Wearable workout logs to jump to 100 types as accuracy doubles

Automatic workout detection on Google's wearable ecosystem will expand from 10 recognized activity types to 100, a change Google says will cut missed exercise logs by more than half. The update, version 5.11 of the Google Health app, launched this week for owners of the Fitbit Air and the Pixel Watch 3, 4, and 5. The Fitbit Edge will receive the same functionality when the device launches on October 27.

The new system uses contextual reasoning to identify activities such as strength training, swimming, and team sports. It draws on a user's historical data, established routines, and manual edits to improve accuracy. According to Google, this approach makes detections nearly twice as accurate as previous methods. A session is logged automatically if it lasts at least 15 minutes and shows a sustained increase in heart rate. A summary of the activity typically appears in the app within 30 minutes of the workout ending.

Users can confirm or edit these logs, which helps the algorithm refine future predictions. The update also introduces two new monitoring tools for Google Health Premium subscribers who own a Fitbit Air or Fitbit Edge. Blood pressure trends and insulin resistance trends are now available to set up. The first reports for these features are scheduled to arrive in early November.

Blood pressure trends are designed to help users identify patterns before they affect heart health. These reports will appear in the Health Guardian section for users who have worn a Fitbit Air for at least five consecutive days in October. Insulin resistance trends, which track monthly changes in metabolic health, will be available to users who have worn their devices for seven or more days and nights during the month.

The app also renames the "Blood glucose" section to "Glucose" and updates the associated charts. Users can set custom time-in-range goals for data from connected continuous glucose monitors by navigating to the Metabolic section of the Health tab. In the United States, the app now supports a direct connection to Lingo by Abbott. This integration allows glucose readings to appear in the Google Health app within 30 minutes.

Sleep tracking has been adjusted to account for step data, which helps the system better identify short awakenings, such as trips to the bathroom. Users can also remove naps that do not reflect their daily routine directly from the nap card. Version 5.11 is currently available on iOS devices and is still being rolled out to Android users.