Fitbit is present process a significant 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 beneath the solar is searching for methods to leverage AI of their companies. And whereas that won’t 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 intervening time, there nonetheless isn’t function parity with the usual Fitbit app. However what’s new is quite fascinating and makes me excited for the complete model of the brand new app, which is predicted 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, organising the brand new well being coach preview was a bit extra concerned than I anticipated. After a fast introduction and tapping by means of some notices relating to information 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 objectives, equivalent to day by 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 appeared to be making a real effort to get to know me and perceive my objectives. I informed it that I used to be seeking to acquire 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 non-obligatory. 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 holding sure particulars in thoughts, equivalent to my bronchial asthma (it prompt lighter runs consequently).
I didn’t like the primary suggestion it gave me, since I wished to include a few of what I already do, equivalent to a day by day morning run and instructor-led yoga, Pilates, and HIIT on Sundays, Mondays, and Tuesdays, respectively. The AI pushed again by basically 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 progress by working too onerous and as a substitute tried to compromise with me, permitting me to proceed in my instructor-led lessons whereas asking which days I most popular to run.
After a couple of minutes, a exercise plan was generated, which felt roughly in keeping with what I wished, with a pleasant mixture of my instructor-led lessons, 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 At present, Health, and Sleep sections for accessible, easy-to-understand information.
The highest of the At present tab options customizable focus metrics for a glanceable view of your progress and new Weekly cardio load. Scrolling by means of the At present part reveals playing cards that present a fast have a look at necessary metrics, equivalent to sleep, readiness, earlier actions, and extra, every with AI-generated insights.
The brand new Sleep and Health tabs make the info very straightforward to grasp, permitting you to view tendencies and dive into every metric, such because the improved sleep monitoring and targets. The Well being tab is the place all that information comes collectively that can assist you get a extra complete view of long-term tendencies.
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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 supplied 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 discuss to you about your stats. Google is clearly flexing its AI chops by leveraging it that can assist you higher perceive your physique. That mentioned, I do really feel like bombarding customers with text-filled playing cards might be off-putting, and it could 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 may as well provoke conversations that means. I do respect 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 be capable to observe that week’s plan, so I informed the Coach about it, and it basically cancelled that week’s plan and had me begin again up as soon as I bought again from trip.
And if I miss a day, the coach will counsel consolidating exercises to assist hold me on observe “with out overdoing it,” displaying simply how versatile it may be.
However past that, you’ll be able to simply discuss 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’ll be able to deal with it roughly like an precise coach, asking it lots of the similar questions you’d when you had an in-person coach. The coach may also “test 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 observe that your Fitbit information stays inside Fitbit, so you’ll be able to’t go into the Gemini app and ask it about your current exercises. I can see the advantage in holding the info separate, although I would love the choice to speak to Gemini about my Fitbit information if I need.
Work in progress
To this point, there’s loads to love in regards to the new Fitbit private well being coach preview, from the brand new design to the insights and conversational AI. However as it is a preview, I’ve discovered a handful of issues that might (and may) enhance when the complete expertise rolls out to everybody.
There are loads of options you may get in the usual app expertise, which Fitbit has already highlighted. I am not too bothered by this, as you’ll be able to simply change to the usual expertise at any time to get these options, then change again to the preview.
I believe what bothers me most proper now could be how the health plan feels extra like a suggestion than an precise plan. After I choose a session, there is no possibility to begin a exercise from the app. As a substitute, 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 cellphone.
There’s simply an excessive amount of guide enter, together with having to hyperlink my tracked exercise to the scheduled one. Thankfully, I can nonetheless ship some really helpful runs to my Pixel Watch 3, which is way more useful for monitoring my run and staying inside the prompt time/coronary heart price zone.
There are auto-tracked exercises obtainable, and the Fitbit app will affirm the exercise on the watch or cellphone app, which is beneficial.
That mentioned, 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. For example, once I get my Morning Transient, it will make sense to point out my prompt exercise for that day, nevertheless it simply exhibits me what number of days I’ve labored out.
A part of this probably has to do with how Pixel Watches observe exercises, which aren’t as granular as these on a Garmin watch, for instance. On Garmin, reps are robotically counted, units robotically begin and cease, and the watch can pretty precisely decide which workouts you are doing simply by the way you’re transferring. For now, the Pixel Watch can’t 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 to be unbelievable, feels extra organized, and does an amazing job of showcasing simply how far its AI has come as a instrument we are able to benefit from. Even with its lacking options, the preview feels fairly strong, and I am wanting ahead to seeing the way it evolves, hopefully into the health app of my goals.
