Google should be celebrating the release of the Fitbit Air this month. The new screen-less fitness tracker gives competitors like Whoop and even aspects of the Apple Watch a run for their money with a number of unique features.
Instead, Google is now dealing with backlash from some fo Fitbit’s existing user base after the company retired the Fitbit app and replaced it with a new AI-focused Google Health app.
On Reddit, not all Fitbit users are happy with the change, to say the least.
“Thanks, Google, for ruining Fitbit,” reads one post, which has received nearly 2,000 upvotes on the r/fitbit subreddit. “I’ve been using Fitbit for over 10 years and I canceled my premium membership today. The Google Health [app] is awful. No one asked for this. Google owes us all a refund on these watches.”
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On social media platforms like Reddit, some long-time Fitbit users have shared their dislike for the new Google Health user interface, which they say is less intuitive and customizable than the old Fitbit app. Others are upset that Google appears to have removed data that was previously available, like certain sleep tracking stats and in-app challenges.
And then, of course, there are complaints about the AI features. The AI coach wasn’t a surprise. In fact, Google rolled out trials of these AI features in the Fitbit app prior to the migration. However, within the old Fitbit app, users had control over the AI features and could turn them off. That’s not the case with the new Google Health app.
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The Google Fitbit Air is a screenless fitness tracker.
Credit: Google
“Beyond frustrated with the forced ‘Google Health’ update,” reads another Reddit post with more than 1,200 upvotes. “I participated in the public preview for the new version of this app, and turned it off after a week. It was clear that Gemini was extremely poorly implemented, and the new version was not ready for public use. It appears that they have launched in exactly the same state as it was.”
“Why must I now scroll through paragraphs of AI slop on every tab before I can actually see my activities and data?” the Reddit user continued.
Since Google Health’s release, Fitbit users have also been bombing the app with negative reviews on Google Play.
“The overhaul of the original Fitbit app is absolutely terrible,” reads one review on the Google Play store. “It forces AI on you at every turn, all the information in the app is AI-based, besides from the raw data collected by your Fitbit device. Awful app, 0/10 CANNOT recommend. Give me back the Fitbit app over this trash any day.”
“Lacks most of the information that was available on Fitbit, can’t track just daily activity, no stress component,” reads another. “I guess I will get an Apple Watch.”
For Google’s part, the company does appear to realize the severity of the situation and has already responded with a roadmap to address users’ issues with the app.
According to Google, it’s currently working on a series of improvements and bug fixes for the Google Health app. A list of those changes can be found at the Google support site and will roll out starting this week.
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