Google’s Whoop Rival Fitbit Air Is Here and It Costs Less Than Half as Much in India

Google has brought the Fitbit Air to India. The screenless fitness tracker goes on sale on October 2 at Rs 13,999, and it's aimed squarely at people who want round-the-clock health tracking without another screen buzzing on their wrist.

The Fitbit Air first launched in the US in May for $99, where it was pitched as a direct rival to Whoop. In India, it comes with launch offers that bring the effective price down to Rs 12,999.

Fitbit Air price in India and launch offers

The Fitbit Air costs Rs 13,999 and comes in four colours: Obsidian, Berry, Lavender and Fog. Buyers get Rs 1,000 cashback on full swipe, or Rs 1,000 cashback with six-month no-cost EMI on select HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank cards. No-cost EMI of up to 12 months is also available on consumer loans.

Every unit comes with a three-month trial of Google Health Premium, which unlocks the full Google Health Coach. It will be sold on the Google Store, Flipkart, Croma, Reliance Digital, Vijay Sales and other retailers.

What the Fitbit Air does

There's no display here. The Fitbit Air is a small pebble that sits in a band and sends everything to the Google Health app on your phone. It weighs just 12 grams with the band, and it works with both Android phones and iPhones.

It tracks heart rate round the clock, along with resting heart rate, heart rate variability and irregular heart rhythm (AFib) alerts. It also does sleep stage tracking, SpO2 monitoring and automatic activity detection that learns your routine over time.

Google claims up to seven days of battery life, and five minutes of charging gives you a full day of use.

The bigger pitch is Google Health Coach. It turns your data into daily suggestions, logs workouts automatically, and even lets you click a photo of gym equipment or a workout plan to log your session.

The pebble is swappable across three bands. The Performance Loop Band comes in the box, while the sweatproof Active Band and the dressier Elevated Modern Band are sold separately.

Fitbit Air vs Whoop: the price gap is huge

The comparison everyone will make is with Whoop, and the Fitbit Air looks built for it. Whoop doesn't charge for its hardware but needs a membership to work at all. The Fitbit Air is a one-time purchase with an optional subscription. Whoop 5.0 with a 12-month Peak membership was listed at around Rs 32,000 on Amazon India last week, so the Fitbit Air costs less than half of that upfront.

Whoop still has the edge for serious athletes, especially on battery life and accessories like the bicep band, which Google says is coming for the Fitbit Air later this year. But for anyone who just wants good sleep and heart data without a smartwatch, the Fitbit Air is now the cheaper way in.