“A newer Fitbit app is available. Updating is recommended” – the prompt says.

Some longtime users called it the end of an era, saying they had used Fitbit for more than five years and were especially attached to its food logging, sleep tracking and menstrual health features. Others quickly said they had received the same prompt, with some having expected it for months and others surprised they had held onto the old interface for so long.

How the holdouts lasted this long

Google began replacing the Fitbit app with Google Health on May 19. The redesign brought a new interface built around Today, Fitness, Sleep and Health, along with coaching features powered by Gemini.

Some users never made the move. By keeping older versions of the app installed, they sidestepped the redesign and carried on with the Fitbit experience they preferred. That worked for far longer than expected, but nearly five months on, the update screens appear to be closing the door.

Experiences still vary. A few users say they can dismiss the prompt temporarily, while others report that their older app versions have started struggling to sync certain health metrics.

Google hasn’t announced a separate October cutoff for the original interface. So it’s unclear whether this is a new enforcement step or simply more users reaching the end of an already planned transition.

Why some users are still resisting

The pushback is easy to understand. We covered the features disappearing with Google Health back in May, and there was quite a lot for longtime users to lose. Badges, Sleep Profile animals were removed, along with the Community Feed and direct messages. The app also changed parts of food logging, stress tracking and the way some health metrics appear.

For some people, the bigger issue isn’t any single feature. They simply preferred the original Fitbit layout, which they had used for years and knew inside out.

Google has responded to some of the complaints. It published a roadmap of planned improvements shortly after the rollout and has spent the months since fixing problems and restoring selected features.

Custom food logging returned in July, for example, while other updates improved sleep displays, dashboard customisation and activity tracking. Some users also say they’ve come to prefer the new app after initially disliking it.

But those changes haven’t won everyone over. For people who chose Fitbit for its familiar interface and straightforward approach to tracking, Google Health still feels like a different product.

Google has also been steadily winding down the old Fitbit infrastructure behind the scenes. Google Health version 5.08 removed support for signing in with legacy Fitbit accounts in September, following the earlier account migration deadline. That change was separate from the current update prompts, yet it points in the same direction.

For the remaining holdouts, the choice now comes down to moving to Google Health or finding another fitness tracking platform. Judging by the latest reactions, plenty of them aren’t happy with either option.

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Most companies chasing needle-free glucose are trying to make the wrist work. We’ve already seen WHOOP explore non-invasive glucose monitoring, while Garmin has patents around estimating HbA1c using optical sensors. Verily is taking a completely different route by changing where the measurement happens.

Verily is basically asking a different question: why use the wrist at all?

Why the eyelid makes sense

According to the filing, the blood vessels in the palpebral conjunctiva, the tissue lining the inside of the eyelid, lie less than 100 micrometres below the surface. Their depth is also fairly consistent from person to person.

That is important for an optical sensor. A short, predictable path to the blood leaves less in the way. At the wrist, light must pass through skin and tissue, with blood vessels at varying depths and plenty of other signals adding noise.

The lower eyelid also provides a natural pocket to hold the device in place. Verily describes a soft, curved, flexible sensor that sits between the eyeball and the lower eyelid, with its optics facing the eyelid tissue. One example in the drawings measures around 18 mm long. The filing also mentions smaller versions, with the goal of keeping the sensor largely or entirely hidden once fitted.

Infrared light and a lot of tears

Rather than relying on a chemical sensor, the device uses short-wave infrared light. Tiny LEDs shine light into the blood vessels in the eyelid while a photodetector measures what reflects back. Because glucose absorbs light differently across the infrared spectrum, the choice of wavelengths is central. The patent covers 900 to 1,700 nm in broad terms, with more specific examples in the 1,300 to 1,700 nm range.

The obvious problem is tears. An optical sensor under the eyelid sits in a constant tear film, which can interfere with the reading. Verily addresses this on several fronts. The sensor can use one wavelength range to pick up the glucose signal and a second to account for water, then subtract the water signal from the first reading.

The hardware helps as well. The casing can have a hydrophobic surface that repels tears around the optical components. The filing also describes an oil-based coating between parts of the device and the eyelid to reduce the effect of the tear film. A good share of the patent is devoted to keeping water out of the measurement.

Built to talk to your phone or watch

Power and data are handled wirelessly. Verily describes NFC for communication and potentially for wireless power, so the sensor may not need a conventional battery. Bringing a phone close to the eye would allow it to communicate with the sensor, with Bluetooth and Wi-Fi listed as alternatives.

The patent names smartphones, tablets and smartwatches as devices that could connect to it. The sensor itself would not be a traditional wearable, yet it could fit into a broader wearable health setup.

Glucose is not the only target, either. The filing states that the same approach could detect other substances in the blood, including cholesterol, potassium, iron, magnesium, lactate and insulin. Patent applications are written broadly, though, and naming a substance is a long way from measuring it reliably.

So this is not a sign that a needle-free Verily CGM is just around the corner. What makes the filing worth watching is the location. If optical glucose sensing does eventually work reliably, the sensor that gets there may not sit on your wrist at all.

Source: USPTO

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This isn’t simply another workout mode with a timer and heart-rate display. Google is developing a full-fledged strength-training system that begins with Health Coach on your phone and then transfers the workout to the watch when you’re ready to begin.

Google announced the feature alongside Pixel Watch 5 in August, and we covered it in our Pixel Watch 5 vs Pixel Watch 4 comparison. Almost two months later, Google’s own Pixel Watch pages still label advanced strength training and the custom workout builder as “Coming soon.”

Health Coach builds the workout for you

The starting point is Google Health Coach rather than you sitting there manually building a routine exercise by exercise. In Google’s demo, the user requests a 30-minute workout suitable for a hotel gym using only dumbbells. The coach then generates the entire session, complete with exercises, sets, reps and weights.

It goes beyond that in terms of personalization. In the demo, Health Coach recalls that the user has a shoulder injury and selects exercises accordingly.

Health Coach isn’t your only option, either. According to Google’s current description, you’ll also be able to create strength sessions manually, selecting the exercises, exact reps, weights and rest timers.

Once the workout is set, tapping start on the phone also launches the session on the Pixel Watch 5. After that, the phone can stay in your pocket.

The watch becomes your gym guide

During the workout, the Pixel Watch 5 displays the exercise you’re meant to be doing, along with form guidance and instructions on how to perform it correctly. You can see the prescribed reps and weight, while live heart rate stays visible throughout the session.

You can also preview what’s coming up next. If the next machine or piece of equipment is taken, the interface lets you switch to a different exercise instead of having to halt the routine and reorganize everything on your phone.

Google’s own product materials confirm that workouts can be adjusted directly from the wrist, including changing reps and reordering exercises when equipment is occupied.

The overall setup feels far more like a dedicated gym app than the traditional smartwatch approach to strength training. Rather than just hitting start on “Weights” and logging heart rate for 45 minutes, the watch knows which workout you’re following and walks you through it.

Still waiting for the rollout

Pixel Watch 5 has been around since last August with no launch of the feature in sight. Google hasn’t missed a specific promised release date, though, as it originally described the feature simply as coming soon, while some regional pages say it will arrive later in 2026.

When it does arrive, it should give Pixel Watch 5 a much better answer to people who spend more time lifting weights than running. The demo suggests it could be one of the watch’s better fitness additions once Google finally switches it on.

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Fall detection today is fairly reactive. Your watch detects the motion associated with a hard fall, checks whether you respond and can then call for help, which is essentially how Pixel Watch Fall Detection already works. A newly published Google patent goes a step earlier.

Your watch would know when to be more cautious

The basic idea is straightforward. Rather than using the same fall detection sensitivity all day, the wearable could recognise a higher-risk situation and temporarily lower the threshold required to trigger fall detection.

Google gives walking while looking at a smartphone as one example. The phone could recognise that its screen is being viewed while the person is moving, then send that information to the wearable so it knows the user is in a potentially riskier situation. 

Carrying something is another example. Motion sensors could recognise that a person’s arms are not swinging normally while walking, potentially indicating that they are carrying a box, drink or another object. The watch could then alter its fall detection threshold while that activity continues. 

Google also proposes using machine learning rather than relying on one fixed rule. Accelerometer, gyroscope and barometer data could feed into a model that determines an adjusted threshold, with different sensors potentially getting their own thresholds. 

Sleep is where it gets more unusual

The most distinctive part of the patent involves what happens just after waking up. Google proposes combining sleep information with the wearer’s first steps after a sleep event. The watch could take into account how long someone slept, how deeply they slept, how soon they started walking and even how quickly those first steps were taken. US-

The filing suggests, for example, that someone walking immediately after waking may warrant a lower fall-detection threshold than someone who waits before getting up. It also discusses treating a person differently after a long sleep compared with a short nap, and potentially distinguishing waking from deeper REM sleep from waking during lighter sleep. 

Walking pace could matter too. Google describes making fall detection more sensitive if someone starts walking quickly immediately after waking, while a slower pace could indicate less risk.

Exercise gets similar treatment. The system could consider how long someone has exercised and what type of exercise they were doing, then temporarily adjust fall detection because fatigue may change their likelihood of falling. 

More context before the fall

Today, devices such as Pixel Watch largely react after a fall-like movement has already happened. Google’s patent adds context before that point, allowing the wearable to become more sensitive when the circumstances suggest greater risk.

There is no indication this is definitely coming to Pixel Watch. The patent covers wearable devices more broadly and dates back to earlier Google work, even though this application was published on October 1, 2026. 

Still, the direction is clear. Fall detection could eventually become less about a fixed impact threshold and more about understanding what the wearer is doing before the fall happens.

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Back in August, we reported on a unidentified fitness tracker hiding in Google’s own Pixel 11 advertising. Now Android Headlines says the device is actually called Fitbit Edge, and has published what appear to be proper product renders along with a much clearer picture of where it fits in Google’s wearable lineup.

Fitbit Edge looks like the Charge successor we expected

The basic formula is very Fitbit Charge.

Edge reportedly has a colour display, notifications, built-in GPS, an altimeter and automatic activity recognition. Battery life is listed at up to seven days.

There are also a few Google extras. The leaked comparison material lists Google Maps, media and music controls and Find My Phone, although this is clearly not being positioned as a mini Pixel Watch with a full app ecosystem.

To remind, Google Pixel Watch 5 gets Wi-Fi, LTE, satellite connectivity, Gemini and the broader Google Play Store, while Edge appears deliberately simpler. It keeps the screen and some smart features without going all the way to Wear OS.

Fitbit Air sits at the other end. It has no screen and is built around passive tracking, while Edge adds the display, notifications and more on-wrist interaction without giving up the week-long battery life.

In other words, Google now appears to have a fairly obvious three-level wearable lineup. Air is the discreet screenless tracker, Edge is the conventional fitness band, and Pixel Watch handles the full smartwatch side.

We may have already seen this device at the FCC

There is another piece of this that makes the leak more convincing. Last month, we found Google model G8BL6 in an FCC filing. The paperwork pointed to a wrist-worn device with straps, a screen, Bluetooth LE, GNSS and a charging base, but no Wi-Fi or cellular radio.

A few days later, an IMDA listing confirmed that G8BL6 is a Google device. At that point, the obvious question was whether it was connected to the mystery tracker from Google’s advertising. Fitbit Edge now looks like a very plausible answer. The leaked feature set lines up well with what we saw in those filings.

Price and launch timing are still guesses

The leaked colors include black, green and orange, apparently matching the Obsidian, Olive and Canyon finishes used elsewhere in Google’s Pixel lineup. The design also includes elongated side buttons and a removable band mechanism on the back.

Android Headlines expects Fitbit Edge to launch this month, but Google has not announced a date. The suggested $149 to $199 price range is also an estimate based on previous Charge pricing rather than leaked pricing information.

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A newly published Google patent describes a system that monitors what happens after an initial cardiac arrhythmia event, looks for patterns in subsequent episodes and uses those patterns to predict when another event is likely to occur. The US patent application, numbered US 2026/0294263 A1, was published at the start of this month.

The watch would learn your own pattern

The basic idea is actually pretty simple. A wearable detects an initial cardiac arrhythmia event using its biometric sensors. The patent repeatedly uses atrial fibrillation as an example, although its claims cover cardiac arrhythmias more broadly.

That first event then triggers an observation period. During this window, the wearable continues collecting heart data and records additional arrhythmia events.

The system looks at their timing and frequency to see whether there is a pattern specific to that person. If there is, Google proposes using it to generate a prediction of when a future event may occur.

So this is not simply a general risk score telling someone they are more likely to develop AFib at some point. The patent describes learning from actual arrhythmia events and looking for temporal patterns that could help forecast another one. For example, if someone’s episodes repeatedly occur at certain times or tend to appear at fairly regular intervals, that information could potentially become part of the prediction.

This goes beyond today’s AFib alerts

Current wearables can already look for signs of AFib. Google’s own devices are part of that. I recently looked at how AFib detection works on Fitbit Air, where heart rhythm and movement data collected while the user is still can trigger an irregular rhythm notification.

Pixel Watch goes further by offering ECG hardware on compatible models. But these features are still fundamentally looking for something that is happening or has already happened.

Prediction flips that around. Rather than asking whether the wearer’s rhythm appears irregular now, the system starts asking what might happen next.

It also fits well with where Google has been taking its health platform lately. Health Guardian already uses existing wearable data to identify longer-term patterns linked to blood pressure and insulin resistance, rather than relying on dedicated sensors that directly measure either one.

AFib prediction would push that idea further. The sensors gather the raw signals, but more of the value comes from interpreting patterns across time.

But patents are not product roadmaps. Companies routinely patent technologies that never appear in a commercial device, or that arrive years later in a substantially different form.

There would also be a much higher bar for something that claims to predict a future cardiac event. Detecting signs of AFib is already a regulated health feature. Telling someone that another episode may be approaching would need convincing clinical validation before Google could put that sort of warning on millions of wrists.

Still, the direction is worth watching.

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Google started rolling out Health Guardian last week to Pixel Watch 3, Pixel Watch 4 and Pixel Watch 5. The system looks for longer-term patterns related to blood pressure, insulin resistance and sleep breathing quality.

Now the first monthly reports are landing, and the early reaction is a mix of surprise, concern and a fair bit of confusion.

Some results are raising eyebrows

Several early users have reported receiving a “High” insulin resistance trend despite recent glucose or A1C tests that they say were normal. Others have received a high blood pressure trend and questioned it after getting more reassuring readings from a conventional cuff.

That does not necessarily mean Health Guardian is wrong. One Pixel Watch owner with type 2 diabetes reported that the watch correctly showed high insulin resistance while showing normal blood pressure, which matched their current situation. Another user with pre-diabetes also received a high insulin resistance result.

But there are enough conflicting examples to show why Google’s wording matters here.

Pixel Watch is not measuring blood pressure in mmHg, and it is not measuring blood glucose or insulin. As we explained when Google first announced these features, the watch is looking at signals it already collects and using machine-learning models to identify patterns associated with these conditions.

For blood pressure, Google analyses pulse and movement data using its WavesFM model. The end result is deliberately broad. You get a trend such as “High”, rather than a conventional reading such as 140/90.

Insulin Resistance Trends takes a similarly indirect route, combining things such as heart rate patterns, HRV, sleep, activity, skin temperature, weight and age. Again, the result is a trend rather than a blood test.

Some users say the result made them worry despite recent normal tests. Others are asking for more underlying data rather than a simple high or low classification, which is probably a fair criticism of the current presentation. If an algorithm is going to flag something potentially important, people naturally want to know what changed and by how much.

The reports are not based on just a couple of days

There is also some confusion around how Google produced these reports so quickly. Health Guardian only became visible for many users during the past few days, leading some to assume that their October 1 assessment was calculated from only a day or two of information. But that is not the case.

Google says the first Blood Pressure Trends report can appear if you wore a compatible Pixel Watch for at least five consecutive days during September. Insulin Resistance Trends requires at least seven days and nights of wear during September.

In other words, the feature does not necessarily need to have been visible in the app for a week. Google can process eligible data the watch had already collected during the previous month.

That also explains another slightly confusing part of the interface. Some users are seeing the result presented under October even though the underlying data comes largely from September. Technically, October is when the monthly report is delivered, but showing it that way makes it easy to assume the app is talking about the new month.

Our takeaway

For now, these first reports are probably best treated as a nudge to look into things rather than a result you take at face value. Day one is already showing the tricky part for Google. Putting a big “High” label on the screen is easy enough. Giving people enough context to understand why it appeared is where things get much harder.

Google’s Blood Pressure Trends feature is still very different from actually measuring blood pressure. The company is also exploring hardware that could do that, but Health Guardian is not there yet. Right now it is looking for patterns, not replacing the cuff.

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Until now this was a real pain if you trained on a Garmin but lived in Google Health for everything else. The workout would show up fine, yet Cardio Load acted like it never happened. Google Health 5.09 fixes that.

Why Garmin users should care

Plenty of people split things up these days. Garmin does the serious training, while a Fitbit or Pixel Watch handles sleep, passive tracking and the Google side of things. I’ve written before about Fitbit Air working better alongside a Garmin than as a replacement for one.

The trouble was that a hard Garmin run did nothing for your Cardio Load. Pick the “wrong” watch for a session and your numbers looked lower than they should. People had been complaining about it for months. Google said it would pass the feedback on, and now it has actually done something about it.

Heart-rate data is required

There is one important condition. The imported workout needs heart-rate data, because Google uses that information when calculating how much Cardio Load to assign to the session.

For Garmin and Apple Watch workouts, that should not be a hurdle. Both normally record heart rate throughout exercise, although the relevant data still needs to make it through the sync into Google Health.

Google is not importing Garmin’s own Training Load score or Apple’s training metrics. It is taking the workout information it receives and using that data to calculate its own Cardio Load figure.

Which means Garmin’s Training Readiness, recovery metrics and deeper training analysis do not suddenly become Google Health metrics just because the workout has synced across. I saw that difference first-hand when I ran a 5K with Fitbit Air against Garmin. The basic heart-rate and distance figures were very close, but Garmin still provided far more depth once the workout was finished.

What actually syncs

Garmin data gets in via Health Connect on Android or Apple Health on iPhone. That covers workout summaries, heart rate, steps, distance, floors and calories. Garmin’s HRV, VO2 max and detailed lap data still don’t come through.

Apple Watch shares a bit more, including routes, VO2 max and some overnight vitals. For Cardio Load none of that really matters though. If the workout carries heart-rate data, Google can use it.

One odd detail

Google’s support page still says Cardio Load only uses first-party data, which flatly contradicts the 5.09 release notes. The update only started rolling out on September 25, so the help page just hasn’t caught up yet.

Small change, big win if you mix brands. You can train with whatever watch you like and still keep Cardio Load honest.

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Pixel Watch gets the features for free

Google announced today that Health Guardian is rolling out in the Google Health app. Pixel Watch 3, Pixel Watch 4 and Pixel Watch 5 owners can begin setting up Blood Pressure Trends, Insulin Resistance Trends and Sleep Breathing Quality this week.

The first proper trend reports will not appear immediately. Google says they should begin arriving in early October, once there is enough data to work with.

Blood Pressure Trends requires at least five consecutive days of data during a week, while Insulin Resistance Trends needs at least seven days of data. The reports are then delivered at the beginning of each month. So these are not daily or real-time measurements.

We already had a pretty good idea the rollout was close. Last week, our Google Health APK teardown found Blood Pressure Trends, Insulin Resistance Trends and Sleep Breathing Quality wired into the app, complete with onboarding screens and places for the resulting data.

Fitbit Air gets a different deal

The odd part is Fitbit Air.

Google says Fitbit Air users will get Blood Pressure Trends and Insulin Resistance Trends later this year, but only with a Google Health Premium subscription. There is no equivalent subscription requirement attached to those features on Pixel Watch 3, 4 or 5.

Google Health Premium costs $9.99 per month or $99 per year, although Fitbit Air buyers receive three months with the device. It is also included with Google AI Pro and Ultra subscriptions, something we covered when Google bundled Health Premium into its AI plans.

That softens the subscription issue for anyone already paying for Google’s AI services. But for everyone else, there is now a fairly clear distinction between what the $99 Fitbit Air gets for free and what Pixel Watch owners receive.

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The patent was published on September 17 and describes a miniaturized impedance plethysmography sensor (IPG sensor), built into a computing device. The drawings make the wearable angle pretty obvious too. One example is a smartwatch, while others show small finger-worn devices and even other types of electronics.

Your fingertip becomes part of the sensor

The basic idea is quite neat. Google places a set of miniature electrodes underneath the fingertip, with two used to send a tiny electrical excitation signal through the tissue and another two used to measure the resulting electrical response.

Blood flowing through the finger changes its electrical impedance. By tracking those changes, the system can produce a pulsatile waveform that reflects the blood pulse, and Google says that signal can then be used to determine blood pressure or a proxy for blood pressure. The patent’s process diagram boils the whole thing down to generating IPG data, deriving the pulsatile signal and then estimating blood pressure from it. 

And Google clearly has smartwatch use in mind. Figure 6A shows the system incorporated into a watch worn on the wrist, with the sensing area positioned on the watch body where a finger could be placed against it. Earbuds are another option. As well as smartphones.

That’s not the only idea

And this is not even the only recent Google patent dealing with the problem. A separate application published last month describes a small finger cuff containing an inflatable bladder, multiple pressure sensors and optical sensors. 

That system would inflate around the finger while an array of barometric sensors maps pressure around the digital artery. But as you can see from the image below, it’s not exactly a discreet smart ring.

Optical sensors simultaneously measure the pulse, and the device combines those signals to calculate blood pressure. The patent’s flow diagram specifically shows inflation, pressure mapping, optical measurements and the final blood pressure estimate as parts of the process. 

Where this fits with Google’s plans

It is worth noting that neither patent names a Pixel Watch or Fitbit product. Google has been busy around blood pressure lately, though. It ran a Fitbit Hypertension Lab study with Pixel Watch 3 owners last November, and Blood Pressure Trends is coming to the Pixel watches this fall as part of Health Guardian.

We also covered an earlier Fitbit patent that hinted at blood pressure checks from the wrist in April. Put the two finger filings next to that and Google is clearly working on blood pressure from several directions. Patents do not confirm a release though, so treat these as a look at what Google is exploring.

Source USPTO: September patent, August patent

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