What happened to the Fitbit app? After an epic 14-year run, the Fitbit app is officially dead. But don't shed a tear just yet, because the new Google Health app that replaces it is better in just about every way.
That's right, the Fitbit app is now the Google Health app, and Fitbit Premium is now Google Health Premium. Pricing for the Premium subscription remains the same: $9.99 a month or $99 annually.
New name, same basic app, better design
The new app was built based on feedback from longtime Fitbit wearers, and organizes everything into four cour tabs: Today, Fitness, Sleep, and Health. Rather than inundating users with numbers and graphs, the most relevant wellness metrics are presented front and center.
Of course, users can customize the dashboards on each page to their heart's content. Available for both Android and iOS, the new Google Health app plays nicely with a ton of other popular health and fitness apps, like Run Club, AllTrails, MyFitnessPal, and the Oura app.
A new 'Leaderboard' feature lets users compete in fitness challenges head-to-head with friends and family, which is somewhat ironic, given the fact that Google nixed a similar community challenges feature from the Fitbit app back in 2023.
What does this mean for Premium subscribers?
As noted above, Fitbit Premium is now Google Health Premium. The price is the same, but your subscription now unlocks a whole lot more.
With the launch of Google Health Premium, Google's AI-powered, personalized health and fitness concierge officially moves out of beta and becomes a full-blown part of the Premium experience.
When I tried Google's AI fitness coach back in November — which started with a casual conversation about my health and fitness goals — I was impressed. And the Coach has only gotten better over time. What exactly does it do? The Coach can generate custom workout plans, suggest daily exercises, help you eat and sleep better, generate all sorts of trend reports with actionable insights, and much more.
Other new features for Premium users include the ability to upload medical records, giving the Google Health app an even more complete understanding of your wellness. Google says that this data is encrypted end-to-end and that users have complete control over their data privacy.
How to update from the Fitbit app to Google Health
Google started rolling out the new app last week, on May 19th.
If you search for the Fitbit app in the Apple App Store or Google Play Store, you'll likely be redirected to the 'Google Health (Fitbit)' app instead.
For folks who already have the Fitbit app downloaded, simply update your app to the latest version to unlock the newer Google Health layout and expanded features.
The Fitbit name lives on elsewhere
As noted in the intro, there's no need to pour one out for the Fitbit brand just yet. While the Fitbit app may be dead, the brand lives on via the outstanding and affordable ($99) new Fitbit Air, a screen-free, long-lasting wearable that's nothing but a pleasure to use.
Read my complete Fitbit Air review, and stay tuned for a full review on the new Google Health app, including the premium features.
