Just as Apple Watch has the consumer fitness market firmly in its grasp, Whoop has the athletic fitness market cornered. Google wants a piece of that pie, and the company has been quietly cooking up a screen-less Fitbit fitness band to challenge Whoop’s stronghold.
NBA star Steph Curry teased the device on social media this week, saying it will unlock a “new relationship with your health.” According to Bloomberg, Google confirmed that Curry has been “working with the team to cook up something special,” with more details coming soon.
The device appears to be a knitted gray fitness band with orange lining and feels strikingly similar to Whoop’s current offerings. However, unlike Whoop, which bundles hardware into its subscription, Google will charge separately for the hardware and include a paid subscription for advanced features.
Can Fitbit’s personal AI health coach give it the edge it needs?
The hardware is only half the story. Google is pairing the new band with an AI-powered Fitbit personal health coach, built into a redesigned Fitbit app. The coach launched in public preview back in October for eligible Fitbit Premium users in the US.
Think of it as having a fitness trainer, sleep coach, and health advisor rolled into one app. You can ask it to build a 30-minute hotel room workout, explain why you woke up tired, or track how your cardio load is affecting your sleep. The coach draws on your biometric data over time, getting smarter and more personalized as you use it.
It even lets you prep questions for your next doctor’s visit. The feature feels similar to Copilot Health and Perplexity Health, which Microsoft and Perplexity released in the last few weeks, respectively.
Should Whoop be worried?
Whoop recently raised $575 million and is now valued at $10.1 billion, so it is not going anywhere. The biggest advantage of Whoop is its brand value. You can see it on the hands of almost all popular sports stars across different sports, including football, cricket, and basketball.
Google has certain advantages over Whoop, including an established ecosystem, a recognizable brand, and the AI muscle of Gemini sitting underneath the hood. However, if the company wants to establish itself as a competitor in the athletic market, it will have to form its own partnership with popular sporting talents.