Google Health review: AI-infused goodness
Fitbit is one of the most comprehensive health platforms for smartphone users, right up there with others like Apple Health and Samsung Health. Google took over Fitbit a few years ago and has now given it a huge makeover, rebranding it as Google Health. I’ve been trying out the app for a while now, and I think it’s a solid step in the right direction.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Google has deeply infused its Gemini AI into Google Health. The result is that the app is now highly AI-driven and very conversational. Let me take you through my experience.
Table of Contents
UI and features
The main interface is divided into tabs labelled “Today,” “Fitness,” “Sleep,” and “Health.” Besides letting you view your metrics and trends over time, it gives you a bird’s-eye view of how your body is shaping up in terms of physical health, activity, and vitals. Of course, the app ties into one of Google’s compatible wearables, like the Pixel Watch 4 or the newly launched Fitbit Air. Worth mentioning that quite a few folks (and I) are waiting for the Google Fitbit Air to launch in India. I tried out Google Health with the Pixel Watch 4, and I must say it left me fairly impressed.
The Google Health app is available on both Android and iOS. However, the Pixel Watch wearables are not supported on iOS, but you can still use the app standalone, or paired with one of the supported wearables, like the Google Fitbit Air, which actually does work with iPhones.
Moving on to the app itself, right up front, you see a colourful stack of widgets which are customisable. You can place the vitals and the metrics you want to view here, right on top.
When you edit the top panel, you’ll get the option to view it in standard view or expanded view. If you choose the latter, you can add more widgets. The widgets themselves are available in two different sizes: small and large. The large options only have a couple you can choose from. While most things are self-explanatory, the UI can look a bit cluttered and busy, so the first few days with it can involve a learning curve, mainly figuring out what is where.
You can use the app to log a bunch of stuff manually too, food, hydration, glucose levels, weight, etc. In fact, you can even take photos of the food you’re having and upload them on the app.
The app provides a sleep score and also a readiness score, which is based on your sleep and your physical activity. Your readiness score in the morning gives you an indication of how prepared you are to take on the daily grind. Based on that, you can get an idea of what you should aim for that day from an activity perspective.
The AI infusion
I think one of the headlining features of the app has to be the integration of the Gemini AI assistant, which basically takes the form of an AI coach. This is part of the premium package, so you’ll have to subscribe to make use of this. So, you can chat with your AI coach to fix your rules and customise not only your targets but also adjust your daily goals on the fly. It acts as a friendly companion who can take you through the insights and metrics on a daily basis. However, it tends to get too chatty and overly enthusiastic at times.
Once you’ve set up your goals and what you plan to achieve from a health and fitness perspective, the AI coach keeps offering tips and friendly alerts. These messages usually end up with a question, which you can respond to by tapping on one of the presented suggestions or just typing it out. It also adds some context and history to make the messages more personal and relevant. For example, if it’s too hot outside, it’ll bake the temperature (pun unintended) into that alert and recommend staying hydrated. Recommendations like taking it easy if I haven’t slept well the previous night, or not going after my steps goal when it’s too hot outside, are well appreciated. Since I usually go to office three days a week, it can even remember my office days and provide recommendations on activities accordingly.
Usage
Google Health is quite comprehensive and aims to be your one-stop platform for monitoring your fitness, health, activity, sleep, and overall well-being. The AI coach, which is a premium feature, can be both fun and useful, and even if you don’t want to engage with it regularly, the pointers it offers can help nudge you in the right direction. Of course, like any other health platform, you do need to use the app actively, and depending on what you want to achieve, try to follow its suggestions. Pay special attention to trends based on data captured over time, since one-off readings cannot be relied upon. Speaking of accuracy, the Pixel Watch 4 is a solid tracker, so I didn’t face any issues with data accuracy.
Verdict
There’s no doubt that Google has been able to turn Health into a compelling and comprehensive platform for those who want to track their fitness. I’d have loved to take the app for a spin with the Fitbit Air, but unfortunately, the new screenless tracker from Google still hasn’t landed on our shores. While it’s loaded and packed with features, the key highlight of Google Health has to be the AI coach, which can be counted as either a big advantage or a con, depending on how you look at it. Engaging with it constantly can be a bit tiring at times, but you can choose not to. Premium is priced at Rs 99 per month or Rs 999 per year, and also includes the ability to create personalised coaching plans, see advanced sleep summaries and holistic insights, plus more. And if you do pay attention to its advice and the pointers it provides, Google Health can be that one-stop platform you’ve been waiting for.
