OPINION: It seems weird to say now given that Fitbit used to be at the very heart of the fitness tracker industry but the once titan of wearables is in the middle of a serious identity crisis right now.
Ever since the company was acquired by Google, we’ve seen the brand slowly stripped away in one area or another.
For example, offline music playback is no longer available on Sense and Versa smartwatches, and in-app features that helped Fitbit to stand out, like its Challenges social platform, now live in the ever-growing Google graveyard.
2024 was also the first year in quite a while to feature no new Fitbit devices, and at this point it isn’t too difficult to see how Fitbit might be viewed as a stagnant brand, lacking any discernible direction for the future, particularly as Google seems more interested in driving folks towards its Pixel Watch line-up.
To that end, if Google is serious about wanting to hold on to Fitbit for the foreseeable future (and not have it simply become a label that is tacked on to the fitness tracking of the Pixel Watch), then I’d argue that Apple, by way of Beats, has shown the right way of tackling this issue.
Just Beat(s) it
I don’t blame Google for wanting to focus more on the Pixel Watch 3 this year, particularly as it’s a great watch and there’s so much promise in the Wear OS platform, but it’s missing a trick by not presenting Fitbit as a viable alternative in the way that Apple does with Beats headphones.
While there is a small smattering of premium-level Beats products, such as the Beats Studio Pro and the Beats Fit Pro, the majority of products now toting the Beats brand come in at a far more budget-friendly price compared to their direct AirPods competitors.
Sure, if you’re flushed with cash then the AirPods Pro 2 or even the AirPods Max are a great buy, but for everyone else you’ve got the Beats Solos Buds at £79.99/$79.99 or the Beats Solo 4 at £199.95/$199.99 (both of which were even cheaper over the Black Friday period).
While these Beats products do work with both the best iPhone and best Android phone, they do slyly move you towards the former by way of better functionality with Apple’s ecosystem including hands-free Siri access and quick pairing with Apple devices.
With these devices and the price you pay for them, you still feel as if you’re getting a solid product that can deliver fun and robust audio quality, with that rich-in-bass style that Beats is known for, so while they’ll never outperform top-level AirPods, they are still a great option for students or folks on a budget, and this is where Google needs to be directing the Fitbit brand.
At this point, Fitbit is being cannibalised by both the super affordable fitness tracker market with brands like Xiaomi and Honor, and the higher-end smartwatch industry where it’s now possible to get a Galaxy Watch around the £200/$200 mark, or even an older Pixel Watch around the same rate.
The future of Fitbit
For the future, I’d love to see Fitbit change tact and consolidate its brand into two (maybe three) devices, just to keep things simple.
This would include an aggressively priced entry-level tracker at roughly £50/$50 to attract those who just want a simple fitness tracker that covers core aspects like your step count, heart rate and phone notifications, all with that signature Fitbit style.
Second, you have a higher priced option much like the Fitbit Charge 6 but under a different name at £130/$130 that packs a better screen, better battery life and a couple of smart features that would act as a taster for what’s available on the Wear OS platform.
To complement these devices, Google needs to consider how it can bolster the Fitbit app again, something which would not only benefit the Fitbit brand but also the Pixel Watch, as anyone who wants the best fitness tracker experience possible within Google’s ecosystem can just nab the Pixel Watch instead.
For everyone else, those well-priced Fitbits could do the job perfectly – this means that the idle 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 deviates or not, the key thing is that Fitbit in its current state just isn’t working and something needs to change. Otherwise, knowing Google, it’s never guaranteed that Fitbit as a whole won’t be added to the long list of products and services that Google’s abandoned over the years.
I hope this isn’t the case but only time will tell.
