Skip to content
Advertisement

The Fitbit Air is a good wearable weighed down by a chatty AI "coach"

The Air succeeds as a minimalist, reliable fitness tracker, but Google's AI Health Coach feels unnecessary.

schedule 15:40 visibility 8 views
The Fitbit Air is a good wearable weighed down by a chatty AI "coach"
Source: Ars Technica

Smartwatches can track your health stats, but they also do a lot of other things you might not always want or need. The $100 Fitbit Air tracker ditches the screens that have become common on people's wrists, leaving behind a tiny puck of health sensors you can often forget you're wearing. You will not, however, forget that Google's new health platform is built around AI.

The Air has no speaker, and there's only one LED on the side to indicate battery level. You can double-tap the tracker to check the level, and that's about the end of on-device features. The vibration motor is only for alarms—it can't sync with notifications on your phone. That makes sense, given there is no screen to tell you what that buzz was all about.

Fitbit Air side view The Fitbit Air doesn't have a display or buttons—just a small LED on the side for battery status. Credit: Ryan Whitwam

The stock Performance Band is simple, consisting of a smooth polyester yarn with small velcro pads and a metal loop. It's durable but does seem to absorb a bit of moisture. For swimming or heavy workouts, you'll probably want the silicone active band. This one hides the Air puck a bit more effectively, and it looks good in a sporty way.

Read full article

Comments

newspaper

Originally published at

Ars Technica

open_in_new Read Full Article

Related Articles

Read More

DRC: How disinformation worsens Ebola epidemic
Health

DRC: How disinformation worsens Ebola epidemic

It is not only a deadly Ebola variant causing concern for health workers in DR Congo. Rumors and disinformation hinder efforts to contain the virus. The patterns are well-known — and could be confronted.

DW News
Scientists discover why ozempic may not work for some people
Health

Scientists discover why ozempic may not work for some people

Scientists have identified genetic variants that may make some people less responsive to GLP-1 drugs used to treat Type 2 diabetes. Roughly 10% of the population carries these variants, which appear to cause a mysterious form of "GLP-1 resistance."...

Science Daily
MAHA wants to make cotton the new beef tallow
Health

MAHA wants to make cotton the new beef tallow

In between beef tallow fries, raw milk, and vaccine denialism, Make America Healthy Again figureheads have set their sights on another slice of life: our clothing. "The MAHA movement doesn't stop with what we EAT - It's also about what we WEAR,"...

The Verge