Fitbit Air vs. Google Pixel Watch 4: Both might be better than just one

Google wearable fans have long clamored for a minimal Pixel tracker, and the brand somewhat answered the call with the Fitbit Air. While it bears the Fitbit brand name rather than the Pixel name, it's a Google fitness band nonetheless. The screenless tracker is incredibly tiny, taking up less space on the wrist than a Whoop band. In many ways, the Fitbit Air serves as an alternative to traditional smartwatches, so how does it stack up against the Google Pixel Watch 4?

One thing's clear — the Pixel Watch 4 and the Fitbit Air aren't completely at odds. Sure, if you need a no-frills fitness tracker with a low-profile design, the Fitbit Air is for you. The same could be said of the Pixel Watch 4 for those who want advanced smartwatch features, such as dual-band GPS, Wear OS 6, or LTE connectivity. However, the Fitbit Air and the Pixel Watch 4 also work better together, and the former makes a great sleep tracking companion, allowing you to charge the latter overnight.

The jump from the $99 Fitbit Air to the $350 Pixel Watch 4 is steep, but both Google fitness trackers excel in their own right. Here's how.

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Fitbit Air vs. Google Pixel Watch 4: Design and display, or lack thereof

First, let's review the categorical differences between the Pixel Watch 4 and the Fitbit Air. The Pixel Watch 4 is classified as a smartwatch and features a touchscreen display, runs Wear OS 6 with app support, offers a full suite of health sensors, and supports a range of connectivity standards, including optional LTE. Meanwhile, the Fitbit Air is a passive fitness tracker without a screen. It's essentially a tiny oval-shaped tracking device that snaps into different bands, including the fabric one that comes in the box.

The two trackers both have similar band options, with the Fitbit Air shipping inside a fabric, textile Performance Loop band that uses Velcro for a one-size-fits-all approach. On the other hand, the Pixel Watch 4 comes with a silicone Active band by default. Separately, you can buy Active or Elevated Modern bands for the Fitbit Air. The Pixel Watch 4 offers more variety, with Performance Loop, Stretch, Woven, Crafted Leather, Two-Tone Leather, Metal Mesh, Metal Slim, and Metal Links bands all available for purchase separately from Google.

As you can imagine, the Fitbit Air is much smaller than a Pixel Watch 4. The tracker itself only measures 34.9 x 17 x 8.3mm, and weighs just 5.2 grams. Add in a band, and the entire package gets thicker and weighs 12 grams — but it's still incredibly tiny.

That's quite a far cry from the Pixel Watch 4, which is available in 41mm and 45mm sizes. Either way, you're getting a smartwatch that's 12.3mm thick, and that number doesn't account for the sensors that protrude from the bottom of the Pixel Watch 4 case. It's quite heavy, at 31 grams for the 41mm model and 36.7 grams for the 45mm model. Neither of those numbers includes the band, and some bands are heavier than others.

The Pixel Watch 4 could certainly be worth the extra thickness and weight if you care about the additional hardware and features it offers. The big difference is the display. The domed Actua 360 display, which uses an AMOLED LTPO panel, supports 3,000-nit brightness and variable refresh rates up to 60Hz. It's a gorgeous display that offers numerous practical benefits, including being able to view workout stats or change activity types on your wrist, things that the Fitbit Air can't do.

I personally find the low-profile, lightweight design of the Fitbit Air more comfortable than smartwatches like the Pixel Watch 4, but it all comes down to personal preference — and how many features you need on your wrist.

Fitbit Air vs. Google Pixel Watch 4: Hardware and specs

There are numerous hardware differences between the Fitbit Air and the Pixel Watch 4. For the user, the short summary is that the Pixel Watch 4 (especially the LTE model) is a standalone device, whereas the Fitbit Air is more reliant on a connected smartphone for features. As an example, the Pixel Watch 4 offers dual-band GPS for location detection during workouts, while the Fitbit Air lacks GPS support entirely. To track a workout with GPS on your Fitbit Air, you need to bring your phone.

Since there's no screen or Wear OS operating system running on the Fitbit Air, all controls, settings, and activity tracking are handled in the Google Health app on a connected smartphone. The Fitbit Air has sensors that can detect firm taps on its surface, plus a vibration motor. You can double-tap the tracker to check battery life using the side LED or to silence alarms in the morning.

That's about the extent of the Fitbit Air's standalone features, though. The Google Pixel Watch 4, by comparison, has the Snapdragon W5 Gen 2 and Cortex M55 co-processor working inside. The chip pairs with Wear OS 6 to run an Android-based operating system, complete with rich third-party app support. If you want to do more on your device, the Pixel Watch 4 is the Google tracker to choose.

The Fitbit Air has a modest set of sensors, including an optical heart rate monitor (HRM), a blood oxygen sensor, a skin temperature sensor, an accelerometer, and a gyroscope. The Pixel Watch 4 has a more accurate HRM and a more versatile sensor suite overall. It adds a cEDA body response sensor, ECG support, an ambient light sensor, altimeter, barometer, magnetometer, and compass. These sensors, paired with the aforementioned dual-frequency GPS onboard, make the Pixel Watch 4 better than the Fitbit Air for serious workout tracking.

The Fitbit Air's respectable, but limited, assortment of sensors is best for the kind of person who wants to review stats and automatically detected activities in the Google Health app at the end of the day.

Fitbit Air vs. Google Pixel Watch 4: Fitness and health features

Both the Fitbit Air and the Pixel Watch 4 will heavily rely on the new Google Health app for analyzing and reviewing tracked activity data. This is a refreshed and rebranded version of the Fitbit app. Crucially, neither device requires a subscription.

There is a Google Health Premium (formerly Fitbit Premium) plan available for $9.99 per month or $99.99 per year. It unlocks extras like the AI-powered Google Health Coach. But all the basics are included for free, and frankly, I suspect many users will like the Google Health app better without the AI tools that require a subscription.

The Google Health app opens with a Today page with customizable focus tiles at the top. Underneath, you'll see Google Health Coach insights if you're a subscriber. Then, there are Fitness, Sleep, and Health pages. The Fitness page is where you'll start manual workouts on the Fitbit Air, while the Pixel Watch 4 starts a workout on its screen. The Sleep page is where you'll find your daily sleep score, and the Health page is the home for long-term fitness insights.

The data you can see for each tracker will vary, with the Pixel Watch 4 offering more information and features due to its extra sensors. Features like Satellite SOS, Loss of Pulse Detection, and Gemini Raise to Talk are only available on the Pixel Watch 4.

Notably, you can pair a Fitbit Air and a Pixel Watch 4 to the same Google Health app and Google account. This makes it possible to use the two trackers in tandem. You could use the Pixel Watch 4 as a smartwatch during the day and rely on the Fitbit Air as a sleep tracker, for example. This could make the Fitbit Air a competitor to the Garmin Index Sleep Monitor, a $170 sleep tracker designed to work with a Garmin watch.

Fitbit Air vs. Google Pixel Watch 4: Which should you buy?

The Google Pixel Watch 4 isn't a perfect smartwatch, and the Fitbit Air isn't a perfect fitness tracker. The Pixel Watch 4 is light on battery life and lacks the thin and light design of modern smartwatches, while the Fitbit Air forgoes some advanced sensors, features, and metrics.

The two devices may be better together. You could use the Pixel Watch 4 as a smartwatch and activity tracker during the day, and wear the more comfortable Fitbit Air to bed for sleep tracking while the other is charging overnight.

If you're considering a Pixel Watch 4 or already have one, the Fitbit Air is easy to tack on for just $99 more, and it'll greatly improve the experience of using either device alone. Those who aren't sold on the Pixel Watch 4 — or already have a different smartwatch — might like the Fitbit Air on its own at $99. It provides the fitness and health-tracking basics at a low cost that isn't dependent on a subscription, and that's hard to beat.

The Google Pixel Watch 4 and Fitbit Air exist in separate spheres, as one is a smartwatch and the other is a screenless band. Their audience appeal will overlap, though, and both achieve their goals of being slim and accessible (Fitbit Air) or smart and fully featured (Pixel Watch 4).