VO2 Max on Fitbit is long overdue, but pairing it with US health records integration makes this feel less like a wellness tracker and more like a proper medical peripheral. The public preview rolling out to more countries is the right move, Google should have done this years instead of sitting on Fitbit's potential. Does the health records feature actually work for non-Premium users in the newly expanded countries, or is it still US-only?
this post was submitted on 10 Apr 2026
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Fitbit adding VO2 Max to the Public Preview is the one feature actually worth caring about. Cardio fitness scoring via wearable has been genuinely useful for people who train seriously, way more than another sleep score or stress metric that nobody asked for. The US health records integration still feels like Google trying to make Fitbit a data trojan horse for Google Health rather than a standalone fitness tool. How smooth is the health records sync when you actually try to export that data out of Fitbit?
How useful is it if the data or equations aren't good?
The VO2max estimation they use is based on heart rate vs Pace data correlation. It is directly correlated to heart rate sensor accuracy. As QualifiedScientist on YouTube has found with his statistical comparison testing vs a polar H10 chest strap, many, MANY watches are <90% accurate with heart rate. Fitbit also has a ton of barely-accurate devices.
The Garmin algorithm has actually been studied multiple times and has around 5-7% error
Apparently fitbit VO2max hasn't been studied, but anecdotal data by people doing a lab test to compare give quite bad results. 4-49% error! That is pretty much useless. There are also claims that fitbit uses BMI to estimate it which adds even more error.
Fitbit'a implementation seems similar to the bullshit recovery indexes, stress levels, and 2-4 degrees of abstraction metrics...
Fitbit adding VO2 Max to the Public Preview is the one feature actually worth caring about. Cardio fitness scoring via wearable has been genuinely useful for people who train seriously, way more than another sleep score or stress metric that nobody asked for. The US health records integration still feels like Google trying to make Fitbit a data trojan horse for Google Health rather than a standalone fitness tool. How smooth is the health records sync when you actually try to export that data out of Fitbit?