Google Finally Has a Name for Its Whoop Competitor

Google has been hinting at a screen-less fitness band since late March, and now there's an actual name to go with it: the Google Fitbit Air. According to 9to5Google, that's what the upcoming device will officially be called — and honestly, it makes a lot of sense once you see the full picture coming together.

NBA star Stephen Curry has already been spotted wearing one since the start of 2026, which was basically Google's way of showing its hand before any official announcement. When a player of that profile is walking around with a prototype on his wrist, you know the launch isn't far off.

What the Fitbit Air Actually Is — and Why Whoop Should Be Paying Attention

Here's the simple version: the Fitbit Air is Google's direct answer to Whoop. Whoop has carved out a real niche among athletes and serious fitness enthusiasts by ditching a screen entirely and focusing purely on health data — recovery scores, strain tracking, sleep analysis. No distractions, just data.

The Fitbit Air appears to follow exactly that playbook. The "Air" name signals what you'd expect: a thinner, lighter design built for all-day wear without the bulk of a traditional smartwatch. It's not trying to be a Pixel Watch. It's trying to be something you forget you're wearing — right up until it tells you something genuinely useful about your body.

A Google I/O launch looks plausible, especially given how publicly Curry has been teasing the device. And this wouldn't be just another Fitbit product. It would be the first major non-Pixel wearable to launch under Google's leadership since the Fitbit acquisition — which puts real weight on it to actually deliver.

The Subscription Side: Free Features vs. the AI Coach

Not everything will be free, and that's worth knowing upfront. Some basic features are reportedly accessible without paying, but the more advanced tools — including an AI-powered "Ask Coach" feature — will sit behind a paid subscription tier.

Think about it this way: the hardware gets you in the door, but the real value proposition lives in the software layer. That's been Whoop's model too, and it's clearly working for them.

Google Health: The Rebrand That Changes Everything

The hardware is honestly only half the story here. The bigger shift is what's happening on the software side.

Google plans to rebrand Fitbit Premium — its existing paid subscription service — as Google Health. And alongside that, Gemini is being integrated directly into the Fitbit app to power personalized health insights. These AI features are already in testing through the Fitbit Health Coach public preview, so this isn't vaporware.

Once the Fitbit Air officially launches, the Health feature gets another rename: the Google Health Coach. And here's a detail that suddenly makes a lot more sense in hindsight — the teaser that Curry shared ended with Google's "G" logo and zero Fitbit branding anywhere. Google isn't hiding behind the Fitbit name anymore. It's betting that its own brand carries more weight in the health tech space at this point.

Honestly, that's a pretty bold call. But given how much Gemini is being woven into the experience, it's also kind of the only move that makes sense.