Google Wallet is finally coming to Fitbit Versa 4 and Sense 2 – but Google Maps is still absent

Google has announced it’s bringing support for Google Wallet to the Fitbit Versa 4 and Fitbit Sense 2, as well as improving the sleep tracking on the Google Pixel Watch.

We’ve known since August that the feature would eventually come to the two Fitbit smartwatches, though, until now, it wasn’t clear exactly when it would.

Related: Find out which Fitbit is best for you

The other missing feature, support for turn-by-turn navigation through Google Maps, is still absent, though the announcement blog post indicates it will be “coming soon”. And given a recent leak involving Google Maps and the Fitbit app, we expect that could be before the end of the year.

The support for Google’s own contactless payment platform is a solid improvement for the Fitbit pair, at least – especially given the dearth of actual smart features available with this generation. Fitbit Pay was always an alternative, of course, but Wallet is much more widely available and popular.

Meanwhile, the premier watch in the Google wearable lineup, the Pixel Watch, is also receiving a small upgrade.

Though it launched without the ability to deliver Fitbit’s Sleep Profile feature – you know, the one that assigns you a cartoon sleep animal, like a hedgehog, based on your trends – this will now be rolling out to Premium subscribers.

The feature looks at 10 different sleep-related trends continuously, with the idea being that it’s able to easily summarize how your current habits are affecting your sleep.

Instead of having to log 14 nights to get a Sleep Profile the following month, Google also indicates that those who logged 14 in October will see the feature appear by 22 November, instead of having to wait until 1 December. 

All in all, these updates are interesting ones.

While undoubtedly solid additions, they’re also fairly minor, so it’s also fair to wonder why they weren’t included out of the box. With the Fitbit smartwatches particularly in need of care packages, though, it does at least go some way to mending some issues.