Along with the new Fitbit Air, Google announced this week that the Fitbit app is now a thing of the past and will be replaced by 'Google Health'. The end result seems to be an overall positive for everyone involved. Let's take a closer look.
See also: Fitbit: How much has changed for the most popular fitness band?
In the very near future, the Fitbit app will officially become Google Health. Functionally, not much is changing. The app will use Google's redesigned interface that was first previewed last year, with an AI-powered coach to help you with your workouts, and sleep and health tracking are constantly improving.
Google Fit, a long-neglected experience, will be merged into the Health app, while Google Health on iOS will support connecting to Apple Health to import Apple data into the Google app. This essentially means you’ll be able to use an Apple Watch with what was previously the Fitbit experience. Many are happy with Apple’s offering, but it’s nice to have that added flexibility!
There seems to be a greater emphasis on third-party hardware and services here, as Google noted:
“The Google Health app works with hundreds of your favorite apps and devices, whether they're integrated through Health Connect, Apple Health, or Google Health APIs, so you can see your data in one place, like your Peloton workouts or your meals from MyFitnessPal.“
See also: Fitbit AI coach will read medical records for personalized advice
It's really nice to see this, because if there was one problem with Google's move into Fitbit, it was that the focus was too much on first-party devices. You could always connect some third-party devices — like scales — to Fitbit, but it was pretty clunky. Even Android's Health Connect left a lot of room for improvement. Google Health, with new APIs, is laying the groundwork for a truly comprehensive health app.
With Google Fit no longer in the picture, this makes perfect sense. Of course, it's not all perfect: Google is dropping some older features, but at the same time it seems to be committed to Fitbit's existing hardware for the long haul.
We will, of course, have to wait and see how this develops.
Ahead of Google's launch and the usual storm of leaks that precede it, a surprisingly early major leak has revealed several key details about the Pixel 11 series. This includes a breakdown of the Tensor G6, changes to the RAM on all four phones, and the possible location of the 'Pixel Glow'.
Google released the second beta of Android 17 QPR1 earlier this week, although it's not a major update by any means. A bigger update was the May 2026 Update (to Android 16) that arrived for Pixels.
See also: Google brings Fitbit AI Health Coach to iPhone
The Gemini app is getting a pretty big redesign, with a new emphasis on gradients and, frankly, some gorgeous UI choices. It's unclear when this will be released, but realistically, it will be soon given that I/O is just around the corner.
