Google rolls out big Fitbit update as Pixel Watch Ultra rumours surface

Google Health 5.11 is a much more useful update than the version number suggests. The big change is automatic workout tracking, which now recognises up to 100 activities and learns from your corrections, while Fitbit Air is finally getting two of Google’s more unusual Health Guardian features.

There are smaller improvements to glucose and sleep tracking too, but those aren’t really the headline here. More intriguing, a separate Pixel Watch survey is asking users whether they would pay extra for a rugged smartwatch, which sounds a lot like Google testing the waters for an Ultra-style Pixel Watch.

Workout detection is the real upgrade

Google has increased the number of activities that can be automatically detected from 10 to as many as 100. Strength training, swimming, racket sports and team sports now get in on the fun, so automatic tracking should finally cover a lot more than before.

It’s all to do with AI. Google Health now considers your workout routines, previous activity data and manual corrections when working out what you’re doing. And applying some clever algorithms on top of this. Confirm or correct an activity and the system uses that information the next time around.

The company says the new approach makes detection nearly twice as accurate and cuts missed workouts by more than half. It can also automatically save an activity once you pass your minimum duration threshold, which is 15 minutes by default.

The upgrade is available for Fitbit Air and Pixel Watch 3, 4 and 5. Fitbit Edge will also support it when it goes on sale on October 27, adding another difference between Google’s latest tracker and the older Charge 6. 

Health Guardian finally reaches Fitbit Air

The other big addition concerns Fitbit Air. Google is switching on Blood Pressure Trends and Insulin Resistance Trends for users with Google Health Premium, features that we found inside Google Health ahead of their release.

Neither works like a conventional blood pressure monitor or glucose sensor. Instead, Google looks at data already collected by the wearable and tries to spot longer-term changes, which is why the features need several days of wear before producing anything useful.

Blood Pressure Trends requires at least five consecutive days of data during a month, while Insulin Resistance Trends needs seven days and nights. Which means eligible Fitbit Air owners should start receiving their first monthly Health Guardian summaries at the beginning of November.

There is still an odd split between devices. Pixel Watch owners get the main Health Guardian features without an extra subscription, while Fitbit Air users need Google Health Premium.

Google has made a few other useful changes in 5.11. Connected CGM users can now set their own glucose time-in-range goals, Abbott Lingo data can sync more quickly in the US, and Google Health Coach can answer questions about glucose trends for Premium users.

Sleep tracking gets a smaller tidy-up. Google now uses step data to better recognise short awakenings during the night, and incorrectly detected naps can finally be removed directly from the nap card.

And what about a Pixel Watch Ultra?

Then there’s something completely separate from the 5.11 update, but arguably more interesting for where Google’s hardware might go next.

The company is circulating a survey through the Watch app to select users, asking how Google could improve the Pixel Watch. Among the questions were whether they would pay extra for a rugged watch and what would make the Pixel Watch 5 feel more premium.

The wording is hard to ignore. Google now has Fitbit Air at the screenless end, Fitbit Edge occupying the traditional fitness tracker slot and Pixel Watch as its mainstream smartwatch, but nothing aimed directly at watches such as the Apple Watch Ultra or Galaxy Watch Ultra.

A tougher Pixel Watch with a larger battery and a stronger outdoor focus would fill that gap nicely. It may never happen, but if Google really is asking Pixel Watch owners whether they would pay more for a rugged model, the idea is clearly being explored.