Skip to main content

Fitbit Air buyers are carving holes in watch bands to fit the tracker – but there’s a better way [Gallery]

The simplicity of the Fitbit Air encourages some neat ideas for how to use it, including pairing it with a traditional watch. Some Fitbit Air buyers are taking that idea and literally cutting holes in their watch bands to house the tracker, but there’s probably a better way.

Not long after Fitbit Air launched, we covered how some were using the strap of the tracker alongside a traditional timepiece, similar to how a NATO strap works. It also makes a nice companion to the Pebble smartwatch.

But it’s at least a little clunky, and someone was bound to find a better way.

One of those ways, as it turns out, is literally carving a hole out of a traditional watch band to hold the Fitbit Air. That’s what a couple of users have done and shown off on Reddit, with a GShock watch as well as a Seiko 5. By cutting a Fitbit Air-sized hole in the strap, it can be held in place as you wear the watch.

Advertisement - scroll for more content

It works, but it’s far from elegant.

It did lead us down a rabbit hole, though, to find that there are some more polished solutions out there. Some adapters have popped up on Amazon to house the Fitbit Air on a watch band, but a little 3D printed solution might be the best one. As some users have shown, the little attachment holds the Fitbit Air in place on your watch strap, and it’s a relatively subtle look from the outside.

And it’s super cheap. We found options on Etsy as low as $9 – they’re on Amazon too, but at a higher price.

Of course, this isn’t quite as low-profile as cutting a hole in your watch band. The idea there is great, and it’s starting to feel inevitable that generic watch bands with Fitbit Air cutouts will start showing up on the market sooner than later.

Google can be thanked for how quickly these accessories have shown up on the market, and for how cheap they are too. Not long after the Air’s launch, Google released the blueprint for the tracker, allowing anyone with the desire to create accessories that perfectly fit the Fitbit Air without any guesswork.

Would you use a Fitbit Air like this?

More on Fitbit Air:

Follow Ben: Twitter/XThreads, Bluesky, and Instagram

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

You’re reading 9to5Google — experts who break news about Google and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Google on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Don’t know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel

Comments

Author

Avatar for Ben Schoon Ben Schoon

Ben is a Senior Editor for 9to5Google.

Find him on Twitter @NexusBen. Send tips to schoon@9to5g.com or encrypted to benschoon@protonmail.com.