Google FitBit Air after 2 weeks of use: compact and lightweight screenless bracelet on your wrist

I quickly got my hands on the Google FitBit Air, a "screenless" bracelet from Google, and after two weeks of use, I want to share a little experience with you guys about a comfortable wearable device, good battery, with good health monitoring capabilities, but depending on Google Health and the AI ​​Health Coach package is still quite "unlucky".

Design & wearing feel

Talking about the design and the feeling of wearing it, I have a quick article in hand here, you can read it. But in general, FitBit Air is a health monitoring bracelet without a screen, with only a small sensor module attached to the wire, so it looks more minimalist and discreet than a traditional smartwatch or Fitbit.

FitBit Air feels like a lightweight accessory in your hand

Nylon bracelet The most special feature is that this FitBit bracelet is very light, wearing it 24/7 almost does not feel like you are wearing it on your hand and this device is very suitable for both sleeping and playing sports.

Usage: no screen, all in Google Health

Using Google FitBit Air is very simple, you just need to wear the device on your hand and let the sensor monitor relevant parameters. The biggest difference is that FitBit will not display steps, hours, or notifications on your wrist, but all operations and data viewing will be through the Google Health application on the phone. This will cause people who are in the habit of viewing this information on their wrists to miss it.

All are monitored via Google Health with the most necessary parameters

Google Health is organized into Today, Fitness, Sleep, Health Status tabs so you can easily monitor your health The Google Health application is divided quite reasonably with Today, Fitness, Sleep, Health tabs. Each tab has its own function with Today displaying parameters related to heart rate, number of steps, distance traveled, and sleep. Meanwhile, Fitness is where you can track information that FitBit identifies your sports activities: running - walking - cycling, etc. Key metrics are also displayed in quite detail in this section such as Resting Heart Rate, HRV, VO2 Max.

Experience health & movement monitoring

Talking about health and exercise experiences, Air fully tracks health-related information such as steps, heart rate, sleep heart rate, sleep duration and synthesizes it into easy-to-understand information for you to follow. I tried wearing the Air and during the first week of doing a lot of activities like jogging and playing soccer, I noticed that the Air determined these activities okay when most thought it was a jogging activity, even when I walked to warm up before starting to run. Soccer activity is confirmed by Google Health as Sport and you can confirm this activity through Google Health.

Soccer activity is identified by Google Health as Sport, you can choose the appropriate activity Talking about measuring heart rate, I tried a few times to compare between the Apple Watch I was wearing and found the difference was only 1-2 bpm, not too big a difference. Furthermore, measuring sleep is quite similar to Google Health when the difference in sleep duration is only about 4-5 minutes and the stages of sleep also produce quite similar results, so I temporarily believe it is accurate enough to use for trend tracking.

As for jogging, Google Health includes warm-up sessions as this activity. instead of separating it The biggest minus point I see is the alarm. In this respect, the Air only vibrates and makes no sound. You need to double-tap the ring body firmly to turn it off completely; If not touched, it will vibrate for about 30 seconds and then snooze for 9 minutes. The feeling of constant vibration, without a button or screen to 'finish' is also a bit uncomfortable if you are not immediately familiar with this operation.

When I compare Fitbit Air and Apple Watch, the difference in measurement parameters is not large, it can be considered almost equivalent. In general, Google FitBit Air is more about applying the "set-and-forget" algorithm: you just wear it, all data is gathered to give trends, recommend the amount of cardio/activity each week, not the smartwatch with many notifications like Apple Watch, Coros or Garmin or the bad Mi Band health bracelets.

AI Health Coach: good but easy to "hallucinate"

The biggest highlight of Google Health is AI Health Coach with a paid package. This feature will provide insights, analyze trends, suggest exercises, and adjust sleep/rest based on the history of collected bracelet data. However, the AI ​​Health Coach and paid subscription packages are not currently supported in Vietnam, so I have not experienced and shared much with you guys. However, according to a lot of information gathered, the AI ​​Health Coach that Google provides is sometimes susceptible to "hallucinations" and makes inaccurate or inappropriate suggestions and adjustments. When I have a chance, I will experience more and share with you guys.

Battery life & charging

Talking about battery life, Google FitBit Air can operate for about 7 days with 24/7 wear, including sleep tracking. This number is approximately the same as Google's advertising and it is truly a big advantage compared to large-screen smartwatches.

Pure white Snow cable

You simply put the sensor module on and charge it In addition, charging is also done via a separate "Snow" cable with a full charge time of quite fast, only about 1 hour, suitable for you to take out a short charge during the day when needed.

Conclude

After 2 weeks of use, I think FitBit Air is a simple, gentle piece of technology jewelry to wear 24/7 and serves well in monitoring your health and sports activities. The biggest minus point that I see is that the lack of a screen will bring certain limitations, especially the fact that it does not allow you to quickly turn off the alarm or not be able to see the time, steps, and notifications right on your hand. If you are used to smartwatches like 'always have something to look at', the Air will bring a certain disappointment. But overall, FitBit Air will be suitable for those who want an ultra-light bracelet, mainly to record health data and review everything on the phone, accepting the trade-off of smartwatch-style conveniences in exchange for minimalism and comfort.

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