The Fitbit Air is interesting

The Apple Watch is one of the most fascinating pieces of modern technology for me. A gorgeous screen, an abundance of sensors, and a bonkers amount of computational power in a tiny little package that fits on your wrist. It reminds me of the Vision Pro in that a good amount of the time I put it on I can’t help but smile at how far technology has come.

But it’s also weirdly something I’ve never used a great deal. Every few generations I buy a new one and try it out for a few weeks, but I inevitably run into a few speed bumps:

• I just fundamentally don’t love notifications being an even more prevalent part of my life than they already are
• I’m not a fan of having another device to charge daily or near daily
• While I love wearing a cool mechanical watch from time to time, I’m not a fan of having something substantial on my wrist most days. I can’t help but notice it all the time (forget sleeping in it). Personality quirk I suppose

So ultimately I end up just putting it on for sports (go volleyball!) and leaving it on the charger the rest of the time, hoping one day for a device that’ll be a better fit.

There’s a new wearable in town

A few weeks ago a bunch of YouTube videos popped up showcasing a new wearable device: the Fitbit Air. I initially brushed it off assuming it would be mostly for Android users (as Google now owns Fitbit) and there wouldn’t be much possible for iOS integration. Talking to some people though, I learned there’s an iOS app that actually integrates things pretty well (its feature subset is a lot smaller than something like a smartwatch that would require a lot deeper OS integration).

So now I’m listening. On paper, it provides a bunch of handy sensors, a week of advertised battery life, all in a package that is really low profile on the wrist.

Okay, you have my interest. That was enough for me to head over to Best Buy on launch day to pick one up. (They were almost completely sold out, so there’s clearly some interest for this thing.)

The hardwa…