Google unveiled new health features for its wearables, including an insulin resistance tracker designed to signal diabetes risk over time. Announced in New York, the tools debut on the Pixel Watch 5 and Fitbit Air, combining AI and physiological sensors to monitor subtle shifts in the human body.
Tracking Physiological Stress Without Direct Glucose Measurement
Alphabet Inc.’s Google is introducing a first-of-its-kind feature for consumer technology: a wearable tool that tracks insulin resistance over time. The function does not continuously monitor or show glucose levels. Instead, it gauges how hard the human body works to produce energy from food by combining artificial intelligence with sensors for heart rate, skin temperature, an accelerometer, and a barometer.
The goal is to flag the invisible stress the body experiences rather than directly measure glucose, diagnose, or treat conditions. When the Google Health app detects a shift in insulin resistance, it notifies the user, who can then consult a physician or make lifestyle adjustments. Untreated, high insulin resistance can lead to prediabetes and Type 2 diabetes.
Ho added that most adults don’t really think to monitor this but noted that lifestyle changes can positively impact overall health and insulin resistance.
Advanced AI and Clinical Validation Models
The underlying technology relies on years of artificial intelligence research. Rather than requiring experts to manually analyze thousands of hours of data, developers built advanced models that taught themselves human biology by observing sensor data from millions of opted-in users across billions of minutes of everyday life. This sensor model fills in the blanks when a device captures incomplete data.
Google developed the insulin feature using training data from more than 100,000 individuals to correlate physiological shifts. According to the company, the insulin resistance trends utilize a large sensor foundational model pretrained on over one trillion minutes of data from 5 million opted-in users. An article detailing accuracy, validated by standard clinical blood tests, was published in Nature.
Additionally, the company pairs its software with third-party hardware. Users can connect their continuous glucose monitor through the Health Connect app. Google also integrates insights from Abbott Laboratories’ Lingo continuous glucose monitor into Google Health to illustrate how daily habits like meals, workouts, and sleep impact the body.
The Health Guardian Suite and Device Lineup
The insulin tracking tool is part of a broader software set called Health Guardian, which combines new and older features to help users understand subtle physiological trends. The suite also monitors nighttime breathing patterns and blood pressure trends. The blood pressure feature relies on WavesFM, a foundation model trained on raw heart and movement data, validated by a Fitbit Hypertension Labs study.
These features will initially debut on the Pixel Watch 5 and Fitbit Air before expanding to other devices. Alongside the software announcements, Google unveiled the new Pixel Watch 5 hardware at an event in New York. The watch offers improved GPS, faster speeds, more processing power, and 50% more memory. It comes in two sizes: a 41-millimeter Wi-Fi version starting at $399 and a 45-millimeter model priced at $429.
The device is available in “canyon,” “fog,” and “olive” colors. A Stephen Curry Special Edition will launch for $579 on September 3, two weeks after the standard model. Users can also utilize an AI coach included in the paid version of the Google Health app to ask detailed questions about their results.
Industry Shift Toward Continuous Health Tracking
Google’s announcement arrives as competitors across the consumer technology sector explore ways to incorporate blood-sugar monitoring and predictive health into wearables. Whoop Inc. is exploring data integration from blood sugar monitors. Oura Health Oy secured a $75 million investment from Dexcom Inc. in 2024 to facilitate cross-selling and data sharing. Apple Inc. has also tested a blood-sugar app aimed at individuals with prediabetes.
Ho noted that the company is always interested in trying to deliver the next frontier of interesting and meaningful experiences for users, though integrated glucose monitoring technology remains in development.
