Fitbit Air - Giving Google Wearables Another Go

Fri, 29 May 2026 18:58:18 -0400

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.

google on Chris Hunsanger

Fitbit Air - Giving Google Wearables Another Go