SensorBio

Sensor Bio
vs Fitbit

One is signal infrastructure, built to carry raw physiological data into any system that needs it. The other is Google's newest fitness tracker, built to carry daily readiness, sleep, and activity scores into the Fitbit app and Google Health. Here is the difference, specification by specification.

Updated October 28, 2026

Sensor Bio V2
Sensor Bio V2 Raw signal / continuous
vs
Google Fitbit Edge in Obsidian: Matte Black Aluminum case with Obsidian Active Band
Google Fitbit Edge (Obsidian) Latest fitness tracker / app scores
Why Sensor Bio rises above

Built as infrastructure, not as a gadget.

Four differences decide whether a wearable can carry an institutional workload. Fitbit's public stack is a consumer tracker plus the Fitbit app and Google's Google Health API — not partner-owned raw signal infrastructure.

01 / Raw data

The full waveform, not the summary

Scores and insights sit on top of the exposed raw signal, with the context that shows what drove the number.

Fitbit

Google Health API returns derived heart-rate samples and wellness metrics after a wearer syncs through the Google Health app. Continuous raw PPG waveforms and beat-to-beat / IBI are not listed in the public Google Health data types table.

02 / Platform

One system, every use case

Designed from the ground up as a data platform that clinical, defense, and enterprise partners build on directly.

Fitbit

A consumer Fitbit Edge tracker plus Fitbit app and Google Health cloud. Partners inherit OAuth consent and Google Health REST resources — not on-device raw capture control.

03 / White label

Your brand on the signal

Ships as infrastructure a partner can put its own name on from the first deployment.

Fitbit

White-label / OEM hardware is not listed on Google Store or Google Health docs. The band still reads Fitbit on the wrist and in the default app path.

04 / Configurable

Shaped to the deployment

Data model, retention, and reporting are configured to the partner's environment: a hospital, a base, a research protocol.

Fitbit

Configured per consumer Fitbit / Google account and Google OAuth scopes. Partner-shaped capture, retention, and reporting for a hospital, base, or protocol are not listed as a self-serve default on Google Health.

A wellness tracker tells a person a score and stops there. A signal platform shows the score, the raw signal behind it, and hands over the data to prove it.
The Sensor Bio doctrine / truth over interpretation
Where Fitbit falls short

Six problems institutional buyers run into, and how we answer each one.

How Sensor Bio answers it
The Fitbit problem
Data access

Raw waveform export is the default data product for every partner, not a gated upsell.

Fitbit

Google Health API documents derived metrics after Google Fitbit Edge data syncs through the Google Health app. Public data types include heart rate with beatsPerMinute and motion context at listed storage resolution. Raw photoplethysmogram, multi-wavelength PPG waveforms, and beat-to-beat / IBI are not listed in the Google Health data types table. That is not the same as “Fitbit has no developer surface.”

History

Deployments are configured to retain the history a partner actually needs.

Fitbit

Google Health REST resources are OAuth-scoped and user-consented. A partner-configurable multi-year raw waveform retention window is not listed on the public Google Health developer docs. The legacy Fitbit Web API on dev.fitbit.com is being turned off; migration guidance points to Google Health.

Interpretation

Every score ships next to the raw signal it was built from, plus the context for what drove it.

Fitbit

Daily readiness, Cardio Load, sleep score, and activity summaries are the consumer product in the Fitbit app. Google Health API returns derived wellness objects without a listed continuous raw PPG stream alongside them.

Backend

Partners build directly on the Sensor Bio platform, built as infrastructure from the start.

Fitbit

Partners build on Google OAuth plus Google Health API (health.googleapis.com). Fitbit Edge does not expose a third-party on-device SDK path like Fitbit OS Device API on smartwatches. None of the public Google Health pages list a partner-owned raw PPG platform for Fitbit Edge.

Branding

Native white-label from the first deployment. The partner's brand carries the platform end to end.

Fitbit

The tracker is Fitbit-branded and pairs through the Fitbit / Google Health consumer apps. A white-label or OEM hardware path is not listed on Google Store Google Fitbit Edge product pages or Google Health developer docs.

Fit for purpose

Configured per deployment from day one: a hospital, a base, or a research protocol.

Fitbit

Built for individuals who want steps, GPS workouts, readiness, and sleep scores on Google's newest fitness tracker. Institutional raw capture, white-label, and waveform-level control are a retrofit.

Out of the box

Everything the Sensor Bio SDK hands you on day one.

Eight categories of physiological data, fetchable per day or across a range, with the raw datapoint series underneath every summary. No separate license. No gated tier.

01 / Vitals

Continuous core signals

Cardiac

Heart rate, daily and trending, with a Poincaré plot. Heart rate variability across the same daily and range views.

Respiratory

Respiratory rate, daily and trending.

Thermal

Skin temperature: min, max, average, and the full point series.

02 / Activity

Movement and energy

Counts

Steps graphed over time, and calories.

Scoring

Daily activity score with baseline difference and progress percentage.

Duration

See how much you move with a daily running total of movement duration.

03 / Recovery

Readiness, daily and ranged

Score

Daily recovery score compared across weeks, months and years.

Calibration

Scores are personal to you and after calibration, reflect your physiological changes.

Aggregate

Use the underlying biometrics or the aggregate score for easy reference.

04 / Sleep

The deepest surface in the SDK

Score and stages

Sleep score with running average, contributing factors, and penalties. Awake, REM, light, and deep percentages, plus minute-by-minute stage intervals across the night.

Overnight vitals

Resting HR and HRV, plus full HR, HRV, and respiratory-rate graphs with every datapoint. Skin temperature with min, max, average, uncertainty, and baseline comparison.

Timing

Total sleep time, onset and wake timestamps, and per-session timing including naps.

Guidance and debt

Recommended bedtime, wake time, and duration. Circadian score and net sleep debt with three-night accounting. Range views add score trends, daily sleep-time points, and an aggregated debt graph.

05 / Spot check

On-demand snapshot

Autonomic

HRV against baseline, and parasympathetic to sympathetic balance.

Cardiorespiratory

Min, max, and average HR with a graph, plus respiratory rate and stress index.

Confidence

Signal-to-noise ratio on the reading, and a PDF report link.

06 / Workouts

Session-level biometrics

Heart rate

Per-workout average, min, and max heart rate.

Zones

Time-in-zone breakdown for the session.

Views

Summary, detail, and timeline endpoints per workout.

07 / Profile

Cloud-synced attributes

Performance

VO₂ max, max HR, and computed max HR.

Anthropometrics

Height, weight, and walk / run stride.

Bulk pull

Biometrics, sleep, and steps across a date range in one call.

08 / Live stream

Raw signal, in real time

Channels

During an active recording session the band streams HR, HRV, respiratory rate, beat-to-beat intervals, raw PPG, signal-to-noise ratio, and motion.

Why it matters

This is the ground-truth channel a wellness tracker never exposes. Everything above is derived from it.

Compiled from the public SensorBio SDK interface, v0.17.0. Categories one through seven are fetched from the cloud after sync, per day or across a date range, with cached and force-remote variants. Sensor Bio V2 is a general wellness device: not FDA-cleared, not FDA-approved, not intended for diagnostic use.

Google Health API

What Google's public Google Health API actually exposes for Fitbit.

OAuth2 user consent, then REST reads from health.googleapis.com. Derived wellness metrics after sync — not a default raw-signal product. Sourced from developers.google.com/health and Fitbit migration notices on dev.fitbit.com.

health_metrics

Scope example: https://www.googleapis.com/auth/googlehealth.health_metrics_and_measurements.readonly. Resources return user-consented wellness measurements synced from supported wearables including Fitbit via dataSourceFamilies/google-wearables.

heart-rate type

Documented heart-rate data type: derived beats per minute with motion context. Listed storage resolution includes one-second samples — still derived HR, not a continuous raw PPG waveform export.

sync path

Fitbit devices do not stream directly to arbitrary third-party apps on the band. Wearers sync through the Fitbit / Google Health consumer app path; partners read approved Google Health REST resources after OAuth.

legacy web api

The Fitbit Web API on dev.fitbit.com is being turned off (migration notices reference November 2, 2026). New integrations are directed to Google Health API documentation at developers.google.com/health.

research / enterprise

fitbit.google/enterprise/researchers-faqs/ describes research programs, historical Web API usage, and Fitabase-style workflows. That is a separate enterprise conversation — not the default Fitbit Edge + Google Health product path.

Not listed

Continuous raw PPG / photoplethysmogram streams, beat-to-beat / IBI, live session streaming, white-label hardware, and partner-configurable raw capture are not listed on the public Google Health data types table or Google Fitbit Edge product pages. Fitbit OS Device API on dev.fitbit.com targets on-device smartwatch apps — not the Google Fitbit Edge tracker SKU. “Not listed” is not the same as “doesn’t have.”

Comparison table

How the two platforms actually compare.

Specification
Platform
Sensor Bio
Sensor Bio V2 		Platform
FITBIT
Google Fitbit Edge (Obsidian)
Hardware
Band material Matte black woven nylon diamond-weave, low-profile curved module Obsidian Active Band (silicone with soft-touch coating) on Matte Black Aluminum case (this page's SKU). Other finishes listed: Fog, Olive, Canyon. Source: store.google.com/us/product/google_fitbit_edge_specs.
Case material Plastic and polycarbonate sensor housing with TiN electrodes 100% recycled aluminum housing. 1.3 in (34 mm) always-on AMOLED color display. Source: store.google.com/us/product/google_fitbit_edge_specs.
Sensor hardware Multi-wavelength raw PPG with three-axis accelerometer and temperatureUp to 100 Hz raw export PPG optical heart rate; red and infrared sensors for SpO₂; multipurpose electrical sensors compatible with the ECG app; two dedicated temperature sensors (wrist + display thermistors); GPS + Galileo for outdoor exercise. Source: store.google.com/us/product/google_fitbit_edge_specs. Raw PPG export is not listed on Google Health data types.
Continuous wear and battery 3-4 days of continuous PPG captureFull charge in 2 to 4 hours, roughly 15 minutes for a top-up. USB-C Up to 7 days of battery life (varies with use). USB-C fast charging: 5 minutes of charge for up to 1 day. User-replaceable battery listed on specs page. Source: store.google.com/us/product/google_fitbit_edge_specs.
Water resistance IP68, water-resistant to 1.5 m for 30 minutesAvoid prolonged hot showers, saunas, steam rooms, and soaps or chemicals, which degrade water resistance over time 5 ATM and IP68 listed under durability and water resistance. Source: store.google.com/us/product/google_fitbit_edge_specs.
Weight and fit About 1 oz, one size, adjustable, all-day wear 39.2 × 25.6 × 11.6 mm; 17.7 g without band, 32 g with band. Active Band includes small (130–170 mm) and large (170–210 mm) sizes. Source: store.google.com/us/product/google_fitbit_edge_specs.
Operating temperature −40°C to +85°C Operating temperature range is not listed on store.google.com/us/product/google_fitbit_edge_specs.
Sync Bluetooth Low Energy 5.0, one-touch pairing, no PIN required Bluetooth 5.4. Pairs with Android and iOS through the Fitbit app and Google account sync. Source: store.google.com/us/product/google_fitbit_edge_specs.
Platform
Design philosophy Signal-first screenless band. Scores sit on top of exposed raw signal, not in place of it Flagship fitness tracker with always-on AMOLED display that feeds daily readiness, sleep, and activity scores in the Fitbit app
Backend model Built as infrastructure. Every partner builds directly on the platform Fitbit / Google consumer cloud by default. Public door for partners: Google Health API (OAuth + REST derived metrics). Legacy Fitbit Web API is being retired
White-label and OEM Native white-label, partner brand from the first deployment White-label / OEM hardware is not listed on Google Store Google Fitbit Edge product pages or Google Health developer docs
Customization Configured per deployment: clinical, defense, or researchData model, retention, and reporting shaped to the environment Configured per Fitbit / Google account and Google OAuth scopes. Partner-shaped capture, retention, and reporting for a hospital, base, or protocol are not listed as a self-serve default on Google Health
Primary market B2B enterprise solutions Individual consumers in the Fitbit app; Google Health API for user-consented wellness reads; enterprise research FAQs on fitbit.google
Data
Raw signal access Raw waveform export is the default data productRaw PPG, IBI, accelerometer, and gyroscope, up to 100 Hz Google Health API returns derived heart rate and wellness metrics. Raw PPG / photoplethysmogram and beat-to-beat / IBI are not listed in the Google Health data types table.
Scores and insights Activity, recovery, and sleep scores, always paired with the raw signal behind themEvery score carries the context for what drove the number Daily readiness, Cardio Load, sleep score, Active Zone Minutes, and post-workout summaries in the Fitbit app. Google Health derived objects without a listed raw multi-wavelength waveform alongside
On-device storage Local buffer pending BLE sync7 days to 6 months depending on configuration 64MB NOR flash memory; stores heart rate data at 2-second intervals per specs page. Partner-configurable raw-signal buffer is not listed
Cloud and history Sensor Bio cloud platform, with raw data export to partners Google Health REST reads after OAuth consent. Partner-configurable multi-year raw history is not listed on the public Google Health developer docs
Reporting and clinician share Customizable RPM dashboard with raw and derived exportTrending window set by the partner, not by us Fitbit app coaching views and shareable wellness summaries. Google Health API returns structured wellness objects for approved apps — not a white-label clinician dashboard SKU
Biometrics
Heart rate Continuous raw PPGCadence is customizable: periodic or continuous, with the raw waveform retained1-second resolution during active captures, 1-minute averages otherwiseRaw PPG, IBI, HR, and HRV all exportableCustom triggers, alerts, and notifications 24/7 heart rate tracking and live heart rate on exercise equipment listed on Edge specs. Google Health documents derived heart-rate samples — not continuous raw PPG export
Heart rate variability Captured whenever enough IBIs are valid: good signal quality, low motionSampled every 2 minutes through the night, during the day when available, and on spot checkCustom triggers, alerts, and notifications Resting heart rate and HRV surfaces in the Fitbit app. Beat-to-beat / IBI and raw PPG are not listed on the public Google Health data types table
Respiratory rate Derived from raw IBICaptured whenever enough IBIs are valid: good signal quality, low motionCustom triggers, alerts, and notifications Respiration rate during sleep is not listed as a dedicated row on the public Edge specs page. Google Health wellness types may include related derived fields — continuous raw export is not listed
Activity tracking Raw accelerometer and gyroscopeSteps, sleep and activity classification, calories, movement minutesActivity score with custom triggers, alerts, and notifications Steps, distance, pace, Active Zone Minutes, VO₂ Max, and GPS outdoor exercise tracking listed on Edge specs. Google Health returns derived activity objects — raw accelerometer / gyroscope streams are not listed on the public data types table
Sleep tracking Continuous multi-sensor sleep detectionStages: REM, deep, light, and awakeSleep score, duration, recommendations, and circadian scorePartner-defined classification validated against PSGCustom triggers, alerts, and notifications Advanced sleep tracking and sleep score listed on Edge specs (Google Health Coach features on product page). Google Health sleep objects are derived — raw overnight PPG is not listed
Temperature tracking Continuous skin temperature, 24/7 at per-minute resolutionCaptures skin temperature deviationSkin temperature is not core temperature Two dedicated temperature sensors (wrist + display thermistors) listed on Edge specs. Continuous exportable temperature series is not listed on the public Google Health data types table
ECG Single-lead ECG capability, coming soon30 seconds or longer, user-initiatedTriggered in the app or by touching the side finger electrode ECG app and irregular heart rate notifications listed on Edge specs (general wellness — not intended for diagnostic use). Session ECG waveform fields are documented for Google Health ECG types; continuous raw PPG is not listed
Heart rate recovery Available from raw data Post-workout summary and Cardio Load Readiness listed on Edge specs. A public Google Health resource named “heart rate recovery” is not listed
Stress and autonomic balance Parasympathetic and sympathetic balance plus stress index, available on spot check Stress management scores in the Fitbit app. Partner-defined metric triggers are not listed on Google Health docs
Cadence and gait Yes, via raw data export Steps, distance, and pace tracking with accelerometer, gyroscope, and altimeter on Edge specs. Raw gait export via Google Health is not listed
Alerts and notifications Custom triggers, alerts, and notifications on any metric High and low heart rate notifications and irregular heart rate notifications listed on Edge specs. Partner-defined metric triggers on any raw channel are not listed

Sensor Bio figures are sourced from the Sensor Bio V2 technical specification sheet, current as of July 2026. Sensor Bio V2 is a general wellness device: not FDA-cleared, not FDA-approved, not intended for diagnostic use. It is not intended for diagnostic use and does not imply RPM billing eligibility. Google Fitbit Edge hardware figures are sourced from store.google.com/us/product/google_fitbit_edge and store.google.com/us/product/google_fitbit_edge_specs; developer figures from developers.google.com/health and Fitbit Web API migration notices on dev.fitbit.com. “Not listed” means the fact was not found on that public surface — not that the capability does not exist.

Fitbit is best for

Consumers already in Fitbit

Choose Fitbit when wearers want steps, sleep, readiness, and activity scores on a Fitbit Edge band — and when user-consented Google Health API derived metrics are enough for the integration.

Sensor Bio is best for

Builders who need the signal

Choose Sensor Bio for research, clinical-ops-adjacent programs, defense and enterprise, and product teams that need raw multi-wavelength PPG, IBI, live stream, white-label, and deployment-configured retention as infrastructure.

Protect the Signal.

See what a signal platform does that a wellness app cannot.

Better signal leads to better insights — and better health.