Google Assistant rolls out to the Fitbit Sense and Versa 3

Fitbit Sense
(Image credit: Future)

We knew it was on the way, and now it's here: Google Assistant support has started rolling out to the Fitbit Sense and Fitbit Versa 3 smartwatches, with sleep logging one of the features that's already been integrated.

Once the software update is installed, you can lift your Fitbit Sense or Fitbit Versa 3 wearable and ask "how did I sleep last night?" or say "show my sleep summary" to get at your stats, as 9to5Mac reports.

For now that's the only part of your health and activity record that you can access through Google Assistant, though of course you get all the other Assistant tricks too: updates on the weather, information on your calendar, smart home device control, and so on.

These smartwatches already have Alexa on board, but with Google in the process of buying Fitbit, these wearables will clearly favor the Google Assistant in the future. We'll have to wait and see if future Fitbits also include support for Amazon Alexa.

Software upgrades

Don't expect every single future Fitbit device to come with Google Assistant on board: a certain amount of processing power is required, and ideally a speaker to provide audible responses (both the Sense and the Versa 3 have an on-board speaker).

The Fitbit OS 5.1 update now appearing for the Sense and the Versa 3 also brings with it improved blood oxygen (SpO2) reading capabilities, as well as support for making and answering phone calls from your wrist.

What's more, the software patch also enables Alexa to respond by speaking, as well as showing replies on the screen. The ability to set the default assistant on your smartwatch has also been added, now there are two of them.

You can expect Fitbit devices to have much tighter Google Assistant integration in the future, though so far we haven't seen too many changes in the hardware – and as yet there's no sign of a Fitbit-inspired Pixel smartwatch.

David Nield
Freelance Contributor

Dave is a freelance tech journalist who has been writing about gadgets, apps and the web for more than two decades. Based out of Stockport, England, on TechRadar you'll find him covering news, features and reviews, particularly for phones, tablets and wearables. Working to ensure our breaking news coverage is the best in the business over weekends, David also has bylines at Gizmodo, T3, PopSci and a few other places besides, as well as being many years editing the likes of PC Explorer and The Hardware Handbook.