Fitbit is present process a serious overhaul, and I’ve spent a month with the preview of the newly redesigned app and private well being coach.
The app may be very AI-centric, which is to be anticipated in 2025 when each firm underneath the solar is searching for methods to leverage AI of their providers. And whereas that will not enchantment to customers who’re a bit cautious of AI, the brand new app redesign brings the Fitbit app into the trendy Android period whereas making it really feel extra like a complete health information than the usual model.
In the meanwhile, there nonetheless isn’t function parity with the usual Fitbit app. However what’s new is fairly attention-grabbing and makes me excited for the complete model of the brand new app, which is anticipated to roll out someday in early 2026.
For now, that is what it’s been like to make use of Fitbit’s new private well being coach preview.
Meet me within the center
After switching to the brand new preview for the primary time, establishing the brand new well being coach preview was a bit extra concerned than I anticipated. After a fast introduction and tapping by some notices relating to knowledge use, I used to be invited to have a chat with the AI well being coach. The place the earlier app merely had you enter your targets, equivalent to every day steps and sleep, the well being coach turns the method right into a dialog.
Throughout this course of, I talked to it about what I hoped to realize and what I believe works or doesn’t work for me. The coach was about as responsive as I anticipated from a Gemini-powered AI, and it gave the impression to be making a real effort to get to know me and perceive my targets. I informed it that I used to be trying to achieve muscle and lose physique fats whereas additionally hoping to construct sufficient endurance to run my first 5K.
I used to be then directed to have a separate chat to arrange a exercise plan, although that is elective. The AI drew on what it knew about me from our earlier dialog and got here up with a plan to assist me obtain it, whereas preserving sure particulars in thoughts, equivalent to my bronchial asthma (it urged lighter runs in consequence).
I didn’t like the primary suggestion it gave me, since I needed to include a few of what I already do, equivalent to a every day morning run and instructor-led yoga, Pilates, and HIIT on Sundays, Mondays, and Tuesdays, respectively. The AI pushed again by primarily telling me I used to be overdoing it (which, admittedly, I used to be).
It made a reasonably convincing argument that I could also be hindering my development by working too exhausting and as a substitute tried to compromise with me, permitting me to proceed in my instructor-led courses whereas asking which days I most well-liked to run.
After a couple of minutes, a exercise plan was generated, which felt roughly in keeping with what I needed, with a pleasant mixture of my instructor-led courses, working, and lifting.
Your coach at your fingertips
The redesigned Fitbit app follows Google’s Materials 3 Expressive design, with vibrant icons and enormous playing cards all through the In the present day, Health, and Sleep sections for accessible, easy-to-understand knowledge.
The highest of the In the present day tab options customizable focus metrics for a glanceable view of your progress and new Weekly cardio load. Scrolling by the In the present day part reveals playing cards that present a fast take a look at vital metrics, equivalent to sleep, readiness, earlier actions, and extra, every with AI-generated insights.
The brand new Sleep and Health tabs make the information very simple to know, permitting you to view developments and dive into every metric, such because the improved sleep monitoring and targets. The Well being tab is the place all that knowledge comes collectively that can assist you get a extra complete view of long-term developments.
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AI insights are present in almost each a part of the app, which can appear overwhelming to some, however I truly discover it fairly useful that it is offered to me as a substitute of getting to ask for it. And when you have questions on your metrics, faucet “Say extra about my x” on the backside of every card to begin a dialog with the coach.
It is an strategy that jogs my memory a whole lot of Oura’s AI advisor, which is obtainable all through the app and able to speak to you about your stats. Google is clearly flexing its AI chops by leveraging it that can assist you higher perceive your physique. That stated, I do really feel like bombarding customers with text-filled playing cards might be off-putting, and it might be helpful to current them as expandable playing cards, giving customers the choice to view the insights if they need.
There’s additionally a floating Ask Coach button that is at all times accessible inside the app, so you can too provoke conversations that means. I do admire how the AI feels genuinely useful and accommodating. For instance, I used to be going out of city for a trip and knew I would not have the ability to observe that week’s plan, so I informed the Coach about it, and it primarily cancelled that week’s plan and had me begin again up as soon as I acquired again from trip.
And if I miss a day, the coach will counsel consolidating exercises to assist hold me on monitor “with out overdoing it,” displaying simply how versatile it may be.
However past that, you may simply speak to the coach when you have normal questions on your health, like methods to enhance your sleep and even constructing a vitamin plan for your self. Mainly, you may deal with it kind of like an precise coach, asking it lots of the similar questions you’ll should you had an in-person coach. The coach may even “examine in” with considerably frequent notifications all through the day.
As somebody who cannot afford a private coach, I discover a whole lot of worth on this.
Lastly, I ought to notice that your Fitbit knowledge stays inside Fitbit, so you may’t go into the Gemini app and ask it about your latest exercises. I can see the advantage in preserving the information separate, although I would really like the choice to speak to Gemini about my Fitbit knowledge if I would like.
Work in progress
Thus far, there’s lots to love concerning the new Fitbit private well being coach preview, from the brand new design to the insights and conversational AI. However as this can be a preview, I’ve discovered a handful of issues that would (and will) enhance when the complete expertise rolls out to everybody.
There are loads of options you will get in the usual app expertise, which Fitbit has already highlighted. I am not too bothered by this, as you may simply swap to the usual expertise at any time to get these options, then swap again to the preview.
I believe what bothers me most proper now’s how the health plan feels extra like a suggestion than an precise plan. After I choose a session, there is not any possibility to begin a exercise from the app. As an alternative, I’ve to enter my watch and begin my very own exercise manually. From there, I’ve to manually mark within the app that I’ve completed every set/session, enter my reps, and enter my complete weight.
This differs from Garmin, the place I can arrange a plan, entry it on the watch, and observe every train from my wrist, which might additionally save my reps and weight with out me needing to the touch my telephone.
There’s simply an excessive amount of guide enter, together with having to hyperlink my tracked exercise to the scheduled one. Luckily, I can nonetheless ship some beneficial runs to my Pixel Watch 3, which is rather more useful for monitoring my run and staying inside the urged time/coronary heart fee zone.
There are auto-tracked exercises out there, and the Fitbit app will verify the exercise on the watch or telephone app, which is helpful.
That stated, the best way health monitoring works within the Fitbit app highlights a broader disconnect with the Pixel Watch that I hope Fitbit can tackle with an replace to the Put on OS app. As an example, after I get my Morning Temporary, it will make sense to point out my urged exercise for that day, but it surely simply exhibits me what number of days I’ve labored out.
A part of this seemingly has to do with how Pixel Watches monitor exercises, which aren’t as granular as these on a Garmin watch, for instance. On Garmin, reps are mechanically counted, units mechanically begin and cease, and the watch can pretty precisely decide which workout routines you are doing simply by the way you’re transferring. For now, the Pixel Watch can not do any of this.
An thrilling evolution
Regardless of its shortcomings, I believe Google is heading in the right direction with this new Fitbit expertise. It seems improbable, feels extra organized, and does an excellent job of showcasing simply how far its AI has come as a instrument we will reap the benefits of. Even with its lacking options, the preview feels fairly stable, and I am wanting ahead to seeing the way it evolves, hopefully into the health app of my desires.
