I love the Pixel Watch 5, but the Health Guardian update has made the Fitbit Air an unbeatable buy

I’ve worn the Fitbit Air for almost four months, and it has transformed the way I track my exercise. Now, it has received the Google’s Health Guardian feature in an update, and become even more valuable.

I've thought it for a while, but this has now cemented it. Unless you absolutely need notifications and a screen on your wrist, there has never been a better time to buy a Fitbit Air over a Pixel Watch 5.

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Posts By  Andy Boxall

What is Health Guardian?

In-depth health tracking without the fuss

When I opened the Google Health app this morning, I was greeted by a message on the main page saying:

Introducing Health Guardian. Backed by rigorous research, these new features can track subtle shifts in your heart, metabolic, and respiratory health. Your first summary will be available in early October. Update your app to get the latest.

On the Fitbit Air, Health Guardian will show insulin resistance and blood pressure trends, provided the wearer has a Google Health Premium subscription.

Google will deliver its blood pressure and insulin trend reports on the first day of each month, and they require at least five days of data tracking over a month to generate.

Pixel Watch 5 owners will also get these two features, along with sleep breathing quality metrics and a breathing emergency detection feature, but only for those in Europe.

Once the Google Health app has been updated to version 5.09, you’ll be able to set the features up, and they will run silently in the background. My app had already updated, despite the prompt telling me I’d need to do so.

Setting up the new features

It couldn't be easier

To find the Health Guardian setup pages, tap the profile icon in the top right of the Health app's main screen, then Google Health Settings, and find Health Guardian.

In the menu you’ll spot Insulin Resistance Trends, Blood Pressure Trends, and also Sleep Breathing Quality if you live in an area where it’s available. It seems this feature will also work on the Fitbit Air. It would have been nice if the app recognized it was connected to a Fitbit Air, not a Pixel Watch 5, but we can't have everything.

None of the features require any specific setup, and are on by default. To see collected data, visit the Health tab and then Metabolic for the insulin resistance data, Heart for blood pressure data, and Respiratory for sleep breathing quality.

That’s all there is to it. No need to calibrate anything, and no complex set-up process. Google’s so confident in these features it hasn’t made them opt-in either, and likely doesn’t expect any major change in battery consumption.

Making the Fitbit Air even better

Four months use and counting

I never expected to use the Fitbit Air much beyond my review period, but it has stayed on my wrist ever since.

The AI Health Coach, which is part of the Health Premium subscription, has proved invaluable. It has helped create a daily exercise plan that I can maintain, and provided advice on adding extra steps to it over time.

I like the summaries it generates in the morning, evening, and after workouts. They give sensible feedback in an easy-to-understand way, without the need for me to dig into the data.

I’m not an athlete, I don’t feel the need to log my meals, and I’m not driven by meeting or exceeding specific goals. I do what I can in the time that I have. The Fitbit Air and Health app suits my needs perfectly. It doesn’t push, and won’t chastise me for falling behind, yet the way it keeps track of my workouts is still motivational, because the whole thing feels so personal.

The Fitbit Air and Health are a perfect health tracking middle ground, filling the space between the Oura Ring 5’s lifestyle focus, and hardcore smartwatches like the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 and products from Garmin.

Affordable hardware

Essential subscription

The Health Coach and the Fitbit Air’s easy wearability have helped me create and adopt a simple workout plan, and stick to it too. No other wearable has done that, and I’ve tested dozens over the years.

The battery lasts for at least a week, and it never fails to send a notification reminding you to charge it up, if it sees there’s not enough energy in it to track a full night’s sleep. It’s supremely comfortable, and isn’t too showy either, so I can wear it opposite a nice watch without it looking out of place.

It’s yours for $100, but you do need the Google Health Premium subscription for $10 per month. I consider it an essential, and doubt the Fitbit Air will be anywhere near as useful without the AI Health Coach.

Better than the Pixel Watch 5?

I wouldn't swap it for the smartwatch

With the new updates, the Fitbit Air has almost all the same health tracking features you get on the Pixel Watch 5.

When I reviewed the Pixel Watch 5, I didn’t notice any difference in the data between the two, so it’s not like one appears more accurate than the other.

Google’s new smartwatch is excellent, but it costs at least $400, and still needs the Health Premium subscription to access many of the health features.

The Pixel Watch 5 can’t be worn with another watch (without looking a bit strange), and although it has long battery life, it still needs more attention than the Fitbit Air.

I wouldn’t swap the Fitbit Air for the Pixel Watch 5. The Fitbit Air is affordable, unobtrusive, useful, motivational, and informative.

Now the Fitbit Air has Google’s latest, top-level health features too, it has become easy to recommend to anyone put off by the Pixel Watch 5’s screen and notifications, but keen to become more active and informed about their health.