When I heard that Fitbit would be launching a new, screen-free fitness tracker, I was immediately intrigued.
I’ve tried a range of trackers, and I consider the Fitbit Inspire 3 to be one of the best options overall. And with the screen-free trackers on the rise, at $100, the Air is one of the more affordable options that I’ve seen.
I’ve been wearing the device for the last two weeks and have been using it for tracking sleep, runs, walks and more. Here’s what I thought.
The band itself is really thin (probably the thinnest I’ve tried, next to the Fitbit Inspire 3) and feels breathable and lightweight. And the velcro strap makes it easy to adjust and customize the fit. The brand also has a silicone band that you can purchase, and it’s easy to clean and dries quickly, so it’s great for sweaty workouts.
The device is really so lightweight that you don’t even think about it or notice it most of the time. And overall, that’s probably the best thing about the Fitbit Air.
There’s no screen, so you’re not distracted during a workout, checking your stats or staying awake at night looking at texts. In a time where many are looking to reevaluate their relationships with screens, the device allows you to feel disconnected without, obviously, truly disconnecting. If you wanted to, you could easily put it on and completely forget about it and only check it twice — once in the morning and once at night — to see your stats, like your sleep and readiness score, get advice and look at your exercise data for the day.
However, if you want to dive into the app throughout the day, you can get quite a lot from it. Along with launching the new screen-free device, Google has updated its app. Previously Fitbit, it has now become Google Health. The previous app felt a little outdated, and this one is a welcome change. It allows you to customize the home screen with the information you want to see most, like your readiness score, steps, sleep, heart rate and more.
The biggest update comes with the new AI Health Coach, which is powered by Google’s Gemini software. When setting up the device, you’ll be prompted to answer a series of questions about your routine, your goals and things that may prevent you from reaching them. I told the coach that my focus is on improving fitness and body composition and I want to run twice per week and strength train three times per week.
With that in mind, the coach provides smart suggestions, giving examples of workouts and potential schedules for the week, which it may change based on recovery, sleep and readiness score for the day. For example, after a good night of sleep, it suggested a 35-minute run and gave me a plan that included a five-minute warm-up and suggested heart rate zones for different intervals throughout the run.
It should be noted that many of the features, like the coach, adaptive plans, detailed sleep insights and a library of workouts, are only available for Premium members (it costs $10 per month). Without the membership, you can still track activities, sleep and health and access readiness, sleep scores and more.
After a workout, you have access to data about how much load the workout put on your body, your time in various heart rate zones and an overview of your “performance highlights,” which is great for anyone who likes to analyze their workout after it’s done.
One thing that some people may miss during workouts is having the screen. Without it, you can’t monitor your pace during a run or heart rate during a strength training session right from your wrist. You can, however, see all that on your phone, as long as you remember to start the workout on there before you begin. Otherwise, it will automatically sense it and give you an overlook of your data after you finish. Overall, it’s pretty good at automatically logging workouts like runs, walks and HIIT classes. But lower-intensity exercises like Pilates or yoga have to be manually added.
Personally, I love the lack of a screen. It means that when I want to feel like I’m taking a break from devices, I can, but I’m still tracking my health data. With my smartwatch, I often find myself checking and responding to texts later into the night than I should, simply because the screen is so close by.
At times, the app can feel like an overeager parent or a nosy friend, constantly asking questions, like “how did that workout feel?” or “are you heading to a class today or trying a home circuit?” Since I mentioned a previous ankle injury, the coach was constantly checking in to see how the area was feeling after workouts. So much so that I ended up telling it to ignore my injury entirely so it would stop asking.
While you don’t necessarily need to use all of the AI features, it feels like you’re not fully getting your money’s worth without them. If you’re someone who simply wants to track your sleep, workouts and steps, I could see all of the check-ins and suggested chats with the coach, along with the multiple updates throughout the day, feeling like simply too much. And engaging in a chat with a bot about the specifics of your workouts is not for everyone. However, if you do, it can be pretty helpful and you may get some suggestions on when it may be best to plan your next workout or how to recover.
Sleep tracking is one of the standout features of the Fitbit Air. The sleep score and sleep stages features are powered by enhanced sensors and new algorithms, the brand says. I personally love that it tells you how long it took you to hit a deep sleep at the beginning of the night. And on a night, when I was woken up repeatedly by my cat, my wake times on the app were pretty consistent with when I had woken up and checked the clock throughout the night.
Bulky watches can also feel uncomfortable when you’re trying to sleep, but the simple design of this one makes it so you hardly notice it. I’ve even slept with my hand underneath my pillow and there was no discomfort from the band digging into my skin under the extra pressure.
The battery life is also pretty impressive when compared to some other trackers. The brand says that the battery lasts seven days, but I found that I needed to charge it around the five or six-day mark. That’s still a pretty long battery life, and enough to take me through a long weekend trip without having to charge.
The app also needs to be open in the background to constantly collect your data — if not, you may have to wait a few minutes for all of your metrics to show up when you open the app again — and that does have an effect on your phone battery. The days when I actually left the app open in the background, my phone died more quickly.
Is the Fitbit Air worth it?
Compared to other screen-free trackers, this is the most affordable one that I’ve seen so far. And it’s great that you don’t need the monthly subscription to use it; it’ll just help you get more from the device. Overall, it’s a really good — and relatively accessible option — for those hoping to forgo screens and notifications, for at least part of the day. While not all of the new features are completely necessary, it does make complicated health data more accessible and can be a good way to build new behaviors, keep track of your health and maybe learn a thing or two about the way your body operates.
How we chose
We’re regularly covering new launches, including those in the health and wellness space. Fitbit is a brand that is loved by our editors and shoppers alike, so we thought you’d be interested in hearing about the new launch.
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Emma Stessman is a writer for Shop TODAY. She has over a decade of experience in digital media — with more than half of that time being focused on the health and wellness space. She has owned multiple fitness trackers from top brands over the years and is constantly trying the latest and greatest wellness tech. At Shop TODAY she covers a range of topics, from new releases to expert-approved beauty trends.
