Google teases screenless tracker
Google has quietly teased a screenless, subscription‑based Fitbit-style fitness band in a Steph Curry video — the device is marketed as a minimalist tracker focused on long‑form physiological metrics and may launch soon. (androidcentral.com) The tease was also covered with hands‑on context showing subscription positioning and advanced tracking ambitions. (cnet.com)
Bloomberg reports Google is developing a screenless fitness band under the Fitbit brand and expects to release the device later in 2026, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. (bloomberg.com) Those same sources say Google will sell the band as hardware that offers basic tracking out of the box while gating advanced recovery and training insights behind a subscription — positioning it more like Fitbit Premium than Whoop’s all-subscription model. (bloomberg.com) Fitbit’s Gemini-powered personal health coach entered a U.S. public preview for eligible Premium users on October 28, 2025, and Google plans to surface device data and AI-driven recommendations inside the redesigned Fitbit app. (blog.google) Market pressure helps explain the move: WHOOP closed a $575 million Series G on March 31, 2026, valuing the company at about $10.1 billion and highlighting rapid growth in screenless, subscription-focused recovery wearables. (techcrunch.com) Google announced Stephen Curry as its “Performance Advisor” during Made by Google 2025, a multi‑year role spanning Google Health, Pixel and Google Cloud that predates the company’s current Fitbit pushes. (blog.google) Industry reporting notes Google signaled new Fitbit hardware would arrive in 2026 during the health-coach rollout, and the upcoming band would mark a deliberate shift away from traditional screened Fitbit designs. (blog.google) For pricing context, Fitbit’s current entry-level tracker, the Inspire 3, retails at about $99.95, giving a baseline to compare how Google might price a paid band plus subscription offerings. (9to5google.com)
