The super-cheap Google Fitbit Air's new Health Guardian features rollout including Blood Pressure Trends and Insulin Resistance is one in the eye for expensive rivals like Whoop

Date:
Mon, 14 Sep 2026 16:27:59 +0000

Description:
Google is loading its cheapest fitness tracker, the Google Fitbit Air, with premium tools from its Pixel Watch series to stay competitive.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter The Google Fitbit Air is
getting some new features introduced with the Google Pixel Watch 5 Health Guardian includes Insulin Resistance Trends, Blood Pressure Trends and Sleep Breathing Quality These features are not behind a Google Health Premium subscription, and are available on the Google Health app for free The Google Fitbit Air is one of the best cheap fitness trackers , a $99.99 / 84.99 / AU$199 fitness band that offers a basic level of fitness tracking within its free tier, and an advanced AI-powered fitness coach with an additional
premium subscription. We liked it at the free tier, although the app is a bit limited, and the premium experience will depend on your tolerance for interacting with chatbots.

However, both tiers are about to get a little bit better, which means the Fitbit Air is becoming even better value, with the addition of Google 's new Health Guardian suite of features. The suite comprises a trio of tools, introduced earlier this year on the Google Pixel Watch 5 . News site Gadgets
& Wearables dug through version 5.07.2 of the app and found the three new features in the app's code. Pixel Watches get four new tools rather than three, but Google's Breathing Emergency Detection requires the watch's emergency contact and notification infrastructure, which the screenless
Fitbit Air doesn't have. Latest Videos From TechRadar Watch full video here: What's new (Image credit: Future / Google) First up for the new tools is Insulin Resistance Trends. Insulin Resistance is an important metric, as it tells you how sensitively your body responds to blood sugar, and insulin resistance is of course a major precursor to type-2 diabetes. This metric "analyzes multi-week physiological data to track shifts in your metabolic health", pointing at resistance levels going up and down. However, for truly accurate blood sugar metrics, you'll need something like a continuous glucose monitor.

Next up is Blood Pressure Trends, which "passively measure your pulse and motion patterns throughout the month to estimate your blood pressure trends without requiring a cuff or manual calibration". Blood pressure via LED technology is very new to wearables, and it's amazing to see it in a device this cheap. However, it's worth noting this isn't a replacement for a cuff, just a likely indicator of trend. You'll still need regular measurement with either a cuff or a doctor's appointment for anything serious, but it can be
an indication to start paying attention to your blood pressure. You may like The Google Pixel Watch 5's Insulin Resistance Trends feature is a very big deal The first Fitbit Air update arrives, but an app workaround disappears 5 new Apple Watch features that are more than just health-tracking tools

Finally, Sleep Breathing Quality is a sleep feature showing you how much time you spent in 'optimal breathing' the night before. Google Health Coach, the
AI chatbot you get in the app's premium tier, can offer advice about how to improve this based on your sleep score and other contextual information.

In fact, while you get the basic numbers for all three new metrics, the
Google Health Coach can dip in and surface these stats to offer actionable advice. For example, you can use your Insulin Resistance Trends in
combination with your nutrition logging to allow the coach to help you make a meal plan to bring that number down. Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals,
and more. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting
your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. Worth buying? (Image credit: Future / TechRadar) While I'm not the biggest fan of Google's AI Health Coach, I did like the Fitbit
Air as a whole, and new, useful, actionable metrics can only add to its already-excellent value proposition.

Whoop can estimate daily blood pressure ranges, but it doesn't offer an Insulin Resistance Trends metric, for example, whereas the Garmin Cirqa doesn't cover blood pressure estimates or insulin. Both competitor wearables have SPO2 blood oxygen sensors, however.

Health Guardian tools are only general indicators of your body's trends. However, if any of these metrics matter to you, for many people the Google Fitbit Air is cheap enough that these new features could be an incentive to pick one up over its more expensive rivals. Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds. Today's best Fitbit Air deals 49.99 View voucher gift 49.99 View voucher gift 85 View Show more We check over 250 million products every day for the best prices



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/health-fitness/fitness-trackers/the-super-cheap-goog le-fitbit-airs-new-health-guardian-features-rollout-including-blood-pressure-t rends-and-insulin-resistance-is-one-in-the-eye-for-expensive-rivals-like-whoop


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