I have been using smartwatches for the past couple of years, including Google's Pixel Watches and Samsung's Galaxy Watches. While they offer plenty of health and fitness features, I have often found myself worrying about scratching the display, feeling the weight on my wrist or having to take the watch off to charge it. Sleeping with a watch on has never been particularly comfortable either.
The
Fitbit Air takes a much simpler approach. It has no screen, weighs just 12g with the band and does not need to be charged every night. I have been using it for the past couple of weeks, tracking my steps, sleep, workouts and recovery. I also used it across Android and iOS, with Google Health on a Pixel and a Vivo phone, and Apple Health data connected to Google Health on an iPhone.
What surprised me most was how much I started relying on it for everyday activity, particularly when I was not carrying my phone around. There are a few accuracy issues to be aware of, but the experience of wearing a tracker that almost disappears on the wrist has been a welcome change.
The best thing about it is that I forget I am wearing it
The Fitbit Air is essentially a small tracking pod fitted into a fabric band. There is no display, no touchscreen and no stream of notifications asking for attention. The tracker itself weighs 5.2g, while the complete unit with the standard band weighs 12g. That is considerably lighter than any smartwatch I have used recently.
I genuinely lost track of it on my wrist after a few days. With the Pixel Watch or Galaxy Watch, I could always feel the watch, particularly when typing, working out or trying to sleep. The Fitbit Air feels almost like wearing nothing. I could keep it on during workouts and overnight without having to adjust it constantly.
The standard Performance Loop band is made of fabric and uses an adjustable fastening mechanism. It is comfortable, although it takes some time to dry after heavy cardio sessions. The good thing is that it does not cling to the wrist as much as some silicone bands when wet. I would still prefer to take it off and let it dry after a particularly sweaty workout.
The tracker is also water-resistant up to 50 metres, so exposure to sweat and water during everyday use is not a concern.
The absence of a display does mean that all interaction happens through Google Health. There is no way to glance at the time, check the step count or see the heart rate directly on the wrist. I did not miss these features as much as I expected. When I wanted to check my progress, I could open the app on my phone. For someone who wants a wearable that stays out of the way, this is a reasonable trade-off.
I started noticing the steps I was missing
As someone who tries to hit a daily step goal, the Fitbit Air turned out to be more useful than I expected. One thing I have noticed while using it is how many steps I take without carrying my phone around, or wearing a smartwatch. Walking around the house, moving between rooms or stepping out briefly are all activities that can go unrecorded by a phone-based tracker.
During my testing, I regularly noticed a difference of around 1,000 to 2,000 steps compared with Apple Health on my iPhone.
Step counting is not perfect, though. There were occasions when the Fitbit Air added steps even when I knew I had not moved. The difference was not substantial enough to make the daily count unusable, but it was noticeable. This is not entirely unusual for wearables, I have noticed similar issues with the Pixel Watch 5.
I also found that the initial readings were less consistent. Changing the wearing-hand setting to 'Dominant Hand' and manually entering my stride length after measuring it with a tape helped reduce the discrepancy considerably. These settings are worth checking during the initial setup, particularly if step accuracy matters.
The Fitbit Air does not have built-in GPS. It relies on the connected smartphone for location data, while distance estimates can also be calculated using steps and stride length. This becomes important when tracking outdoor walks and runs, where the distance may not always match what a GPS-enabled smartwatch records.
I noticed a similar limitation during treadmill workouts, where the Fitbit Air would solely rely on steps and stride for distance.
I wore the Pixel Watch 5 with the Pixel 11 and the Fitbit Air with the iPhone 17 to the gym. Across multiple sessions, the Pixel Watch's distance reading was closer to the treadmill's figure, while the Fitbit Air consistently recorded around 400 metres less. Both devices were set to the same stride length, so this was a bit unusual.
This is worth considering for people who rely on distance and pace data for running.
Sleep tracking is where the screenless design makes sense
One of the biggest reasons to use a lightweight tracker is that it can stay on the wrist overnight. This is where I found the Fitbit Air particularly convenient. I have often removed smartwatches before going to bed because of their weight or simply because I did not want another device on my wrist while sleeping.
The Fitbit Air is comfortable enough that I barely notice it. More importantly, its sleep tracking has been quite impressive during my testing. It automatically detects when I fall asleep, including short naps. I sometimes doze off for 20 to 30 minutes after work, and the tracker picks up these sessions very accurately.
I was also impressed by how it handled the time spent lying awake in bed. On a few nights, I was in bed for hours without using my phone, but had not actually fallen asleep. The tracker did not count all that time as sleep. Its estimates of how long I took to fall asleep were also quite close to my experience.
There were a few exceptions. On some nights, the Fitbit Air did not record sleep data, with Google Health indicating that the band might not have been tight enough to capture the readings. The app still provided a probable sleep window based on smartphone activity, but that is not the same as recording sleep through the wearable's sensors.
The Smart Alarm feature is another addition I found useful. It uses a selected wake-up window to try to wake the wearer at a suitable point in the sleep cycle, rather than relying only on a fixed alarm time. The tracker vibrates on the wrist, so there is no need for an audible alarm. It has helped me wake up on time without disturbing anyone else, and I found it more convenient than setting an alarm on my phone.
Readiness scores are more interesting than they sound
One of the metrics I spent more time looking at during the review was Heart Rate Variability, or HRV. In simple terms, it measures the variation in time between successive heartbeats. It is different from resting heart rate, and changes in HRV can offer clues about how the body is responding to physical strain, stress and recovery.
Google Health uses HRV alongside other information, including sleep and recent activity, to calculate its Readiness score. The score is intended to give an indication of how prepared the body may be for physical activity on a given day.
My experience with it was interesting. On days when I had a cold, the tracker gave me a Readiness score of around 15, even after I had slept for 10 hours. On a healthy day, however, I could get a score of around 80 despite sleeping for only four hours.
I also noticed a pattern during workouts. On days when I tried to push through a demanding session despite a low Readiness score, I generally struggled more. When the score was high, I found it easier to push harder.
This is based on my own experience over two weeks, rather than a conclusion about how the metric will work for everyone.
I would not recommend following a readiness score blindly. But it is a useful additional reference, particularly when trying to understand why some training sessions feel harder than others.
Workout detection is good, but it can get confused
The Fitbit Air automatically detects workouts, and I found it quite reliable during my testing. It picked up my regular gym sessions without requiring me to start an activity manually. Even light spinning after a workout was detected, which was a pleasant surprise.
However, automatic detection is not foolproof. On one occasion, the tracker mistook a motorcycle ride for a cycling workout, despite my heart rate remaining fairly stable.
I also tried connecting the Fitbit Air with Strava on the Pixel 11. The figures did not always match what Google Health showed. This may be because the two apps process activity data differently. Even when they use the same underlying sensor readings, their algorithms may calculate distance, activity and other workout metrics differently. Once Google Health shares the data with a third-party app, that app may apply its own calculations. This could explain the differences in the figures, rather than the tracker recording an entirely different activity.
Google Health is central to the experience
Since the Fitbit Air has no screen, Google Health is the only way to view the data it collects. I have already spent time reviewing the app, and my overall experience remains largely the same. It brings steps, workouts, sleep, heart health and recovery information into one place, with separate sections for Today, Fitness, Sleep and Health.
The Health Coach is one of its more interesting additions. It uses activity and recovery data to offer workout suggestions and adjust training plans. As I found in my earlier review, it can be useful when planning workouts around recovery, although it sometimes gives lengthy explanations when a quick look at the data would be enough.
The Fitbit Air works with both Android and iOS, which I tested across a Pixel, a Vivo phone and an iPhone. On the iPhone, I connected Apple Health to Google Health to bring the data together. The experience is largely consistent across platforms, although I missed having a Google Health widget on iOS. I had to open the app more often to check my activity and other metrics, rather than getting a quick glance from the home screen.
Battery life is another reason to leave the smartwatch behind
The Fitbit Air is rated for up to seven days of battery life. In my use, it comfortably lasted five to six days, and I could get closer to seven days when I switched off Smart Alarm and reduced how often I synced the tracker.
This is a welcome change after using smartwatches that need charging every day or two. I could wear the Fitbit Air overnight without having to plan around a charging routine, which also meant fewer gaps in sleep tracking.
Charging takes up to 50 minutes for a full charge, while five minutes on the charger can provide up to a day's use.
The absence of a display also means there is no battery percentage to check on the wrist. I had to rely on the app for battery information. It is a minor inconvenience, but one that comes with the screenless design.
Verdict
The Fitbit Air costs ₹13,999 in India. After using it for a couple of weeks, I can see why a screenless tracker makes sense, particularly for people who want continuous activity and sleep monitoring without wearing a full smartwatch.
Its biggest advantage is comfort. At 12g with the band, it is light enough to wear throughout the day and night without constantly noticing it. Sleep tracking is impressive, automatic workout detection is generally reliable, and the battery lasts several days. The Readiness score also adds an interesting layer to understanding recovery and planning workouts.
There are limitations. Step counting can occasionally add extra movement, distance estimates are not as reliable as those from a smartwatch with built-in GPS, and treadmill readings were consistently behind the machine during my testing. Sleep tracking also missed a few nights, while the lack of a Google Health widget on iOS makes checking data less convenient.
I would not consider the Fitbit Air a complete replacement for a smartwatch, particularly for people who depend on GPS, live workout information or notifications on their wrist. But that is not necessarily the point. After years of wearing screen-based watches, I found the experience of having a tracker that I could forget about rather refreshing.
For hikers and people who spend time outdoors, a conventional smartwatch still makes more sense as it offers built-in GPS, and features such as satellite SOS. However, fitness enthusiasts and gym goers, might find the Fitbit Air as a useful companion for tracking everyday activity without adding another screen to their lives.
 "Fitbit Air review: Great for sleep and recovery, less so for GPS tracking")
Connect with us on WhatsApp