Should you buy the Fitbit Air or Pixel Watch? it’s complicated

If you’re a fan of Google’s fitness trackers, the new Fitbit Air has probably caught your attention. It differs from the company’s usual devices thanks to its screenless design and as a result it boasts a more budget-friendly price.

But if you already have a Pixel Watch, or you’re looking for a new wearable device, you may be wondering whether to go with Google’s existing smartwatch lineup or opt for the Fitbit Air instead. However, the answer is not as simple as you might expect.

Google designed the Fitbit Air with certain people in mind – those who find wearables too expensive, heavy or complicated. As a result, the device is Google’s smallest tracker yet, which is especially helpful for those who may find smartwatches and fitness trackers too inconvenient for sleep tracking. It offers a distraction-free experience without any notifications, which benefits those who find smartwatches too annoying with their notifications and alerts. Rather, the Air’s vibration function is used only for its alarm.

Notably, it does not feature a screen. Rather, it’s a small tracker pebble located inside a strap that you can switch out. Although it loses one screen, its battery life increases. The Fitbit Air’s battery lasts for seven days. Thanks to fast charging, you can get a day of battery life in just five minutes of charging.

Despite its minimalist design, it still has a number of important health and fitness features. This includes continuous heart rate monitoring, heart rhythm monitoring with Afib alerts, heart rate variability monitoring, and SpO2 measurement.

In terms of fitness tracking, it can record your steps, auto-detect workouts, and even keep track of swimming. It is also able to measure your sleep duration and stages while supporting smart wake alarm.

The design of the device comes with another advantage: its price. At $99, it’s significantly cheaper than the Pixel Watch 4, which costs $349. Even Google’s Fitbit Charge 6 costs $159 (though it’s often discounted these days), making the Air an attractive offering.

Over the past few years, fitness trackers and smartwatches have become more difficult to differentiate with many overlapping features. But the lack of a screen on the Fitbit Air makes this difference more tangible. This distraction-free setup may work for some people, but it could be a deal-breaker for smartwatch fans.

There are some overlapping features between the Air and the Pixel Watch, like heart rate and sleep tracking. However, devices use different sensors to accomplish these tasks. For example, the Fitbit Air has an optical heart rate monitor, while the Pixel Watch uses a multi-path optical heart rate sensor. The multi-path option uses multiple light sources to increase the accuracy of readings.

When it comes to sensing your skin temperature, the Air uses an instrument temperature sensor, while the Watch uses a far-field skin temperature sensor. A far-field sensor can detect temperature without direct contact, making it ideal for cases where the device is not worn tightly or sweat interferes.

The Fitbit Air is much cheaper than the Pixel Watch, but it comes with a significant loss in functionality. Although the Air uses vibration for its alarm feature, it doesn’t use it for notifications. So if you like to use wearable devices to keep track of messages, events, and incoming calls, losing this functionality could impact your productivity.

If you’re used to being able to see workout tracking and other information by glancing at your wrist, the Air’s screenless design can make it easy to miss this information. To view data from the tracker, you need to use your connected smartphone. You can always log missed workouts later, but if enough time has passed, you won’t remember the exact details.

Google’s Pixel Watch 4 comes with a fairly short battery life of 30 to 40 hours (depending on the size you get and whether you enable the Always-On display or not). However, it also has additional features. You can use Gemini from your wrist, send replies to messages, and even take phone calls.

But in addition to the functionality provided by the Pixel’s screen and built-in microphone, it also has additional fitness and health features. It includes additional exercise modes, cardiovascular zone and speed training, tracking the body’s response to stress throughout the day, stress notifications, and stress management with the EDA sensor.

Finally, the Pixel Watch also supports some security and emergency features. This includes loss of pulse detection, satellite SOS communications and fall detection. So even if you’re not strictly looking for smartwatch features, the Pixel Watch offers functionality that the Fitbit Air doesn’t.

Plus, it’s hard to ignore that wearing a smartwatch constantly can be inconvenient. The short battery life of the Pixel Watch also means you’ll have to charge it much more often.

Choosing between a Fitbit Air and a Pixel Watch may not be obvious to everyone – and even Google admits that. The company says that you can use both the devices at the same time. The new Google Health app allows you to pair both the Air and the Watch together.

For example, someone might want to use their Pixel Watch during the day, but then use a Fitbit Air for sleep tracking. Since the app allows you to pair both devices, you can easily switch between the two.

You may also want to use the Pixel Watch for activities where you want to track your location without using your phone, since the Fitbit Air doesn’t have GPS. Some people may want to use the Air as an accessory to extend the battery power of their smartwatch, allowing the watch to remain on standby or charge more frequently without the user losing track of time.

Of course, there’s also the style aspect – the Air is easy to wear as an accessory with different straps to suit different occasions.

In many ways, it feels like the Fitbit Air is an additional companion to other Google wearables. Plus, there’s definitely a market for screenless trackers, with the Air competing with WHOOP 5.0 or even smart rings. I personally prefer to use a smartwatch or tracker with a screen, but the right choice will depend on your own preferences.

Budget also plays a role here, as not everyone can afford a smartwatch. However it is worth noting that there are a number of brands that offer devices at different price points.