 0.01 lbs without a band and 0.03 lbs with one. It’s equipped with a bevy of sensors, including an optical heart rate monitor, a 3-axis accelerometer and gyroscope, red and infrared sensors, and a temperature sensor for 24/7 health and fitness tracking, including heart rate, resting heart rate, heart rate variability, heart rhythm monitoring with Afib alerts, sleep stages, sleep duration, SpO2, and more. Google promises seven days of battery life on a single charge, with a five-minute charge offering 24 hours of juice, and it can completely charge from 0 to 100% in 90 minutes.
Also, there’s the Fitbit Air Special Edition Performance Loop, which is co-designed by Steph Curry. It arrives in a mix of brown and orange colorway, and you can pre-order today. It retails for $130. The Air will launch with three band choices to easily swap out for: the Active Band, which is a similar sweatproof silicone band Google uses for its Pixel Watches; the Elevated Modern Band, which aims to be a more stylish band; and the Performance Loop Band, which is a flexible and breathable option that’s included. The various accessory bands have a $35 price tag for each.
A glance at the specs and comparing the Fitbit Air specs to the latest Whoop band, the latter offers an additional seven days of battery life with more sensors, albeit on its fifth-generation product. However, the Fitbit Air measures smaller, weighs less, and is half the price. We expect to get our hands on one in the near future and put it through our testing.
