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A New Look, Upgraded Fitbit App Will Arrive Later This Year
The new overhaul will include a streamlined, minimalistic design that will match upcoming Pixel Watch 2 watch faces.
Fitbit has announced an updated version of its app that will be released later this year. The new design will focus on essential health and wellness metrics while receiving a usability makeover.
A select group of Fitbit users has been chosen to test the app before its official release, with feedback from their experiences helping the company to meet customer expectations and needs.
One of the most significant changes comes in the form of a three-tab “Today”, “Coach”, and “You” layout. The aim is to help users easily achieve their daily goals, access motivational content, and review personal achievements. In addition, it’s now easier to log steps, exercise duration, and water intake on a smartphone so that users can track their goals even without a Fitbit device.
Fitbit’s design refresh includes a new color palette, updated photography, and illustrations, plus updated icons. In addition, the company has implemented Google Material Design standards, ensuring the new app remains intuitive and user-friendly.
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Because Fitbit is now backed by Google, the new app will also deliver an easier-to-understand privacy experience featuring unified controls to manage Fitbit data and permissions. It’s also worth noting that Fitbit health and wellness data won’t be used for Google ads and will be kept entirely separate from the search giant’s data collection practices.
It’s clear that the Fitbit refresh is part of Google’s groundwork for the upcoming Pixel Watch 2, which is expected to launch later this year alongside the Pixel 8 smartphone.
News
OpenAI’s ChatGPT Health Is A Private Space For Health Data
A new health mode lets the popular AI platform tap medical records and fitness apps while walling off sensitive information.
OpenAI has created ChatGPT Health, a separate space inside its chatbot platform for handling medical and wellness data. The opt-in feature starts with a small US cohort before widening out.
Health-related questions have long driven traffic to AI tools. OpenAI says over 230 million people ask ChatGPT about health or insurance each week. The new mode adds personal context to that behavior but stops short of diagnosis or treatment advice.
Users can connect records from participating US providers through b.well and link apps such as Apple Health, MyFitnessPal, Function and Weight Watchers. Some links are US-only, while Apple Health needs iOS. Once connected, ChatGPT can surface patterns in labs, summarize information ahead of a clinic visit or help map diet and exercise choices against past data.
The data sits apart from other chat information. Health has its own memories and does not spill into other conversations. Users can view or delete health memories at any time. OpenAI says this material is not used to train its models.
Security is much heavier in this section too. Health adds isolation and purpose-built encryption on top of the platform’s baseline protections. App connections require explicit permission, and disconnecting cuts the feed immediately.
“ChatGPT Health is another step toward turning ChatGPT into a personal super-assistant that can support you with information and tools to achieve your goals across any part of your life,” wrote Fidji Simo, OpenAI’s applications chief.
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Physicians had input during development, though OpenAI has not detailed how that shaped the end product. The launch follows Health Bench, a dataset released in May to test models on realistic medical cases.
While currently rooted in the US healthcare ecosystem, the approach may draw interest in the Gulf and wider MENA markets as governments push digital health records and patient portals under modernization programs. Adoption will depend on whether users trust an AI assistant with such personal material and whether it fits clinical routines.
For OpenAI, the move marks a cautious step into regulated terrain and signals a shift toward sector-specific uses of generative AI.
