I used the public preview of Fitbit's new AI Health Coach and became both faster and noticeably weirder. Someone needs to say it. Someone has to speak up in defense of being mid. Most of us are, as that is the definition of being mid. I work out every day, but I have a full-time job, two kids, a dog, and a spouse.

Fitbit's smartphone app has undergone several redesigns over the past two years, and now there's another big one coming in October, timed to the launch of the newly announced Pixel Watch 4. Launching as an opt-in review (an open beta), the design centers on Google's AI-powered Personal Health Coach, built with Gemini. The entire app has been rebuilt from the ground up with the new AI coaching feature. Andy Abramson, director of product management at Google, says the redesign also offers easier app navigation, better data visualization, improved syncing between wearable devices, and (finally) a dark mode. Those are all purportedly common user suggestions from existing Fitbit customers. This Personal Health Coach feature is available only to Fitbit Premium subscribers.

Being stressed is not usually a good thing. But when you're reviewing a high-profile smartwatch that touts stress-tracking as one of its most noteworthy new features, experiencing stress can be helpful. During the time I tested the Pixel Watch 2, I was going through a lot emotionally. I was maid of honor at our senior commerce editor's wedding, had a family funeral to think about and was getting updates on the results of my best friend's cancer diagnosis. Add to that the frenzy of Google's hardware launch event and a super tight deadline for this review, and my mental landscape became the perfect testing scenario for the Pixel Watch 2's body-response sensor. That's not the only new feature Google is bringing to its sophomore smartwatch.