Fitbit Air update reaches more users but Google says little

Fitbit Air’s first post-launch firmware update is now reaching more owners after a slow rollout that began in late June. I received the update notification in the Google Health app on my iPhone this morning, but Google still has not provided a useful changelog.

The wider rollout has reached my Fitbit Air

The notification appeared as a Device update card inside Google Health. The app then downloaded and installed firmware version 20001.253.2, replacing version 20001.245.19 on my Fitbit Air.

Android users see the same update with a slightly longer number, 67.20001.253.2. The added 67 appears to be an Android naming difference rather than a separate firmware release.

Installation only took around 3 or 4 minutes in my case. The Fitbit Air remained on my wrist and did not need to sit on its charger during the process.

Google is not saying what actually changed

The official description only mentions bug fixes and general improvements. Google’s public Fitbit firmware page does not currently include a Fitbit Air entry, so there is no breakdown of individual fixes or any confirmed new features.

That leaves plenty of room for speculation, particularly around automatic exercise detection. Google previously said it would continue improving the number of activities that Fitbit Air can recognise automatically, but it has not tied that promise to firmware 20001.253.2.

Recent Google Health app updates have addressed some related exercise problems. These include incomplete TCX exports, inconsistent metrics when several devices or apps record the same exercise and the app’s behaviour when a live Fitbit Air workout loses its phone connection.

Those fixes should not automatically be credited to this firmware. Google described them as app improvements, while the device update arrived separately with no detailed explanation.

The interesting part comes after installation

I have spent the past few weeks testing Fitbit Air in different positions and comparing it against Garmin and Whoop. Automatic tracking remains one of the areas where the hardware can produce decent underlying data while the final workout summary gets the timing wrong.

That was clear in my latest 8km run test against Whoop. Fitbit Air split the outing and missed part of the distance, so automatic workout recognition will be the first thing I check after installing this update.

Sleep detection, battery drain, heart rate continuity and connected GPS are also worth watching. A firmware update can change any of those without adding a visible feature or new menu inside the app.

For now, this looks like a maintenance release rather than a feature update. The wider rollout is welcome, but Fitbit Air owners will have to work out what changed through use because Google has given them almost nothing to go on.