Goodbye Fitbit: Google Health is finally replacing the iconic fitness app

The familiar Fitbit app that helped millions count steps, monitor sleep and feel guilty about skipped workouts is officially getting a makeover. After more than a decade as one of the world’s most recognisable fitness apps, Fitbit is now transforming into Google Health.

The update, rolling out gradually over the past week, replaces the old Fitbit branding with Google Health 5.0, marking one of Google’s biggest pushes yet into AI-powered wellness tracking.

The company accelerated the rollout after customers who pre-ordered the new Fitbit Air discovered that their devices would not work without the latest app version. Some buyers reportedly received their trackers before the update became widely available on Android, leading to a wave of confusion and complaints online.

Google later confirmed on Reddit that it was speeding up the Android rollout to avoid leaving users stuck with fitness bands they could not even activate.

More from Tech

Google Health vs Fitbit app: New updates

Despite the name change, the new app will feel familiar to longtime Fitbit users. Under the surface, however, Google has quietly redesigned much of the experience.

The refreshed Google Health app now centres around four main tabs: Today, Fitness, Sleep and Health. Rather than overwhelming users with endless charts and numbers, the app focuses on surfacing key health insights more clearly.

The idea, according to Google, is to make health tracking feel less like reading a spreadsheet and more like having a personalised wellness assistant.

That assistant is increasingly powered by AI.

The biggest change arrives through Google Health Premium, formerly known as Fitbit Premium. While the subscription price remains unchanged, the service now includes Google’s AI-powered health concierge, which had previously been available only in beta testing.

The AI system can offer personalised fitness suggestions, wellness guidance and contextual health insights based on user activity and trends.

Google is also expanding what users can upload into the app. Premium subscribers can now add medical records directly into Google Health, giving the platform a broader view of their overall wellbeing. The company says all uploaded data is protected using end-to-end encryption and that users remain in control of privacy settings and permissions.

The Fitbit name has existed for 14 years and became synonymous with the modern fitness-tracker boom long before smartwatches took over wrists everywhere.

Still, Google appears determined to fold Fitbit fully into its larger health ecosystem rather than keeping it as a separate identity.

Google Health app: Price and availability

The rollout is already live for both Android and iPhone users, although availability has varied depending on region and platform.

iPhone users reportedly received the update more quickly, while Android users experienced a slower rollout through the Google Play Store. Google says availability should now be expanding more widely.

Anyone searching for the Fitbit app on the Apple App Store or Google Play Store will now be redirected to “Google Health (Fitbit)”.

Existing Fitbit users do not need to download a completely new app. Updating the current Fitbit app to version 5.0 unlocks the redesigned Google Health experience automatically.

As for pricing, Google Health Premium costs $9.99 per month or $99 annually, matching the old Fitbit Premium subscription fee.

Whether users embrace the AI-heavy future of health tracking remains to be seen. But one thing is clear: Fitbit, as people knew it, is officially entering a new era.