Google's latest health upgrade is sleeping on Fitbit support

Google’s latest health upgrades give Pixel Watch owners more ways to track their well-being, from blood pressure and insulin resistance trends to how well they breathe while sleeping. The company also promised to extend some of these insights to the Fitbit Air, albeit behind a Google Health Premium subscription. But it turns out Fitbit Edge and Fitbit Air owners aren’t getting the full package, even if they’re willing to pay for it.

The feature in question is sleep breathing quality, one of three new Health Guardian insights Google rolled out last month. While Pixel Watch 3, 4, and 5 owners can access all three without an additional subscription, Fitbit Edge and Fitbit Air users are limited to blood pressure and insulin resistance trends, even with Premium.

The distinction hasn’t been obvious to everyone. In a recent Reddit post, a Fitbit Air owner shared a screenshot of the Google Health app displaying a rather blunt message: “Breathing quality isn’t supported on your current device.” Another user reported receiving the other two features following an app update, only to find sleep breathing quality missing.

This isn’t just a case of Google simply taking its sweet time with the rollout — the answer has been hiding in plain sight on the company’s own online store comparison page. Under sleep tracking, Pixel Watch models proudly list monthly sleep breathing quality trends, while both the Fitbit Air and the newer Fitbit Edge get a lonely dash. In other words, neither Fitbit tracker currently supports the feature.

Google’s September announcement tells a similar story, explicitly promising the Air only the other two insights.

Users can set up blood pressure trends, insulin resistance trends, and sleep breathing quality metrics in the app beginning this week. The tools will be included free with Pixel Watch 3, 4, and 5 devices, with the first trend reports arriving in early October. Fitbit Air users will be able to see their insulin resistance and blood pressure trends with a Google Health Premium subscription later this year.

It’s a notable omission, considering what the missing tool offers. Sleep breathing quality uses overnight blood oxygen variations to estimate how much time you spend breathing optimally, giving users daily insights and a broader monthly picture. It isn’t a diagnostic tool for sleep apnea, but it could help users notice changes in their sleep patterns.

Still, Fitbit Edge and Fitbit Air owners shouldn’t completely abandon hope. Google’s dedicated sleep breathing quality page says more devices will follow the supported Pixel Watch models, though it stops short of naming either Fitbit tracker:

The Sleep Breathing Quality feature will be available on Pixel Watch 3, 4, 5 with more devices to follow.

For now, even a Premium subscription won’t unlock sleep breathing quality on either Fitbit model. We’ve reached out to ask Google whether support is coming later and will update this article if we hear back.