Every person I've talked to over at Fitbit (pre-this news) has been down on the company. Sounds like they've had trouble effectively scaling software/new hardware to the level of success that the initial device had.
While this could easily be another money sink for Google as they attempt to figure out some sort of Android wearable, it also has the potential to be an Instagram level-acquisition. Non-Apple wearables seem to be ripe for the picking
This wouldn't surprise me, Fitbit has been getting more and more "Googlish" in its slurping of data. My current irritation is that it refuses to 'sync' your device unless you have location services enabled for the app.
I get that some folks like a "track" they can refer to, for others it puts their life at risk[1], and for me its not something I care about. Steps and heart rate are enough for it to compute calories (when you've added in lean body mass and sex). There are no features "missing" when I only sync it to an old Motorola X phone (no sim) which is sitting at my desk. I noticed that Apple and Fitbit have also fought over this, where on iDevices enabling location was optional (it would still sync), then an update and the location was no longer optional (unhelpful "no device found" message, but turn on location and amazingly there is your device right there, turn it off and poof your device is no where to be seen), then with the iOS 13 update it was optional again. But on Android it has never been optional.
I interpreted that behavior as "profitability through data sales" strategy and they needed more data cows to get more money.
Still bitter that Fitbit bought Pebble and did apparently nothing worthwhile with the tech or the team they acquired.
I loved my Pebble OG and kept searching for a nice secondhand Pebble Time Steel to upgrade to -- until the Fitbit acquisition where we learned the Pebble ecosystem was unfortunately doomed.
I've since "upgraded" to an Apple Watch S4, but to be honest it's really just a "side-grade" as there are major downsides compared to the Pebble OG, like battery life, lack of always-on display, and the lack of useful tactile buttons.
Being able to switch the currently-playing music track _without having to look at it_ is one thing the Apple Watch can never provide for me. I have to look, see where the UI button is, and tap on exactly the right spot on the screen. It frequently doesn't recognize that I tapped on the fwd/next track button either (presumably because I didn't tap perfectly within the hitbox). This hugely defeats the purpose of a subtle wearable that can stay "out of the way" and not steal your attention.
My Fitbit Versa is my favorite smartwatch (and I have two Android Wear watches in a drawer that couldn't get one full WORK day of battery)
I'd love to see the Pebble hardware running Android Wear (maybe fixed by Fitbit to last longer) with Pixel branding. I'm hopeful.
Very bad news for anyone who has a Fitbit device. Google tends to destroy any "smart" devices they acquire; first they tie it more closely to their ecosystem, too much for comfort, then they remove features, then they get bored and neglect it, then you have a brick.
Ok, are there any wearables left that can be trusted with personal data? I want to use it to track my own activity/heartrate, not to be used and tracked by somebody else for their shady purposes.
Anybody know a good way to get your data out of fitbit? I've got a year's worth of decent data and it's obviously at risk if google shutter it. Also I don't want them to have it - so I guess I'm in the market for something independent.
Hmm, I don't suppose they will revive pebble.
https://www.theverge.com/2017/2/22/14703108/fitbit-bought-pe...
Fitbit bought and killed cool wearables like Pebble and Vector. If this deal goes through they will probably kill WearOS as well.
Fitbit: the grim reaper of wearables.
It will be interesting to see how Google uses the fitbit data. I could see them synchronizing a user's searches with their heartbeat information to try to gauge emotional response to topics.
I'd definitely welcome this - it seems like Google has been way behind Apple with a solid watch competitors and given they've got the rest of the ecosystem with the Pixels, Chromebooks, and headphones, bulking up their capabilities there alongside the HTC team acquisition seems logical
I would think that Google's first choice was Garmin. In my personal opinion, they have better watch products.
It was reported last month that Fitbit engaged Qatalyst for a sale. I wonder who leaked the news to Reuters, which did not mention a price: was it Qatalyst, hoping to start a bidding war?
Ok, who wants to put bets on when they will kill it after they acquire it?
Ah nooo please. Anyone but google. I love my Fitbit charge 3 and was thinking about replacing my Fitbit scale because my original model just died after 6 years. If google is going to buy Fitbit then I’m out.
Was annoying Fitbit started charging for more information on sleep. Paying for details that was included, now they want you to pay a monthly fee. If it was additional details maybe, but to cripple the reports just for profit, is shady as fuck.
Great now google can track my biometrics
If Google could tap into fitbit's data, they could implement some headline features to rival Apple watch's fall detection.
Sleep tracking is another area in which fitbit is one of the best, if not the best among peers.
Yay, can't wait for my FitBit to be EOL'd randomly.
Is anyone aware of body-metric-tracking devices that natively allow you to collect your own data directly from the device? (i.e. no clouds, subscriptions, or preferably smartphone apps)
I do not understand why somebody would buy a Fitbit... I would never buy one. All the ones I owned were gifts. All the ones I owned broke in a way that showed a flawed process and engineering.
Their Bluetooth stack is sooo broken. The devices cannot sync if there are other Bluetooth devices around or only some very specific phones are supported.
Their forums are FULL of complains for the hardware breaking (ex: https://community.fitbit.com/t5/Charge/Fitbit-charge-battery... - https://community.fitbit.com/t5/Charge/Charge-band-falling-a... - https://community.fitbit.com/t5/Charge/Button-fell-off-my-ch... ) and updates that brick the devices (one of the recent examples: https://community.fitbit.com/t5/Ionic/Fitbit-OS-4-0-2-Firmwa... )... nevertheless people still buy them.
I think the only good things Fitbit has may be the community and that it is not easier to replicate.
I guess Google can buy the company at a bargain price. They could fix up the technical/process problems, create good devices and use the FitBit brand to sell to their user base.
I can’t wait to see how Google will manage to strip down all of the best parts of Fitbit and not use them to make a decent product of their own.
Hah! That's the benefit of integrating with Google Fit, a major feature request they have been ignoring for a long time before solving it: https://community.fitbit.com/t5/Blaze/syncing-FitBit-with-go...
Fitbit is damaged goods. Just read https://community.fitbit.com/t5/Ionic/Would-you-buy-Fitbit-I... - I own one of these along with many unsatisfied customers. Google is buying technical debt.
My concern would stem from them attempting to replace the firmware with Android Wear. Because Android Wear is licenced they may feel pressure to use the same os so as not to upset licensees such that any improvements to AW on Fitbit gets shared. Or they may go the Nest route with custom firmware based on Fitbit. It will be interesting
Anybody know how to delete your data from fitbit? Looks like I have a crappy watch now, instead of a smart device.
Oh no. First they f*cked up nest and now fitbit?
I deleted everything Google and switched to iOS a few years ago so Google would have less of my data. Now they are going to get detailed location, activity, and sleep history for all of those years anyway. You really can't win can you.
I bet there is no option to download my data and nuke what they have before this happens either.
Fitbit has a privacy policy that says they won't sell or transfer your data IIRC, but that does not prevent them from doing so in the case of a sale or merger. I hate those clauses: the hypothetical argument is always 'what if some data miner buys them' ?
This is health data we're talking about
Good. Let them see if the quantum AI powerbots of Google can fix the sync issues.
I don't really get what Fitbit offers to Google...seems like they could easily build from scratch what Fitbit currently offers. And the Fitbit brand doesn't seem particularly strong right now...
I somehow don't see the fit. Pardon the pun.
Their watches though popular are completely self sustained, as in not connected devices. No link to the phone, cannot install Android on them most likely. So they are buying it purely for their experience making watches and not for their products.
Also, I wonder how much Google will want to invest in devices that are not connected to their ecosystem and might neglect existing products which will simply dilute the brand. Could be a good thing for Fit though, as I don't see that as a growing business over time.
I was not happy to find the Fitbit only works by syncing through their service - eg they get all of your data, and vigorously opposed requests to just link to HealthKit and not upload data.
Now it seems they were deliberately making sure they had your data so they could (in effect) sell it.
I’ve held off on an Apple Watch for the longest time due to battery life and size, but it seems like that is now the only option. You can’t trust any company to have access to your data.
I love Fitbit. I dont want another brand to be destroyed.
I bought a fitbit (the $200 one) to replace my microsoft band when it broke.
The heart rate monitor was so bad I returned it to the store in less than 24 hours.
I've been wanting to get some kind of fitness tracker to go with my Pixel 3XL, but it seems like nothing can touch the Apple Watch at this point. So I keep my iPhone around.
If Apple would play nice with PCs and let you type texts from Windows I'd ditch the Android.
So glad I got my GF to get rid of her Fitbit. She had the first two models and both were a nightmare in terms of issues. I got her a Polar Vantage and she just loves the thing. Never had any issues with it and the data you can get out of their apps are incredible.
This makes sense. Wear OS has utterly failed, but FitBit (and the Pebble assets), offer a great experience. Plus, it's cross-platform (important differentiator). I just hope Google doesn't try to kill it/ruin it, the way they have in the past.
I guess I'm not going to buy a new Fitbit device ever again. I own two Fitbit watches (Charge HR 1st and 2nd generation) and the 2nd gen is still ticking along just fine and I use it daily.
I refuse to give Google any money.
I fear that if Alphabet buys Fitbit, then Alphabet will kill of the efforts to keep the Pebble Watches alive, since they then own the various sites and domains necessary. I hope Fitbit stays independent.
I didnt see anyone mention Verily, the company Google already bought to try and make a wearable device.
Did that whole company just flop so they decided to go out and buy FitBit?
Fitbit's market cap is ~$1.5B on $1.5B/year revenue. Garmin's market cap is $16B on $3.5B/year.
Garmin's products are much better, but they have a big range outside the wearables market.
I don't care much about FitBit but sure wish I could get Pepple back.
Given Android, I'm not. hopeful that my Fitbit will continue to work with my iPhone, long term.
Edit: I guess Android Wear does work with iOS, so maybe I'm being overly concerned about this aspect.
Might not be a bad time to request to have all your account data deleted from their servers before Google forces a ToS change and sells advertiser access to users' biometrics.
> Google’s parent company, Alphabet, made a bid to acquire Fitbit, a source familiar with the matter tells CNBC.
More like: the source "leaked" to create negotiation pressures...
Nooo! My wife has a Fitbit and she's really happy with it. I don't want Google to kill it the way they killed Nest.
That's honestly my first thought reading this. I lost my faith in Google about these sort of things.
I can’t wait to see how Google will manage to strip down all of the best parts of Fitbit and not use them to make a decent product of their own.
I wear a fitbit primarily for the sleep tracker.
Is there a comparable non-google device that does sleep tracking? My garmin watch is not a great replacement in that regard.
Anyone have a recommended cloudless alternative?
At what point are regulators going to start denying these bids on anti-trust grounds? I suppose there might be enough players in the "wearables" space but I'd imagine this purchase could potentially be denied because of the risk to personal data being further consolidated? I have no idea if the laws on this actually reflect the problems in the market at this point.
No good options. Based on media coverage about the company, it's either this or Fitbit dies
It’s probably a good exit strategy for Fitbit as they might not have a sustainable business.
Buying a worthless app. Maybe it's because is better than Google fit
Location tracking for better ad targeting if anyone is curious why they want fitbit
Wow. I was going to buy a Fitbit recently, really glad I didn't.
> Alphabet in bid to shut down Fitbit in two years
Fitbit is a fad of a brand. Why would google buy them?
Do it, the Versa 2 should have google not alex.
The Fitbit brand-name has become a generic term like Aspirin, Kleenex or Google. That must be a big part of it's appeal for Alphabet.
When you own Fitbit, you own the category.
I still appreciate my Pebble watch
I look forward to reading the "What an adventure" blog post when Fitbit shuts down in like two years.
Let them bring back Pebble.
They should change their dumbass unreliable piece-of-crap custom charging port.
Alphabit!
Oh i see what's happening...this is Google' play to place microphones onto the wrists of those who don't use android phones - via fitbits - in order to capture ever more info for ads!
Ah-ha google, you didn't think i saw where you were heading did you, eh!?! /s
Damn. I like my Fitbit. I wouldn't be looking forward to having it stop working with no notice because Google decided to just shut down the servers on a random Tuesday and shutter the product line...
I keep seeing new Apple Watches being released, and I keep seeing them add new features I haven’t seen people asking for instead of focusing on the obvious issue - the atrocious battery life.
Putting a 3G modem in my watch is the antithesis to what I see most people asking for - a watch that can actually last more than 24 hours without having to charge it.
When my phone lasts longer than my watch, there is something fundamentally wrong.
Hopefully this purchase will result in some half-decent Android smart watches - that I’ll never purchase anyways because Google - but for those willing to sell their data out at least they will have the option to do so on decent hardware and hopefully software.
Like the Palm Pilot, Fitbit was a great idea in its time, but there are many competitors today that are better built and better supported. For example, Samsung makes a fitness bracelet that Consumer Reports rates as the best of breed, though it's expensive.
After an unsuccessful foray into Android watches a few years ago, I finally broke down and got a $15 remaindered Fitbit Flex on Ebay. It was advertised as "new/other", but the battery is obviously shot and doesn't hold a charge longer than a day or two, so they refunded my money.
But I still wear it occasionally, to understand the user experience, despite the inconvenience of needing to charge it every day. It's a clever design and does one thing pretty well -- recording your motion and sync'ing to your phone when in Bluetooth range.
For a while I toyed with investing more in a new Fitbit that would capture heart rate, but given how much better Apple watches are both in build quality and likelihood of remaining in business, I think I'll just hold out for one of those, for when I switch from Android to an iPhone 11 or 12 next autumn.
Though, Google might reinvigorate Fitbit, who knows. But Google also shelves products with distressing frequency so it might be a meaningless acquisition. Fitness trackers have become a commodity, with a few high end quality offerings from Samsung and others, Fitbit struggling to retain its market leader status, and dozens of Chinese knock-offs in the $8-$20 range that are mediocre but the price is right.
I'd still love to hear a convincing argument from someone as to the benefits of counting steps and measuring heart rate with a wrist band- Are people feeling like they are more fit because they walked to lunch "the long way" so they can reach the 10000 step goal that Fred from accounting has set for them? Do they feel healthier because they were regularly watching their heart rate reading during their hour in the gym to make sure it is in the correct target window, instead of just focusing on working their asses off for the whole hour without looking at metrics?
Convince me this isn't just a distraction and fad with little benefit, besides being an advertising device on your wrist to inform others that you value fitness.
EDIT: OK, looks like everyone here is convinced of the benefits- I'm pretty much on my own in my skepticism, I guess.
> Fitbits’ stock shot up almost 30 percent after the first rumors surfaced. In recent months, the company’s stock often traded below $3, down from close to $48 shortly after its IPO in 2015. Today, after the announcement, it went up to around $5.20.
Good lord, must the acquisition offer feel like a relief? Surely, Fitbit wouldn't do a Groupon now.
The article fails to mention Fossil, but Google recently did acquire their wearables research division for $40M [0]. It looks like Google is gearing up to launch multiple wearables. Xiaomi, Huawei, and Huami have really taken the wearables market by storm [1]. If anything, price differentiation seems to be the key. I hope the rumoured Pixel Wearable isn't comically expensive like its Phone counterparts.
[0] https://www.theverge.com/2019/1/17/18187026/google-fossil-gr...
[1] https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20191017005172/en/Hua...