I thought Fitbit's Coach was bad at counting calories, so I proved myself wrong
Android Police 2026-06-28 17:00:11
Context: The author, Mark Jansen, an investigative journalist with a background in mobile technology, tested Fitbit's Coach feature on the Fitbit Air, a $100 fitness tracker, to assess its calorie-counting accuracy. Jansen compared Coach's performance to MyFitnessPal, his preferred calorie-tracking app, over two days. The test aimed to evaluate Coach's ability to accurately track calorie intake.
Key Facts
- The author used Fitbit's Coach feature on the Fitbit Air to track calorie intake over two days, logging food intake using both Coach and MyFitnessPal to compare results.
- The Fitbit Air is a basic fitness tracker without a screen, relying on AI-powered Coach for data analysis and presentation.
- During the test, the author logged every meal, snack, and treat on both platforms, using menus and search functions in MyFitnessPal and the chat interface in Coach.
- The results showed a 177-calorie difference between Coach and MyFitnessPal on one day, which the author considered acceptable for casual use.
- The Coach feature in Fitbit Air simplifies calorie tracking by allowing users to log food intake, provide measurements, and take pictures of nutrition labels, making it easier to maintain a calorie deficit.