I decided to give Google wearables another shot after receiving the new Fitbit Air this past week. While our family has unfortunately been dealing with a death recently, it’s honestly been nice to have a small piece of tech to explore and tinker with during a difficult few weeks.
First and foremost, I have a long history with Google hardware, which I think is relevant context here. I owned a Motorola Xoom 4G (later LTE), after all.
At one point, I was the Google fanboy.
In no particular order, I owned:
- Motorola Droid
- Droid X
- Samsung Fascinate
- HTC Thunderbolt 4G
- Droid Incredible
And of course several Nexus devices:
- Galaxy Nexus
- Nexus 4
- Nexus 5
- Nexus 6
- Nexus 5X
Plus a handful of tablets and oddities:
- Motorola Xoom 4G LTE
- Nexus 7
- Pixel C
- Pixelbook
- The original Logitech Revue with Google TV (yes, that one)
I’ve also owned several Fitbit devices over the years, and we still have multiple in use around the house today — including a Fitbit Charge 6 that my spouse uses daily.
I even started a now-defunct blog called HoloEverywhere back when Holo was introduced. I was genuinely fascinated by the direction Matias Duarte was taking Android design at the time, and I loved highlighting apps that embraced that aesthetic.
Needless to say, I’ve been around the block a few times with Google hardware.
Then eventually… I was done.
I watched Google abandon the Pixel C in favor of ChromeOS tablets — only to later swing back toward Android tablets again. I watched my beloved Moto 360 (still the best-looking smartwatch ever made, in my opinion) slowly lose support despite Google owning Motorola Mobility at the time.
And I refuse to discuss the Xoom 4G LTE any further, which remains one of my least favorite tech purchases of all time.
Meanwhile, over in Apple land, my iPad Air 2 just kept going. Years later it was still receiving updates and support long past what I considered a reasonable lifespan for consumer tech. That experience eventually pushed me fully into the Apple ecosystem.
So all of that history adds a bit of hesitation when it comes to jumping back into Google hardware.
But a few things happened:
- I had kids — specifically kids who wanted fitness trackers
- My wife and daughter started competing on steps, and I wanted in
- Apple still refuses to make a non-watch wearable
- Google seems to finally be opening Fitbit data up more broadly, including Apple Health integration
- And some of the newer health features — including the AI health assistant — actually look genuinely interesting (even if it comes with a $99/year subscription)
So now I’m a few days into using the Fitbit Air.
Not a ton to report yet, but early impressions:
- Battery life has been excellent — I’ve barely used 10% after two days
- The default black band is surprisingly comfortable, though I’ll probably look into third-party options eventually
- I’ve genuinely enjoyed the insights from the revamped Google Health app
- I’m also trialing the AI health assistant just to see how useful it actually becomes over time
- And while I’m still wearing my Apple Watch Ultra, the Fitbit is subtle enough that wearing both doesn’t feel too ridiculous
I’ll report back after I’ve lived with it for a few more weeks.