I give it 5 stars because it meets my own requirements, but be careful because that may not be true for yours. I use it for step counting, exercise, sleep tracking, heart rate, and oxygen measurements. The built-in vibration for the alarm is a surprise, and it even wakes you up in the right phase of your sleep. It is small, thin, and light, with a 7-day battery life. I never take it off my wrist, and I have bought 2 other straps from Chinese stores, a nylon one (shown in the photo) and a silicone one for swimming. I’m waiting for Google to bring original straps to the Greek market, although I remain cautious about their price. I bought it because I didn’t want a screen and notifications on my wrist, and so far it has not disappointed me. It works with the Google Health app, which is detailed, connects with various other fitness apps, and is updated frequently. Good for an activity tracker with accurate measurements and, in my opinion, quite stylish. What it doesn’t have: GPS and, at least for now in Greece, the AI coach based on Gemini. Of course, abroad after 3 months of free trial it costs $10 a month. I consider it unnecessary; I take the data, give it to Google Gemini, and it does almost the same job. In the US it costs $99; here I got it for 125 euros, but it’s not worth more.

My girlfriend got it for me as a gift, and honestly, it has turned out to be one of the most useful tech gifts I’ve ever received.

It’s genuinely excellent for what it is and the purpose it serves.

If you want to track the basics as well as quite a few more advanced things related to your health, sleep, and exercise, and generally “digitize” your daily life a little—especially if you’re someone who likes technology and data—I think it’s one of the best options.

It tracks a lot: steps, heart rate, resting heart rate, HRV, breathing, SpO₂, skin temperature variations, calories, cardio load, cardio fitness, and quite a bit more.

For me, though, where it really stands out is sleep. It can tell when you lie down, when you actually fall asleep, when you wake up, how much time you spend in Light / Deep / REM sleep, how many times you wake up or have restless sleep, and at the end it gives you a Sleep Score. So far, I’ve found it to be surprisingly close to how I actually feel the next morning. On days when I slept badly and woke up tired, the score reflected that.

The vibrating alarm function is also really nice. It wakes you up on your wrist without making a sound, and you can increase the vibration intensity in the settings so it actually wakes you up.

I also really like the Readiness Score, which essentially gives you an idea of how recovered and ready your body is, using data such as your sleep, HRV, and resting heart rate.

Personally, I find it extremely accurate for steps. I’ve seen reviews mentioning significant discrepancies, but I haven’t noticed anything like that with my device. If someone is seeing completely unreasonable readings, I’d suggest checking whether there’s a problem with the device or with how they’re wearing it.

It also automatically detects when you exercise and then shows you what activity you did, its duration, and related data. This is one of the features I end up using more than I expected.

In terms of looks, it’s exactly what I wanted: simple, discreet, and without a screen. I wear it all day and often completely forget it’s there. For the first 1–2 days, the band bothered me / rubbed my skin a little, but I got used to it, and now I don’t notice it at all.

And I think the fact that it DOESN’T have a screen is one of its biggest advantages. I don’t want another smartwatch sending me notifications and demanding my attention. I want something that simply stays on my wrist 24/7, records the data, and lets me open my phone and look at it when I choose.

The battery is also excellent, lasting up to about a week, and quick charging is very convenient.

A small tip: be careful with soaps, shampoos, etc. getting on the device itself. Google says that frequent exposure to such substances can gradually affect its water resistance. It’s best to follow Google’s official instructions for cleaning.

The only thing I’m waiting for is for Google Health Coach / AI Coach to become fully available in our region too. I think the product will become even more interesting then, because all this data can be turned into even more personalized advice.

Finally, I see quite a few people comparing it to the Apple Watch, and in my opinion, that doesn’t make much sense. They’re two different product categories. The Apple Watch is a smartwatch. The Fitbit Air is a screenless health/fitness tracker designed to be worn all the time and collect data without bothering you.

For what my girlfriend paid for it (~€130), I think the value for money is excellent. Especially for someone looking at options like Whoop but who doesn’t want to spend €300+ on hardware and then be tied to an expensive subscription, it’s an extremely interesting alternative.

5/5 from me. It was exactly what I was looking for.

First impressions after a few weeks. I’ll come back later as well, of course, as its software evolves and Google continues tuning it.

If you want a tracker for the basics, lightweight, without a screen that can break during exercise, it’s ideal. I do climbing and this one has made things much easier for me, and I no longer have the fear that I’ll break a smartwatch against a wall or a rock. I imagine that for many other sports where the risk of damage is possible, it will be just as good. Also, personally, I can’t sleep with a watch on; it bothers me, so the Fitbit Air solved that problem for me as far as sleep tracking is concerned.

Obviously I don’t have an opinion on the AI because it’s not yet available in Greece, but from what I see on Reddit, most people aren’t satisfied yet either (and it’s also subscription-based). The fact that another user here in the reviews gave it one star just because it doesn’t have AI, I think, does it an injustice. Obviously the AI will come to Greece at some point too, but nobody knows when (so if you want it for the AI coach, don’t buy it yet).

Anyway, in my opinion and for my own needs, you don’t need the AI if you just want a decent tracker; it’s perfectly fine for standard workout tracking, and I haven’t seen it have major deviations or make significant mistakes so far. Its sleep tracking is good too — as good as sleep tracking can be when it’s done from a sensor on the wrist; that applies to ALL similar products.

That said, its software (the new Google Health app that replaced the Fitbit app) still needs quite a bit of work — in many things it’s worse than the Fitbit app, especially if you were used to it.

In conclusion, I consider it a good tracker for the basics (heart rate, sleep, cardio load, steps, workout tracking, etc.). Especially if watches bother you or you need something that won’t get destroyed during exercise and you want a decent tracker (with which you’ll see the results on your phone), then this is the solution.

Also, its battery is a BEAST. So far it lasts me more than a week. The band isn’t bad, but it’s not wow either. Google has released other better ones too, but they’re still not available in Greece and they’re expensive (of course they would be....). I do see that many people are happy with bands they found from other manufacturers (mostly from China, obviously).