Google Health 5.11 Updates Fitbit Air With Health Guardian Features

Google Health version 5.11 is rolling out to Android and iOS devices, bringing automatic activity tracking improvements, expanded glucose tracking options, and refined sleep tracking. The sizable software update follows previous disclosures made during the Fitbit Edge announcement.

Fitbit Air Gains Health Guardian Features

The Health Guardian feature set, which debuted on the Pixel Watch 5, is now available on the Fitbit Air for users who subscribe to Google Health Premium. Google specified that the paid additions include Blood Pressure Trends and Insulin Resistance Trends. These metrics track automatically over time if users wear their Fitbit Air for consecutive days and provide frequent reports.

Tracking Blood Pressure Trends requires wearing the device for 5 days in a row. Insulin Resistance Trends take 7 or more consecutive days and nights of continuous wear.

Expanded Automatic Activity Tracking for Devices

Google is rolling out software updates to the Fitbit Air, Pixel Watch 3, 4, and 5 to improve tracking intelligence, accuracy, and reliability. These devices now automatically track up to 100 different activities, expanding from the previous limit of about 10. The expanded list includes strength training, swimming, and racket and team sports.

The updated system incorporates contextual reasoning, factoring in workout routines, historical data, and manual edits to deliver nearly 2x more accurate detections. Workouts meeting a 15-minute default minimum duration threshold with a sustained elevated heart rate log automatically. A summary reaches the Google Health app typically within 30 minutes, and confirming or editing an activity refines future predictions.

Glucose Tracking and Abbott Lingo Integration

Google renamed blood glucose to Glucose throughout the app, updating charts and graphs accordingly. Users can now set specific time-in-range goals for glucose data received from connected continuous glucose monitors by accessing the Metabolic section of the Health tab, tapping Glucose, opening Settings, and selecting Set goal.

In the United States, users can connect Lingo by Abbott directly to the Google Health app for faster data syncing. Glucose readings appear in the app within 30 minutes of a reading. Google Health Premium subscribers can also use Google Health Coach to answer questions about their glucose trends by tapping their profile icon and selecting Partner Apps.

Sleep Tracking and Nap Editing Updates

Google improved sleep tracking by better factoring in steps data to more accurately track short awakenings, such as getting up to use the bathroom. Users can also now easily remove naps that do not match their day directly from the nap card.

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