Entertainment
Review: The Fitbit Air is the most comfortable fitness tracker I’ve ever worn
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I knew I was in trouble when I saw the first images of the Fitbit Air. I was smitten from the beginning. I’m all about simple and non-flashy wearable tech, so the Fitbit Air was speaking to me, personally. Then I saw the $99.99 price and stopped breathing for a second. Google’s first take on a faceless fitness tracker launched recently, and I’ve worn it nonstop for nearly a month to test out its features.
Google offers several bands for the Fitbit Air including a silicone Performance Band.
Credit: Lauren Allain / Mashable
My favorite element of the Fitbit Air has to be how it feels to wear. By far, it’s the most comfortable smartwatch or fitness tracker I’ve ever experienced. And since this is an honest review, I even like the Google AI fitness coach, which has given me almost daily workouts and has kept me on track more than any other fitness routine I’ve tried in recent years. Here are my thoughts about the budget-friendly Fitbit Air and who should consider owning one.
Worth the $100 for the comfort and simple looks
Google designed the Fitbit Air to feel as if you’re wearing nothing, and I can confirm this is the most comfortable thing I’ve worn on my wrist. I’ve been wearing my beloved CMF Nothing Watch 3 Pro for months now, but I set it aside to test the Fitbit Air. The difference in comfort, size, and weight on my wrist was significant, especially while sleeping.
The Fitbit Air is tiny compared to my CMF Nothing Watch 3 Pro.
Credit: Lauren Allain / Mashable
The Fitbit Air weighs 12 grams or 0.03 pounds. I don’t notice that I’m wearing it during the day or while sleeping. That’s about half the weight of the popular faceless fitness tracker, the Whoop 5.0, which clocks in at 26.5 grams.
I took off the Fitbit Air to shower and swim in saltwater. That’s not necessary since it’s water-resistant up to 50 meters, but Google recommends taking it off to shower, as soaps could cause damage. Other than that, I wore it nonstop and got several compliments on the look. Some friends at dinner even assumed it was a bracelet and not a fitness tracker.
Week-long battery life and quick recharging
Google claims the Fitbit Air will get up to seven days of battery life on a single charge, and they weren’t lying. In my testing, I got a bit over eight days of wear before my watch got to about 4 percent and I set it on the charger to make sure I didn’t miss a night of tracking sleep. For comparison, the Apple Watch 11 gets about 24 hours of battery life per charge.
The brain of the Fitbit Air easily pops in and out of the bands.
Credit: Lauren Allain / Mashable
In addition to the impressive one-week battery life, the Fitbit Air takes hardly any time to recharge. On my first test, I reached a 100 percent charge in 67 minutes. That dropped to 65 minutes on my second recharge. After just 10 minutes of the Fitbit sitting on the charger, it had reached 44 percent.
Because of this excellent battery life and quick recharging, you don’t have to worry about skipping a night of sleep tracking or missing out on steps on account of the fitness tracker recharging.
Google Health Premium kind of rocks
I tested the Fitbit Air with Google Health Premium, which comes free for the first three months. After that, it costs $9.99 per month or $99.99 for an annual plan. Built with Gemini, Premium comes with advanced AI features like the ability to ask Coach health and fitness questions, dive into mindfulness sessions, and get a customized weekly fitness plan. I told Coach I was focused on getting stronger and lowering my resting heart rate, and it popped out a five-session plan each week that incorporated my Hydrow rowing machine.
The Google Coach formulated a weekly fitness plan for me that was simple to adjust.
Credit: Screenshot: Google Health
Video of each activity helps with understanding each workout or stretch.
Credit: Screenshot: Google Health
I’m not heavily on the AI train, so I’m a bit ashamed to say I love Google Health Premium, specifically the personalized workouts. I grew up in a Catholic school, which is to say, I’m a hardcore follower of the rules. So when the Google Coach told me to stretch, row for 20 minutes while keeping my heart rate in zone 2, and then stretch to cool down, I damn well did it. And that was enough to majorly up the frequency of my workouts.
Sleep, nutrition, and hydration tracking on the Fitbit Air are exceptional
We’re all looking for a fitness tracker that gives us great sleep metrics in detail and automatically detects napping. Since I barely noticed wearing the Fitbit Air, I’m giving this the award of my new favorite sleep tracker. The detailed sleep metrics are insightful, and with each night I wear it, they get even better since Google is getting used to my sleep norms.
The Fitbit Air did an accurate job at automatically detecting naps.
Credit: Screenshot: Google Health
Testing out the ability to capture a photo of food to log in the app.
Credit: Screenshot: Google Health
Google also lets you track nutrition with the Fitbit Air, and that can be as easy as scanning a barcode or taking a photo of your plate. It even breaks down macro goals, so you can aim for the ideal amount of carbs, fat, and protein each day. Hydration tracking is also simple, and Coach would even send me a reminder to get my ounces in before it was time to wind down for the night, since I have a tendency to chug 20 ounces right before bed, leading to a midnight wake-up.
Like all AI-driven tech, the Fitbit Air has some flaws
No AI is perfect, and when testing the Fitbit Air, I landed in some errors. I skipped my daily workout, and Coach asked me if I did any other activity. When I said I had picked blueberries in the yard in the afternoon (gotta be some yoga moves in there), the Fitbit said it had logged that I ate one cup of blueberries. While that was probably true, I was trying to log light movement.
In all fairness, I did probably eat one cup of blueberries while picking.
Credit: Screenshot: Google Health
I also noticed some inaccuracies when working out. Each Fitbit Air workout crafted by Coach begins with a warmup, which is usually stretching. Start the workout, and the app shows you a video of a person doing the stretch, which is incredibly helpful. However, the written description of the stretch didn’t always match the movements the person was doing in the video.
And of course, using AI health and fitness is not meant to be a replacement for getting professional medical care.
Is a screen-less fitness tracker right for you?
It took me a while to get accustomed to wearing something on my left wrist that did not tell me the time. I’m used to it now, but I could see this driving some people nuts. However, I prefer not to have instant access to my emails or text messages, so the faceless design is my ideal, though I understand it’s not for everyone.
In a way, the Fitbit Air is a great option if you’re heading more into the analog life and you’ve Bricked your phone, for example. But because there’s no face, everything about the Fitbit Air is done via the app, which is located on (you guessed it) your phone. So while you won’t get texts on your wrist, you do have to look at your phone to check steps, heart rate, and other metrics.
Is the Fitbit Air worth it?
I’d recommend the Fitbit Air to anyone who likes the idea of an affordable fitness tracker that doesn’t double up as a smartwatch. It’s a simple fitness tracker that’s comfortable to wear and includes plenty of health and fitness tracking. It’s also one of the budget-friendly options, costing $99.99. However, I found the added features from Google Health Premium to be well worth the price, so add on another $99.99 per year for access to those deeper insights.
I don’t think the Fitbit Air is great for people who are strongly anti-AI. The benefits of health and fitness tracking lean heavily on AI. At times, it felt creepy to get a Google Health notification that confirmed I had arrived on vacation at my destination and had already gone for a walk on the beach.
Entertainment
Marvel Fan Theories About Zendaya’s Sexy New Dress Prove We All Need To Get Out More
By Chris Snellgrove
| Updated
Somewhere along the way, the Marvel fandom went a little crazy. I’m not talking about just getting hyped for upcoming releases like Spider-Man: Brand New Day or Avengers: Doomsday; after all, it’s perfectly normal for fans to be excited about their favorite franchises. No, I’m talking about how countless fans have become conspiracy theorists, scouring every trailer discrepancy or every red carpet appearance for secret clues. These fans have embraced their inner Doctor Strange, and they won’t stop until they’ve explored every possible future for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. If you doubt this, just check out the recent fan response to the dress Zendaya wore to Brand New Day’s premiere.
Eagle-eyed fans quickly spotted what appeared to be black dahlias on Zendaya’s dress, and this triggered what felt like endless speculation from fans. Some thought that the pattern was a symbolic warning that someone close to Spider-Man (maybe even MJ) would die in the upcoming film, while others thought she might have been mourning the death of a certain character on her breakout show, Euphoria. These are just a few theories thrown out by fans who ignored the likeliest possibility: that the black dahlias are just a symbolic throwback to the necklace Peter Parker got MJ in Spider-Man: Far From Home.
Noticing The Pattern
So, this latest story comes to us from the same place as all good celebrity drama: the red carpet. At the premiere of Brand New Day, Zendaya wore a black dress. Form-fitting at the top and frayed at the bottom, it created a very flattering look for the Euphoria star. But crazed Marvel fans were less concerned with her overall aesthetics and more concerned with what they thought they saw woven into the pattern. Specifically, there were seemingly black dahlias on the dress, and this sent comics nerds into a frenzy on social media.
In case you don’t know, black dahlias have a lot of symbolic meaning. Some think they simply represent mystery, transformation, or even newfound power. Others (thanks largely to the unsolved Black Dahlia murder) believe they are a symbol of sorrow, betrayal, and other tragic events. Many Marvel fans seized on the more negative connotations of the symbol and claimed that Zendaya is mourning the death of a fictional character. Many fans believe this is a reference to her own character, Rue, dying on Euphoria. Others are convinced it is a subtle warning that MJ will die in Brand New Day, possibly making way for a new love interest for Spider-Man.
The Truth Hiding In Plain Sight
Another popular theory is that Zendaya’s dress symbolizes Venom, a character who is defined by betrayal, transformation, and death. It’s an interesting theory, but it wouldn’t really make sense for MJ to become Venom in Brand New Day, a movie that is already crowded with both heroes and villains. However, the movie does notably give a much larger role to Mac Gargan; he is playing Scorpion in the movie, but in the comics, he eventually dons the symbiote and becomes Venom. Given that the comics Peter Parker didn’t get the symbiote until the first Secret Wars event, and the fact that we’ll be getting a Secret Wars movie next year, Gargan as Venom could eventually happen.
While some of these theories are fun and even downright compelling, these Marvel conspiracy theorists are really missing the forest for the trees. If anything, this pattern on Zendaya’s dress is likely a reference to the Black Dahlia necklace that Peter Parker gave MJ in Spider-Man: Far From Home. It could just be a winking homage or, if you’re a hopeful romantic, it could even be a hint that MJ and Peter get back together in Brand New Day. We won’t know until the movie comes out, but my spider-sense is telling me these conspiracy-pilled fans will wish they spent less time cooking up crazy theories and more time simply enjoying these movies!
Entertainment
Has The MCU Already Secretly Introduced Venom?
By Chris Snellgrove
| Updated
The film rights for Spider-Man are still held by Sony, and he only appears in the MCU through a complex deal the studio made with Disney. So far, that deal has really worked out for the House of Mouse: the presales for Spider-Man: Brand New Day point to the film having a $250 million opening, cementing the thwippy, quippy web-head as the most popular Marvel star. As for Sony, they’ve spent a small fortune trying to create a cinematic universe of Spider-Man’s enemies and allies, but this has led to flops like Morbius, Kraven, and Madame Web. In fact, Sony’s only popular franchise character has been Venom, who had his own hit trilogy.
Ironically, the success of the Venom movies starring Tom Hardy (who was a weirdly perfect Eddie Brock) has caused trouble for Kevin Feige and his writers. Part of the symbiote was left behind in a stinger for Spider-Man: No Way Home, but audiences would likely hate it if the MCU gave us its own version of Eddie Brock turning into Venom. However, Feige may have an alternative plan unfolding before our very eyes. In Spider-Man: Brand New Day, we see the return of Mac Gargan as the Scorpion. In the comics, he becomes a host for Venom, and he is likely to do so in the MCU after Avengers: Secret Wars.
He’s Been Here All Along
Mac Gargan made his MCU debut in Spider-Man: Homecoming. There, he was trying to buy alien weapons from some of the Vulture’s crew. He and Spider-Man fought during the Staten Ferry Incident, and we last saw Gargan in jail, where he met the Vulture and discussed his hatred for the web-head. Now, Gargan is coming back to this cinematic universe in a big way. In Spider-Man: Brand New Day, he plays Scorpion, a supervillain whose armored suit and killer tail make him nearly unstoppable. Nonetheless, in the most recent trailer, we see Spidey defeat him in a particularly brutal beatdown that leaves the hero wondering if he is losing control.
So, what does this have to do with Gargan possibly playing Venom in the MCU? In Marvel comics, there’s a weird period where the symbiote bonds with the criminal, something he agrees to in exchange for new powers. He gets those powers and oscillates between being an outright villain to a kind of antihero, first for the Thunderbolts and then for the Dark Avengers, where he masquerades as Spider-Man. Eventually, he gets caught and thrown in the raft, where the symbiote is forcibly removed. It later returns to Eddie Brock, but not before it bonds with the most unexpected host of them all: Flash Thompson, Peter Parker’s old high school bully.
The Sting Of Venom
Many of the ingredients for Mac Gargan becoming Venom are already in place in the MCU. For example, he’s held a major grudge against Spider-Man since Homecoming, and it looks like that grudge is going to get even worse after he gets his tail handed to him in Brand New Day. At this point, Gargan will likely be interested in anything that gives him an edge over Spidey, including bonding with the symbiote. From the Venom movies, we know how aggro the suit can be on its own. If the symbiote bonds with a supervillain instead of a crusading reporter, the result would be a much deadlier, much more dangerous Venom.
When would this happen, though? It could happen as early as the next Spider-Man movie, especially if rumors that Brand New Day is part of a new trilogy come true. But it could also happen offscreen as a result of Avengers: Secret Wars. Kevin Feige has already confirmed that this movie will reboot the MCU, making way for recasting more established heroes like Iron Man and Captain America. It will also change some of the lore of this cinematic universe (like adding plenty more mutants), so the reset could just transform Gargan into Venom. This would only be fitting since comic book Spidey first merged with the symbiote in the original Secret Wars.
Now, is this likely to happen? At this point, it’s anybody’s guess. MCU executives would definitely love to have Spider-Man fight Venom, but Sony’s own executives may object to the use of their most popular cinematic character. If they agreed at all, it would likely be contingent on his origins being completely different. Making Venom Mac Gargan instead of Eddie Brock might fit the bill, and it would also be kind of poetic. After all, that would mean Spider-Man’s greatest Big Bad got introduced in Homecoming, back when most fans dismissed Gargan as a one-off villain!
Entertainment
Marvel’s Most Beloved Actor Had A Secret Underage Bender Before His Biggest Audition
By Chris Snellgrove
| Published
Given all of the excitement for the upcoming Spider-Man: Brand New Day, it’s fair to say that Tom Holland remains one of the most beloved actors in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He has great chemistry with just about everyone, which is why the next Spidey film will have him acting alongside Jon Bernthal’s Punisher and Mark Ruffalo’s Bruce Banner. Of course, before Holland could get this sweet superhero gig in the first place, he had to demonstrate chemistry with the most important Marvel actor of them all: Robert Downey Jr.
Because Spider-Man was such an important role, Tom Holland didn’t have a one-and-done audition process. Instead, it was a multi-part process that culminated in one final hurdle: a screen test with Downey. Needless to say, this put extreme pressure on Holland, who was only 19 at the time. He ended up dealing with that stress in an unfortunate but understandable way. The night before his big screen test, he emptied out the hotel minibar, going on a bender and ultimately getting busted by his new employers!
Here’s To Being Spider-Man
This weird story emerged last year when Tom Holland appeared on the Rich Roll Podcast. He mentioned that “When I did my first screen test with Downey, the night before, I polished off the minibar. And Marvel found out about that.” While drinking laws are different in Holland’s native England, his tale raised the eyebrows of many fans here in America, where you have to be 21 or older in order to purchase alcohol. Here was Marvel’s greatest icon admitting to going on an underage bender before the biggest audition of his life!
The host riffed about Marvel being akin to the Eye of Sauron in their ability to see and know everything. As for Holland, he couldn’t remember whether he told Kevin Feige or whether Feige told him. “But whenever it came up in conversation, he was like, “Yeah, yeah, yeah, we know about that. We asked the hotel.” Holland then relayed his natural reaction to that announcement: “Oh, sh*t!” Of course, as he laughingly relayed to his host, this particular story obviously had a happy ending. “Still got the job, though.”
Sauce Man No More
Eventually, this story had an even happier ending when it came to the actor’s health. Over time, Tom Holland realized he was an alcoholic, and he stopped drinking entirely in 2022. In a recent GQ interview, he described how his habits never led to any wild parties or crazy shenanigans you might normally expect from a celeb. “I was always pretty sensible. I just drank too much.” In a full circle moment, he obliquely referenced his minibar bender before the screen test with Downey, saying, “I wasn’t necessarily the nightclub-going person as much as I could sit at home in my hotel room and finish a minibar and go to work the next day.”
Fortunately, Holland was able to fully kick the habit. He had help with his fellow Marvel icon and fiancée Zendaya, who has always been completely sober. Really, he deserves props for being so honest about his struggle: the only reason we know about Holland’s alcoholism at all is that he was so open with his struggle and why he thought it was so important to finally quit the sauce. That honesty may not be as exciting as watching him swing through the city or punch bad guys in the face, but it might just help Holland do exactly what Spider-Man does every day: save as many lives as he possibly can.
Marvel Fan Theories About Zendaya’s Sexy New Dress Prove We All Need To Get Out More
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