Google is reshaping its health portfolio with three announcements on Thursday that signal a clear shift from hardware-led tracking to software-driven coaching.
There’s a new fitness tracker, a rebranded app and an AI health coach that’s graduating from beta. Not all of it will land as welcome news (especially for longtime Fitbit users), but together, it’s a clear signal of where Google thinks health tech is headed next.
New hardware: The Fitbit Air
Google’s newest wearable is the Fitbit Air, a $100 screenless fitness band and a direct play at the growing category of training-focused trackers like the Whoop band. There’s no display, no notifications and no time-telling, just passive health tracking while the app decodes all that data to figure out your personalized fitness plan.
The Fitbit Air has a removable sensor below the band.
The band is just the entry point. The bigger play is its access to the Google Health Premium subscription ($10 per month or $100 per year, with three months included). This now includes Google’s Health Coach, an always-on AI concierge that translates all that data into a game plan.
The Fitbit Air works with both iOS and Android, is available for preorder on Thursday and hits stores on May 26. A Stephen Curry special edition is also available for $130.
The secret weapon: Google Health Coach
Google’s AI health coach has been in public preview inside the Fitbit app since October and is now rolling out to all Google Health Premium subscribers. Built on Gemini, it turns health data into personalized fitness plans, recovery guidance and sleep insights, surfacing recommendations without prompting.
Three phone screens showing Google Health Coach nutrition and fitness logging.
AI health coaches aren’t new. Whoop, Garmin and Oura already offer similar tools, but Google is betting its Gemini foundation gives it a stronger software advantage.
With today’s launch, the company also announced that Coach can now process uploaded medical records, PDFs and photos, making its guidance more personalized and actionable. It’s available on both Android and iOS with compatible Fitbit devices.
Goodbye Fitbit app, hello Google Health
Arguably, the most impactful change isn’t the hardware or the AI, it’s the app. Starting May 19, the Fitbit app will automatically update to the Google Health app for all existing users. No action required, and all historical data carries over. Google Fit users will also be migrated to Google Health later this year.
The redesigned app consolidates data from wearables, Apple Health, Health Connect and medical records into a single interface organized into four tabs: Today, Fitness, Sleep and Health. The experience is more recovery- and training-focused, with structured plans now centered in the Fitness tab and sleep trends surfaced more prominently.
For longtime Fitbit users, this will likely feel like the most significant platform shift in years. Whether it’s like an upgrade or an unwanted trade-off will depend on how deeply you’re already embedded in Google’s ecosystem.
What this means for Google’s health vision
Taken separately, these look like incremental updates. Together, they outline a clear strategy: an integrated health ecosystem where hardware captures data, software interprets it, and AI coaching becomes a primary selling point.
Google is positioning the Fitbit Air as the entry point, Google Health Coach as the subscription driver, and the Google Health app as the unified hub that ties everything together. The shift is less about tracking steps or sleep and more about owning the interpretation layer of health data.
One detail worth watching is privacy. During its 2020 Fitbit acquisition, Google pledged to keep health data separate from its advertising business. The company reiterated that commitment on Thursday alongside this rebrand, but as more sensitive health and medical data flows into Google’s ecosystem, that boundary will continue to draw scrutiny.
CNET will be testing the Fitbit Air and Google Health Coach over the coming weeks. Check back for our full review.
