There are new features rolling out to Fitbit and older Pixel Watch smartwatches — with a focus on tracking performance.
The December Pixel drop introduces Cardio Load and Target Load (which debuted on the Pixel Watch 3) to older models.
Cardio Load tracks cardiovascular stress throughout the day using heart rate data, while Target Load compares weekly activity to monthly trends to optimize training and recovery.
These tools help users balance fitness and prevent overtraining. The features integrate with Fitbit’s existing Readiness Score.
Starting on 9 December the new metrics will be rolling out to older Pixel Watch and any Fitbit device that supports Daily Readiness. That includes Versa 4, Sense 2, and Charge 6.
Cardio Load:
- Measures the cumulative stress on your cardiovascular system from daily activities and exercise. It uses heart rate data and activity intensity to calculate a score. It tracks trends over time, helping users understand whether they are overtraining or undertraining.
Target Cardio Load:
- Offers a personalized daily goal based on recent activity (acute load), long-term trends (chronic load), and recovery insights (like sleep and heart rate variability). It adjusts dynamically to ensure balanced training, promoting steady fitness improvement while avoiding overexertion.
Older Pixel Watches also have extra safety and health features such as loss of pulse detection and Nest Camera integration.
We did a deep dive and interview with the Google research scientist who developed Loss of Pulse Detection — you can read that here.
