OPINION : It seems eldritch to say now given that Fitbit used to be at the very heart of the fitness tracker manufacture but the once titan of wearables is in the middle of a serious identity operator crisis justly now .
Ever since the company was acquired by Google , we ’ve seen the firebrand lento stripped away in one domain or another .
For example , offline music playback is no longer uncommitted on Sense and Versa smartwatches , and in - app features that help Fitbit to abide out , like its Challenges social platform , now live in the ever - growingGoogle memorial park .
2024 was also the first year in quite a while to feature no Modern Fitbit devices , and at this point it is n’t too difficult to see how Fitbit might be viewed as a stagnant brand , miss any discernible direction for the future , particularly as Google seems more interested in driving folks towards itsPixel Watchline - up .
To that end , if Google is serious about require to hold on to Fitbit for the foreseeable futurity ( and not have it simply become a recording label that is flip-flop on to the fitness trailing of the Pixel Watch ) , then I ’d contend that Apple , by way of Beats , has shown the right direction of tackle this issue .
Just Beat(s) it
I do n’t blame Google for desire to focus more on thePixel Watch 3this year , particularly as it ’s a swell watch and there ’s so much promise in the Wear type O chopine , but it ’s missing a trick by not gift Fitbit as a viable alternative in the way that Apple does with Beats headphones .
While there is a small smattering of premium - level heartbeat Cartesian product , such as theBeats Studio Proand theBeats Fit Pro , the majority of products now total the Beats trade name come up in at a far more budget - friendly damage compare to their verbatim AirPods competitor .
Sure , if you ’re flushed with John Cash then theAirPods Pro 2or even theAirPods Maxare a great buy , but for everyone else you ’ve receive the Beats Solos Buds at £ 79.99/$79.99 or theBeats Solo 4at £ 199.95/$199.99 ( both of which were even cheaper over the Black Friday catamenia ) .
While these Beats mathematical product do work with both thebest iPhoneandbest Android phone , they do trickily move you towards the former by way of better functionality with Apple ’s ecosystem including bridge player - spare Siri access code and quick pairing with Apple devices .
With these devices and the terms you pay for them , you still palpate as if you ’re getting a solid product that can save merriment and robust audio calibre , with that rich - in - bass style that Beats is make love for , so while they ’ll never outperform top - level AirPods , they are still a neat option for students or folks on a budget , and this is where Google needs to be directing the Fitbit brand .
At this point , Fitbit isbeing cannibalisedby both the super low-cost fittingness tracker marketplace with brands like Xiaomi and Honor , and the high - end smartwatch industry where it ’s now possible to get a Galaxy Watch around the £ 200/$200 mark , or even an older Pixel learn around the same rate .
The future of Fitbit
For the future , I ’d love to see Fitbit switch tact and consolidate its brand into two ( maybe three ) gadget , just to keep thing simple .
This would admit an sharply priced entry - level tracker at around £ 50/$50 to draw in those who just want a simple seaworthiness tracker that overlay core aspects like your step counting , heart charge per unit and phone telling , all with that signature Fitbit expressive style .
secondly , you have a higher price option much like theFitbit Charge 6but under a different name at £ 130/$130 that packs a better screen , honorable stamp battery biography and a couple of smart features that would act as a taster for what ’s available on the Wear O platform .
To complement these devices , Google needs to consider how it can pad the Fitbit app again , something which would not only gain the Fitbit sword but also the Pixel Watch , as anyone who wants thebest fitness trackerexperience potential within Google ’s ecosystem can just nab the Pixel Watch instead .
For everyone else , those well - price Fitbits could do the job perfectly – this means that the light Fitbit Sense and Fitbit Versa range need to go .
There ’s always a chance that Google is already priming something similar as I write this , but whether it vary or not , the fundamental thing is that Fitbit in its current state just is n’t work and something needs to change . Otherwise , knowing Google , it ’s never guaranteed that Fitbit as a whole wo n’t be added to the long list of products and services that Google ’s abandoned over the years .
I trust this is n’t the case but only time will tell .
