{"id":681858,"date":"2026-06-03T13:03:11","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T13:03:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/681858\/"},"modified":"2026-06-03T13:03:11","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T13:03:11","slug":"google-releases-fitbit-air-blueprints-to-let-anyone-make-bands","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/681858\/","title":{"rendered":"Google releases Fitbit Air blueprints to let anyone make bands"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\t<img width=\"1600\" height=\"800\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Fitbit-Air-blueprints.jpg\" class=\"skip-lazy wp-post-image\" alt=\"\"  decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Google is leaning into the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Google-Fitbit-Air-Screenless-Personalized\/dp\/B0GTMVZB39?th=1&amp;linkCode=ll2&amp;tag=aligoog-20&amp;linkId=40c073775cf50484aa22e9b7b3d52602&amp;language=en_US&amp;ref_=as_li_ss_tl\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Fitbit Air\u2019s<\/a> swappable pebble design to let anyone make their own accessories. This move is rather Google-y and reminiscent of the company\u2019s earlier days.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Noting how the \u201ccommunity has already come up with innovative and creative new ideas to make the Fitbit Air [their] own\u201d since launch last month, Google is \u201cofficially releasing the hardware specifications and accessory design guidelines for the Fitbit Air tracker to the public.\u201d For example, owners have already found their own bicep band solutions.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This information would typically just be available for third-party accessory companies, but Google wants to open things up to \u201cindependent designers and artisan makers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Google today released <a href=\"https:\/\/storage.googleapis.com\/mannequin\/blobs\/7b67aea7-fdd3-46de-8469-5ba30d19ef80.pdf\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Fitbit Air 2D CAD drawings<\/a> [PDF] of the pill-shaped pebble that houses the sensor and the \u201csleeve\u201d used by the Performance Loop Band.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\tAdvertisement &#8211; scroll for more content<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These CAD drawings include crucial mating dimensions, tolerances, and mating force specifications \u2013 including attach and detach force \u2013 to help you build a high-quality accessory band.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A <a href=\"https:\/\/store.google.com\/us\/magazine\/google-fitbit-air-custom-bands?hl=en-US\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Google Store page lists<\/a> other things developers should keep in mind:<\/p>\n<p>Sensor Clearance: \u201cWe recommend that the optical heart rate and SpO2 sensors on the base of the tracker remain entirely unobstructed and maintain flush, consistent skin contact. To get the best performance while a user is moving, your band should be designed to maintain a steady, gentle pressure against the skin in the sensing area.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Sensor Pressure: \u201cFor optimal PPG performance in motion, it\u2019s important to design accessories for sustained contact pressure in the sensing region. Recommend pressure for best performance is 35 mmhg (0.68psi) minimum for nominal wear.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Secure Retention: \u201cThe tracker uses a tension-based snap-in mechanism. Your enclosure should follow the provided CAD tolerances to ensure the sensor remains securely locked in place during rigorous movement, while still being easy to remove when swapping bands.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Google goes into detail on using skin-friendly materials in accessories to \u201chelp prevent any skin irritation or allergic reactions.\u201d There\u2019s a list of chemical limits, environmental standards, and testing requirements.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https:\/\/9to5google.com\" aria-label=\"Add 9to5Google as a preferred source on Google\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"google-preferred-source-badge-dark\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1768288030_634_google-preferred-source-badge-dark.png\" alt=\"Add 9to5Google as a preferred source on Google\"\/><br \/>\n\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"google-preferred-source-badge-light\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1768288030_158_google-preferred-source-badge-light.png\" alt=\"Add 9to5Google as a preferred source on Google\"\/><br \/>\n\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"disclaimer-affiliate\">FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. <a href=\"https:\/\/9to5mac.com\/about\/#affiliate\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">More.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Google is leaning into the Fitbit Air\u2019s swappable pebble design to let anyone make their own accessories. This&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":681859,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[74],"class_list":["post-681858","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-technology","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/681858","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=681858"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/681858\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/681859"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=681858"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=681858"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=681858"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}