Google has a new screenless fitness tracker that passively records health data while out on the trail. It’s called the Fitbit Air, and it’s a Whoop challenge that costs only $99 with no registration required. Without a screen or physical buttons, you rely on the Google Health app (formerly Fitbit) to change settings, start workouts, and set features.
If you just got a Fitbit Air, these are the seven things you should do first after taking it out of the box. They’ll help you learn the features of Fitbit Air and give you a quick tour of the redesigned and redesigned Google Health app. Let’s dive in.
Set morning alarms
The Fitbit Air is limited in hardware, so you won’t get notifications or many smartwatch features from this fitness band. There is one feature you should call out: alarms. With a vibration motor and other sensors inside, the Fitbit Air can vibrate like an alarm on your arm and set off an alarm when the wearable is double tapped. You can set up to eight alarms in the app when Fitbit Air is near your phone.
You will need to open the The Google Health app and click the Communication button in the upper left corner of the application’s home page. Then, click Fitbit Air in the list of devices. Next, press Alarms then Add a new alarm to build one. You can set the alarm time and the days of the week when the alarm will go off.
There are two alarm settings to be aware of: Repeat the alarm again A smart awakening. The snooze alarm will automatically snooze the alarm nine minutes after it rings if there is no double tap from the user. Smart Wake will try to wake you up to 30 minutes before the exact alarm time, improving the alarm for your sleep cycle.
The slim design of the Fitbit Air makes it perfect for sleep tracking, and it’s nice to see a built-in alarm that can wake you up more gently than a sound-based one.
Select wrist preference
Part of setting up the new Fitbit Air is telling you your preferences. That includes letting the Google Health app know which wrist you’re wearing the Fitbit Air on. Whether your arm is left or right doesn’t matter, but the app wants to know if it’s on your dominant or non-dominant wrist. I wear mine on my dominant wrist, so I can still use a traditional watch or a regular smartwatch on my non-dominant wrist.
You can update your preferences by navigating The Google Health app > Communication > Fitbit Air getting started – this is done for every setting or feature of the Fitbit Air device, but I will continue to highlight these steps for simplicity. Then, click Device preferences. Tap Wrist preference then choose strong or uncontrollable. You might be asking, why does the app need to know this data point?
That’s because the motion sensors inside Fitbit Air are paired with a software algorithm to calculate daily steps and movements. You use your dominant hand a lot throughout the day, even when you’re not moving. This can lead fitness trackers to add false steps to your count, but telling the Google Health app which wristband is being used will improve accuracy across the board.
Set the vibration strength
While you are inside Device preferences settings page, you can adjust the Fitbit Air’s vibration settings. To get there, navigate to The Google Health app > Communication > Fitbit Air > Device preferences and press Vibration. You can turn off vibration alerts here entirely by flipping the switch, and this may be recommended if you don’t need vibration alarms or similar haptic alerts.
If you plan to continue using vibration alerts on your Fitbit Air, you can adjust their intensity. There are two options: At the top again Down. When you switch between options by touching them in the app, your Fitbit Air will buzz twice at the selected intensity. This will help you decide which one is right. You will see a Settings updated A banner appears when your Fitbit Air vibration preferences are saved.
Share heart rate with apps or gym equipment
Another feature of the Fitbit Air that you may not know about is sharing real-time heart rate data. This allows you to use the wearable’s built-in heart rate monitor to share data with third-party apps and fitness equipment. Fitbit Air will work with Peloton, Concept 2, Echelon, Hydrow, iFit (NordicTrack), Life Fitness, Matrix Fitness, Schwinn Fitness, Spinning, Strava, Tonal, Wahoo, and Zwift apps and hardware. Before you get started, you need to manually pair the fitness band with apps and devices.
Open your Fitbit Air device settings menu by navigating to The Google Health app > Communication > Fitbit Air. Then, click Share heart rate. This will make your Fitbit Air visible to nearby devices and apps via Bluetooth. Use gym equipment or an app to pair with Fitbit Air. Follow the on-screen instructions to do so. You may need to verify on your phone or match pairing codes.
If you use exercise equipment regularly, you may want to keep your Fitbit Air visible in nearby apps and tools at all times. You can do this by flipping the toggle sideways It is always visible on this page. However, Google warns that this may affect your Fitbit Air battery life.
Choose a primary fitness goal
The next section of the Fitbit Air device settings menu that costs your time is called Google Health Reminders and Notifications. This set of options is important if you care about background health monitoring and alert notifications. To get there, navigate to The Google Health app > Communication > Fitbit Air and press Google Health Reminders and Notifications.
The first option is called The main goal. You can set your main goal as steps, distance, caloriesagain active area minutes. This will inform the notifications you receive in the Google Health app as you reach your chosen goal.
Get high and low heart rate alerts
Next, you can set up high and low heart rate alert notifications. These are sent to your smartphone if your heart rate is high or low while you are inactive for at least 10 minutes. Move around the Google Health app > Communication > Fitbit Air > Google Health reminders and alerts, and press High and low heart rate. Here, you can browse the toggles side by side Notice with high heart rate and/or low heart rate alerts.
By default, the Google Health app will calculate the upper and lower heart rate limits based on your age and normal resting heart rate. However, you can choose a custom one. To do so, click on yours up or low heart rate threshold and flip the toggle to the side Use the default turned off. Then, you can set a custom limit on one or both.
Set up irregular heart rhythm alerts
Similarly, your Fitbit Air can look for irregular heart rhythm patterns that may be signs of atrial fibrillation (AFib). Move around the Google Health app > Communication > Fitbit Air > Google Health reminders and alerts, and press An unusual rhythm. Then, click Set up. A login page will appear explaining that Google’s algorithm has been validated in a clinical study with a positive predictive value of 98.2%. It will also explain atrial fibrillation, its severity, and symptoms.
If you want to continue, tap Get started. You need to confirm your eligibility by entering your date of birth and disclosing whether you have already been diagnosed with AFib. The feature is not available to those under the age of 22 or with a prior diagnosis of AFib. Tap The next one to read the description and data collection policies, then tap Allow to continue. Press The next one once after reading the page, and finally hit Open the feature.
You will see a few very important warnings. You can have AFib without warning, and some people with AFib have no symptoms. The feature does not screen for heart attack, stroke, or other heart conditions. It also reminds users to talk to healthcare providers about any alerts they receive.
By now, you’ve downloaded the Google Health app to turn it on and set the settings and critical features of the Fitbit Air. You’re ready to start tracking workouts, recording your sleep, and monitoring your health. If you don’t have a Fitbit Air yet, maybe this walkthrough will help you figure out if this $99 band is worth your money.
A screen-free fitness tracker
Google Fitbit Air is a small fitness tracker that easily records health data on your wrist. With a seven-day battery life, you can wear it for days without worrying about charging. It connects with the Google Health app and can be used in conjunction with the Google Pixel Watch.